The author, Abd al-Rahman al-Sayyid, was born in 1914 in the village of al-Dab'a, north of Khartoum. He studied at the Gordon College and then at the Higher Teachers' Training College. He was a teacher and then a school inspector. He wrote many books, including "The History of Sudan," "The History of the Sudanese Mahdist State," and "The History of the Sudanese Revolution." He also wrote many articles and essays on Sudanese history and culture.