In what is now Sudan there occurred over the centuries a process of ta’rib, or Arabization, entailing the gradual spread of both Arab identity and the Arabic language among northern peoples. This article considers the historical diffusion of Sudanese Arabic-language culture and Arab identity, contrasts this with the post-colonial policy of Arabization, and analyses the relevance of the latter for civil conflicts in Southern Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, and, more recently, Darfur. Far from spreading…