products from Abyssinia and Egypt into Lobeid and Bara, from which the greater part was again transported on to other parts of Africa. This prosperity ended in 1821 when Mehemet Ali, Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt sent his son-in-law, Mahommed Bey the Defturdar, with about 4,500 soldiers and eight pieces of artillery, to subject Kordofan to his power. The monopoly enjoyed by the Egyptian governors in Kordofan impeded trade and stifled entrepreneurial activities. From 1837 to 1839, the country was explored by Ignaz Pallme. After 1840 The Mahdi captured El-Obeid in 1883. The Egyptian government dispatched a force from Cairo under the British General William Hicks, which was ambushed and annihilated at Sheikan to the south of El Obeid. Following British reoccupation in 1898, Kordofan was added to the number of provinces of the Sudan. In 1973 it was split into the provinces (mudiriya) of North Kordofan and South Kordofan, which became states (wilayat) in 1994. In 2011, armed conflict in South Kordofan broke out in June 2011, ahead of independence for South Sudan. Fighting has since involved rebel groups in Darfur and has expanded into North Kordofan. See also Kordofanian languages Notes and references Further reading MacMichael, Harold Alfred (1882) The tribes of Northern and Central Kordofán Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, ; reprinted by Frank Cass, London (1967), , as part of the series Cass Library of African studies 1912 edition United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights. Southern Kordofan: Ethnic Cleansing and Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, August 4, 2011. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 2011. External links The Nuba Mountains Homepage History of Sudan Regions of Sudan 1898 establishments in the British Empire