North vs. South

Egypt took slaves from the Sudan far back in Antiquity. Greek, then Roman explorers got as for South as the Papyrus swamp known as the Sudd. The annoyed ancestors of the Southern Sudanese helped to keep them out as well.

Then, Islam conquered the North. This is a rather simplistic view, sort of Sudan for Dummies if you will. The two "halves" were even more different now. The North was also divided into different kingdoms. Well, why are we talking about halves then?

It really wasn't until 1820 that you begin to think of the Sudan as an "entity." It was when the Egyptian Khedive sent his army in to keep them busy. The Sudd was penetrated. Areas that had little to do with each other and had nothing in common were brought together.