Kordufan

Kordufan or Kordofan (kôrdōfăn`), region (1983 pop. 3,093,294), central Sudan. Al Ubayyid is the capital. Kordufan is divided into North, West, and South Kordufan states. Its terrain, generally level in the north, rises in the south to the Nuba Mts. Kordufan's economy is agricultural, with millet as the staple crop. The government has sponsored many irrigation projects. Conquered for Egypt in 1821, Kordufan was under Turko-Egyptian rule until 1882, when the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad fomented revolt. With the defeat of Mahdist forces in 1898, Kordufan became part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (later the Republic of Sudan).