Al-Ubayyid (also El Obeid) is the capital of the state of North Kurdufan in central Sudan. In 1993, its population was 229,425. It is an important transportation hub: the terminus of a rail line, the junction of various roads and camel caravan routes, and the end of a pilgrim route from Nigeria. It was founded by the pashas of Ottoman Egypt in 1821 but was subsequently destroyed by the Mahdists in 1883. It was then rebuilt in 1898 following the fall of the Mahdist empire.