# Author's Introduction

This is a preliminary study of the Hamab region in northern Sudan, examining the lives of its inhabitants, their origins, and their religious and literary history. It depicts their ways of life, their patterns of existence, and the nature of their presence in that area.

This study aims to explain the natural progression that characterized the lives of the people in the Hamab region and to observe the developments and changes that have affected these lives. The transformations that have occurred in the society and people of Hamab are noted. We present a general, clear picture of the nature of life in the Hamab region, and we intend for this study to be a conclusion to other studies concerning it, and a more comprehensive understanding. Through this study, we wanted to portray the reality of a group belonging to this country, living and shaping a part of its present and future.

The primary goal of this study was to collect the history of the Hamab in all its components. I will attribute it to the collection process, especially since this society is a subject that will address its conditions in the coming days and will witness a transformation in its life. This group will transition to a new and distinct life, through which a world will completely change, and this urgent transformation requires work on this study.

The Hamab region is located in a strip 45 kilometers long, and all its villages are on the Nile and within the islands, which are produced between large and small islands. This point, historically, is linked to the region of the Shabain, with its known and inspiring history. As for the ancient and modern history of the Hamab, it is almost unknown and has not been mentioned in the sources, at least not in those we have reviewed. It is observed that the two regions adjacent to Hamab are mentioned in modern history. It appears and is clear that the Hamab did not have a significant role in the modern historical period. Rather, the kingdoms of Shabita north of Hamab are mentioned, and the kingdoms of Shabita that were established are Amiri.

The reader will find that we have gradually chosen to trace the political history of the region, as there are only oral accounts that speak only of the Mahdist state era and the veneer of rule.