amanirenas the kandak of kush: the warrior queen who took on the romans and won

8/13/2019 AMANIRENAS THE KANDAK OF KUSH: The Warrior Queen who took on the Romans and Won.

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Amanirenas

Kandak of Kushby Pieter Uys


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The land immediately south of Aswan in Egypt is known as Nubia. Lower

Nubia lies between the first and second cataracts of the Nile whilst Upper

Nubia comprises the area from the second to the sixth cataracts in Sudan.

Egyptian influence reaches into the distant past. For long periods Lower

Nubia was ruled by Egypt. As early as 3500 before the current era – 5500

years ago – the Egyptian names for the area south of the first cataract were

Ta-Seti (Land of the Bow) and Ta-Nehesy or Ta-Nehsu.

In Old Kingdom times, the region up to the 2nd

cataract was known as

Wawat whilst the Nile valley between the 2nd

and 3rd

cataracts and the

adjacent lands east of the river bore the name Medja.

The first Egyptian use of the word Kush was by Pharaoh Mentuhotep II in

the 21st century BCE. In the 16th century Kush became an Egyptian colonygoverned by a viceroy titled King’s Son of Kush. Around 1070 BCE, as the

Egyptian New Kingdom disintegrated, Kush became independent with

Napata as its capital city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentuhotep_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napatahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napatahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroy_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentuhotep_II


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The term Nobat came into use around the 2nd

century BCE as an ethnic

designation. The Nubians are still there and their Nile Nubian languages

include:

Nobiin / Mahas / Fedicca with approximately 600 000 speakers in

southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

Kenuzi or Kenzi is spoken north of Mahas on the 3rd

cataract, while

Dongolawi is spoken to the south around Dongola; they are generally

considered two dialects of one language with an estimated 320 000

speakers . With population displacement due to the Aswan High Dam thereare communities of speakers in Lower Egypt and in Eastern Sudan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongolahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_High_Damhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_High_Damhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongolahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt


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“The Third Cataract may have marked a much older frontier. The medieval writer al-

Aswani recorded that the third cataract formed the border between the heartland of the

Nubian kingdom of Makuria and its northern province Maris (comprising Middle and

Lower Nubia). This distinction between Nubian areas north and south of the third

cataract seems likely to reflect the early frontiers of the embryonic Nubian kingdoms of

Nobatia and Makuria which were emerging in the fifth century CE after the collapse of

the Kingdom of Kush which had controlled this region for many centuries. On current

evidence, it also seems likely that during this early period we may see the firstdevelopment of the 'typical' northern Nubian way of life. Based on irrigated agriculture

using the waterwheel (Nobiin ' eskalee '- waterwheel), a ribbon of small farming villages

on the banks of the Nile, lie at the heart of the 'traditional' Nubian world. ”

http://www.spicey.demon.co.uk/Nubianpage/mahas.htm

Where did the people come from who spoke the ancient and

modern languages of Nubia?

http://www.spicey.demon.co.uk/Nubianpage/mahas.htmhttp://www.spicey.demon.co.uk/Nubianpage/mahas.htmhttp://www.spicey.demon.co.uk/Nubianpage/mahas.htm


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Meroitic was the language of the Kingdom of Kush. This ancient

language has recently been shown to be closely related to the

modern Nile Nubian languages in a family known as North Eastern

Saharan. The earliest attested NES language is Meroitic as plenty

of evidence of Proto-Meroitic personal names is found in Egyptian

texts dated to circa 1600 BCE, according to Dr. Claude Rilly .

“The University of Cologne have conducted in the last decades an ambitious

archaeological project (BOS, later ACACIA, cf. Kuper & Kröpelin 2006, Jesse

2004) in the region of the Wadi Howar. This wadi – also called the "Yellow Nile" –

is a former tributary of the Nile running from Ennedi range, in Chad, through

Darfur and Kordofan and joining the Nile at el-Debba, north of the great bend of

the Nile, 100 km south of Kerma, where the first Kushite state was founded

around 2500 BCE. As Eastern Sahara underwent desertification, between 5000

and 3500 BCE, the Wadi Howar attracted a numerous population, especiallyfrom the North, until its course became disrupted and finally just temporary

around the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE. Nowadays, only the Upper Wadi

Howar, in Darfur, retains some water at the time of the seasonal rains. The Wadi

Howar was densely populated during three millennia, as can be deduced from

the 1700 archaeological sites of various size spotted by the Cologne team. The

banks of the wadi are surrounded by additional archaeological sites such as

Gebel Tageru in the south, Erg Ennedi in the north and Ennedi range in the west.

“The original splitting into three main branches (Eastern, Taman, Nyima) might

have occurred at the beginning of the third millennium BCE. The Eastern branch

was probably settled in the eastern parts of the riverbed that were still hospitable

at this time, namely the Middle Wadi Howar. As aridity increased, this branch

split into three groups : Kushites, Proto-Nara and Proto-Nubians. Kushites (the

ancestors of Meroites) headed to the Nile banks where they took part in the

founding of the Kingdom of Kerma (2500 – 1500 BCE).

“The Proto-Kushite migration from the Wadi Howar to the Nile took place roughly

at the same time than the migration of Proto-Nara. It seems Proto-Nara split later

in two groups. A first group, the ancestors of modern Nara, went upstream alongthe Nile and along its tributary, the Atbara river, to Western Eritrea, where they

settled probably during the second millennium BCE and where they still live

today. The second group settled in Lower Nubia. This population of semi-

nomadic cattle-tenders has been labelled as "C-group" by early archaeologists.

They were rapidly incorporated into the successive kingdoms of Kush (Kerma,

Napata, Meroe), and later in the early Nubian kingdoms. ”


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http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nubiapyramids.htm

By the middle decades of the 700s King Kashta (Ni-Maat-Re) of Kush was powerful in

southern Egypt. His daughter Amenirdis I occupied an important priestly office in

Thebes. Aswan was definitely subject to Kashta who founded the 25th

dynasty of Egypt.

700 BCE – Kingdom of Kush.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nubiapyramids.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nubiapyramids.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenirdis_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kushhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenirdis_Ihttp://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nubiapyramids.htm


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Kashta was followed by Pharaoh Piye Usimare Sneferre who conquered all

of Egypt in 727 BCE. Pharaoh Shabaka (or Shabataka) Neferkare was next,

then Shebitku Djedkare and later Taharka (Tirhaka of scripture) who

opposed the Assyrians in Canaan and Phoenicia. Tanut-Amon (Tantamani)

was the last pharaoh of the 25th

dynasty who retreated to Kush when

Assyria conquered Egypt.

But the Kingdom of Kush lasted another 900 years until about the year 350

of our era. In 592 BCE King Aspelta Neferkha Merikare moved the capital

from Napata to Midawi /Merowe in an area where the Blue Nile and Atbara

River join the Nile, near the town of Shendi about 200km northeast of

Khartoum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%ABhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%ABhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB

http://www.waa.ox.ac.uk/XDB/tours/nile5.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%ABhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%ABhttp://www.waa.ox.ac.uk/XDB/tours/nile5.asphttp://www.waa.ox.ac.uk/XDB/tours/nile5.asphttp://www.waa.ox.ac.uk/XDB/tours/nile5.asphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mero%C3%AB


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Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus all refer to the warrior queens of Kush. An

impressive succession of regents and queen-mothers with the title Kandak /

Kentake is known to us (Candace in Greek as the title appears in Christian

scripture).

Engravings from 170 BCE depicts Kandak Shanakdakheto holding a spear.

Other kandaks included Amanishakhete, Amanitore, Nawidemak and

Malegereabar. The “Aman” part of the name refers to the Egyptian deity

Amon of Thebes.

Following the defeat of Marcus Anthony and Cleopatra VII at Actium in 31

BCE, Octavian became the ruler of the Roman Empire and the first Caesar

with the title Augustus Caesar. Egypt fell under Roman dominion.

After the King of Kush, Teriteqas, died, his wife Amanirenas became Ruler

and Kandak. ( Amnirense qore li kdwe li ("Ameniras, Qore and Kandake")

and might have ruled in concert with their sons Kharapkhael and Akinidad.

Amanirenas (or Amnirense) who ruled +/- 40 to 10 BCE became of the most

famous woman warriors in history.

Caesar Augustus ordered the governor of Egypt, Aelius Gallus , to attack

Arabia. Consequently the Roman garrison at Aswan was reduced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strabohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorushttp://wysinger.homestead.com/ameni.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Akinidad&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Akinidad&action=edit&redlink=1http://wysinger.homestead.com/ameni.gifhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strabohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus


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“ A number of Meroitic queens called Ka'andakes (Candaces) ruled Nubia-Kush just

before the birth of Christ. Candace Amanirenas and her son Prince Akinidad along with

the Meroitic Army kept the Romans out of Nubia-Kush. In this scene, they are witnessing

the burning of the Roman Garrison in Aswan. Meroitic-Kush never became part of the

Roman empire. The formidable leader greatly impressed classical writers, who mistook

the royal title of Candace for a personal name . - Reference and photo from Splendors of

the Past: Lost Cities of the Ancient World , National Geographic Society, 1981, page 171-173”

http://www.historum.com/speculative-history/38636-diocletian-yesbokheamani.html

In the year 24BCE Amanirenas and Akinidad attacked the Empire by sacking and

occupying Aswan, Philae and Elephantine. Some historians claim that their raid reached

as far as Thebes. The new governor of Egypt, Publius Petronius, retook the conquered

cities a year later. His invasion of Kush didn’t penetrate far into Nubia before he

retreated. The Romans stationed a garrison at Pedeme / Premnis (now Karanog just

south of Qasr Ibrim).

Bronze Head of Augustus Roman, about 27-25 BC

From Meroe, Sudan

“This bronze head of Augustus, now in the British Museum, was found buried in a temple

at Meroe. The writer Strabo tells us that statues of Augustus were erected in Egyptian

towns near the first cataract of the Nile at Aswan and that an invading Meroites army

took many of them as booty in 24 BC. This head of Augustus was buried beneath the

steps of a temple dedicated to Victory in Meroe. It seems likely that the head, having

been cut from its statue, was placed there deliberately so as to be permanently below

the feet of the Meroites. A wall painting in this temple depicted several prisoners

including a Roman (Shinnie 1981: 167-172).”

http://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.html

http://www.historum.com/speculative-history/38636-diocletian-yesbokheamani.htmlhttp://www.historum.com/speculative-history/38636-diocletian-yesbokheamani.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/2nile_nubia2.jpghttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/2nile_nubia2.jpghttp://www.historum.com/speculative-history/38636-diocletian-yesbokheamani.html


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A year later Amanirenas and Akinidad failed to drive the Romans from

Pedeme. However, the peace treaty of the following year overwhelmingly

favoured Kush: The Romans gave up Pedeme without compensation or the

imposition of tribute. The new border was established at Hiere Sycaminos

(Maharraqa) 120 km south of Aswan.

‘After the treaty with Augustus established the northern border of the Meroitic kingdom

near Hiere, settlements of Lower Nubia intensified, and this led to a noticeable rise in the

economic prosperity of the region. Heavily populated settlements were supported and

perhaps actually made possible by the introduction of the water wheel (sakia), which

facilitated the irrigation even of high-lying fields and thus significantly improved

agricultural production. Numerous villages and cities were founded, in which spacious,

abundantly furnished houses attest to the fact that the general population enjoyed

considerable prosperity. Minor arts, particularly ceramic art, came into full bloom. The

administration of Lower Nubia rested in the hands of Meroitic officials.


http://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.html


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A long period of prosperity followed the peace treaty:

“Under the leadership of King Natekamani, who ruled to 12 AD, the Meroite

kingdom recovered to reach the height of its power and artistic achievement.

During Natekamani's reign the kingdom stretched from the Ethiopian foothills in

the south to the first cataract in the north. The wealth of the period was displayed

in the building of temples and palaces. Over the next two centuries relations with

the Roman rulers of Egypt were normally cordial and Meroe contributed to the

Roman expansion of trade through the Red Sea and into the Indian Ocean."

Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, 1995, pp. 44-45.

http://wysinger.homestead.com/mapofnubia.html

“The Hamadab Stele of Amanirenas and Akinidad, was found at Hamadab in

1912 by John Garstang, in an unexcavated settlement south of the center of

Meroe city. It is the longest and best known of those First and Second century

BC royal inscriptions engraved in Meroitic text found in the temples of Napata

and Meroe.”

http://wysinger.homestead.com/mapofnubia.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/mapofnubia.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/mapofnubia.html


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“The four inscriptions that identify Amanirenas as queen, Candace,

and ruler are the Dakka graffito, the Teriteqas oval stellar from the

Isis Temple at Meroe city. The Stele is a record of military campaigns.

In both the scenes represented on the lunette, the queens stand

before Amun on the left half and the goddess Mut on the right half.

On the frieze below these scenes, the queen is depicted in triumphal

stance as ten bound enemies are prostrated before her.”


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Candace Amanirenas of Meroe

http://museumafrica.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html

“In her culture, women were in control on earth and in the religious world.

As Candace (or Kandake) of Kush (Nubia), she ruled from the palace and

on the battlefield.

When Rome demanded taxes from the Nubian people, she led the army

into battle defeating the Roman soldiers.

After losing an eye in battle, she was nicknamed the “One-eyed Candace”

or “Warrior Queen”.

She sent a bundle of golden arrows to Augustus Caesar as either a token

of friendship or to be used in battle. A peace treaty was signed.

The Roman army was impressed with the Kushite army’s determination

and strength.”

tradecardsonline.com/im/selectCard/card_id/193695/cards_lang/1

http://museumafrica.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.htmlhttp://museumafrica.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.htmlhttp://museumafrica.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html


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SOURCES

Cassius Dio, Roman History , Book 55: 4 (written 211-233 AD)

Cassius Dio, John Carter, and Ian Scott-Kilvert, The Roman History: The Reign

of Augustus (Penguin Classics), (July 7, 1987)

Grzymski, K. Meroe Reports I , 2003, Mississauga

Hintz, Fritz. The Kingdom of Kush: The Meroite Period . From the book Africa in Antiquity , The Brooklyn Museum (1978)

Jameson, Shelagh. Chronology of the Campaigns of Aelius Gallus and C.

Petronius, Journal of Roman Studies, 58 (1986): 71-74.

Pliny the Younger 61 - 113 AD aka C. Plinius Secundus The Historie of the

World . Book 6 Chap. XXIX

Rillie, Claude. This lecture was delivered in ECAS 2009 (3rd European Conference on African Studies, Panel 142: African waters - water in Africa, barriers, paths, and resources: their

impact on language, literature and history of people) in Leipzig, 4 to 7 June 2009.

From the Yellow Nile to the Blue Nile. The quest for water and the diffusion of

Northern East Sudanic languages from the fourth to the first millennia BCE. Dr.Claude Rilly (CNRS-LLACAN, Paris)

Shinnie, P.L. & Bradley, R.J., The Murals from the Augustus Temple, Meroe,

in Studies in Ancient Egypt, the Aegean, and the Sudan, ed. W.K. Simpson and W.M.

Davis (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1981), 167-172

Strabo: Geography , 22 AD, volume XVII Chap 1: 53-54

Török, Laszlo, The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic

Civilization, Brill Academic Publishers; 1998

Welsby, Derek A., The Kingdom of Kush. The Napatan and Meroitic Empires.London: The British Museum Press, 1996

Welsby, Derek A., Sudan Ancient Treasurers, The British Museum Press, 2004

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/17A3*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/17A3*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny6.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.htmlhttp://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/54*.html


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LINKOGRAPHY


http://www.oocities.org/queen_tabiry/Ruler/Amanirenas.html

http://www.whenweruled.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=9

http://www.royalty.nu/Africa/Nubia.html

http://bafsudralam.blogspot.com/2011/09/akinidad-and-qasr-ibrim-1420.html

http://museumafrica.org/products/queens.html

http://www.thenubian.net/splendor.php

http://www.ancientsudan.org/

http://www.ancientsudan.org/history_10_rome.htm

Temple of Dendur, Nubia, 15 B.C.

http://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/queen_tabiry/Ruler/Amanirenas.htmlhttp://www.whenweruled.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=9http://www.royalty.nu/Africa/Nubia.htmlhttp://bafsudralam.blogspot.com/2011/09/akinidad-and-qasr-ibrim-1420.htmlhttp://museumafrica.org/products/queens.htmlhttp://www.thenubian.net/splendor.phphttp://www.ancientsudan.org/http://www.ancientsudan.org/history_10_rome.htmhttp://www.ancientsudan.org/history_10_rome.htmhttp://www.ancientsudan.org/http://www.thenubian.net/splendor.phphttp://museumafrica.org/products/queens.htmlhttp://bafsudralam.blogspot.com/2011/09/akinidad-and-qasr-ibrim-1420.htmlhttp://www.royalty.nu/Africa/Nubia.htmlhttp://www.whenweruled.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=9http://www.oocities.org/queen_tabiry/Ruler/Amanirenas.htmlhttp://wysinger.homestead.com/amanirenas.html


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amanirenas the kandak of kush: the warrior queen who took on the romans and won

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