The history of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan refers to the history of Sudan from 1899 to 1955.
In January 1899, an Anglo-Egyptian agreement restored Egyptian rule in Sudan but as part of a condominium, or joint authority, exercised by the United Kingdom and Egypt. The agreement designated territory south of the twenty-second parallel as Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Although it emphasized Egypt's indebtedness to Britain for its participation in the reconquest, the agreement failed to clarify the juridical relationship between the two condominium powers in Sudan or to provide a legal basis for continued British governing of the territory on behalf of the Khedive. Article II of the agreement specified that "the supreme military and civil command in Sudan shall be vested in one officer, termed the Governor-General of Sudan. He shall be appointed by Khedival Decree on the recommendation of Her Britannic Majesty's Government and shall be removed only by Khedival Decree with the consent of Her Britannic Majesty's Government."
The British governor-general, who was a military officer, reported to the Foreign Office through its resident agent in Cairo. In practice, however, he exercised extraordinary powers and directed the condominium government from Khartoum as if it were a colonial administration. Sir Reginald Wingate succeeded Kitchener as governor-general in 1899.
In each province, two inspectors and several district commissioners aided the British governor (mudir). Initially, nearly all administrative personnel were British Army officers attached to the Egyptian Army. In 1901, however, civilian administrators started arriving in Sudan from Britain and formed the nucleus of the Sudan Political Service. Egyptians filled middle-level posts while Sudanese gradually acquired lower-level positions.
Condominium period
In the condominium's early years, the governor-general and provincial governors exercised a great deal of freedom in governing Sudan. After 1910, however, an executive council, whose approval was required for all legislation and for budgetary matters, assisted the governor-general.
The governor-general presided over this council, which included the inspector-general; the civil, legal, and financial secretaries; the General Officer Commanding the Troops (The Kaid); and two to four other British officials appointed by the governor-general. From 1944 to 1948 there existed also an advisory council for northern Sudan whose functions were advice and consultation. This advisory council had 18 members representing province councils, 10 members nominated by the Governor-General and 2 honorary members. The executive council retained legislative authority until 1948.
Law and order
After restoring order and the government's authority, the British dedicated themselves to creating a modern government in the condominium. Jurists adopted penal and criminal procedural codes similar to those in force in British India. Commissions established land tenure rules and adjusted claims in dispute because of grants made by successive governments. Taxes on land remained the basic form of taxation, the amount assessed depending on the type of irrigation, the number of date palms, and the size of herds; however, the rate of taxation was fixed for the first time in Sudan's history.
The 1902 Code of Civil Procedure continued the Ottoman separation of civil law and sharia, but it also created guidelines for the operation of sharia courts as an autonomous judicial division under a chief qadi appointed by the governor-general. Religious judges and other sharia court officials were invariably Egyptian.
There was little resistance to the condominium. Breaches of the peace usually took the form of intertribal warfare or banditry. Mahdist uprisings occurred in February 1900, in 1902–1903, in 1904, and in 1908 but these revolts were of short duration. In 1916, Abd Allah as Suhayni, who claimed to be the Prophet Isa, launched an unsuccessful jihad.
Undefined borders
The problem of the condominium's undefined borders was a greater concern. A 1902 treaty with Ethiopia fixed the southeastern boundary with Sudan. Seven years later, an Anglo-Belgian treaty determined the status of the Lado Enclave in the south, establishing a border with the Belgian Congo (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo).