Sudan

or Soudan, soo-dan', a vast, somewhat indefinite region in central Africa. It lies between the Sahara and the Congo basin, and extends from Senegambia on the west to the Red Sea. It comprises 2,000,000 square miles of territory and is inhabited by some 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 people, chiefly negroes and Arabs. The latter are the traders and dominant element. The region is reached by way of the Red Sea, the Nile, and from the Mediterranean by caravan. The western part of this vast region is chiefly under French influence. The eastern part is claimed by Great Britain.