Arqamani (also Arkamani or Ergamenes IITörök (2008), p. 393.) was a Kushite King of

Meroë Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: ; and ; ) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site is ...

dating from the late 3rd to early 2nd century BCE.

Biography

It is believed that Arqamani ruled in Meroë at the time of the

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

revolt of Horwennefer against

Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy IV Philopator (; "Ptolemy, lover of his Father"; May/June 244 – July/August 204 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 221 to 204 BC. Ptolemy IV was the son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. His succession to the throne was ...

(reign 221–204 BC). He is attested by a number of inscriptions and reliefs from

Kalabsha New Kalabsha is a promontory located near Aswan in Egypt. Created during the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, it houses several important temples, structures, and other remains that have been relocated here from the sit ...

Philae The Philae temple complex (; , , Egyptian: ''p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq''; , ) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Originally, the temple complex was ...

and the

temple of Dakka Ad-Dakka (Arab: الدكة, also el-Dakka, Egyptian: Pselqet, Greek: Pselchis) was a place in Lower Nubia. It is the site of the Greco-Roman Temple of Dakka, dedicated to Thoth, the god of wisdom in the ancient Egyptian pantheon. The temple ...

. In the latter locality, he usurped some donation inscriptions originally inscribed for Ptolemy IV. He was buried in a pyramid in Meroë now known as Beg. N 7. Arqamani took an elaborate

ancient Egyptian royal titulary The royal titulary or royal protocol is the standard naming convention taken by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. It symbolised worldly power and holy might, also acting as a sort of mission statement for the duration of a monarch's reign (although so ...

(see infobox) which likely reflects his control above the reconquered

Lower Nubia Lower Nubia (also called Wawat) is the northernmost part of Nubia, roughly contiguous with the modern Lake Nasser, which submerged the historical region in the 1960s with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Many ancient Lower Nubian monuments, ...

and its inhabitants. He also took mortuary names: the mortuary Horus name is ''Kashy-netjery-kheper'', meaning "The Kushite whose coming into being is divine", while his nomen is accompanied by the epithet ''Ankhdjet-meriaset'', meaning "Given life, beloved of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

", as well as ''Mkltk Istrk'' which is written in

Meroitic script The Meroitic script consists of two alphasyllabic scripts developed to write the Meroitic language at the beginning of the Meroitic Period (3rd century BC) of the Kingdom of Kush. The two scripts are Meroitic Cursive, derived from Demotic Egy ...

and whose meaning is not known. Török, László, ''The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization'', (1997). He was sometimes tentatively identified with the king Ergamenes mentioned by

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

but modern scholars now believe that an earlier king with a similar name, Arakamani, is a better candidate for this identification. Nevertheless, Arqamani is sometimes called Ergamenes II. Sudan tempel of musawwar es sufra.jpg, Temple of Apedemak in Musawwarat es-sufra, built by Arnekhamani File:Prince Arka.jpg, Prince Arka, son of Arnekhamani, and possibly identical with Arqamani.Török, László (1996). ''Fontes Historiae Nubiorum'', II. Bergen. ., p. 582. File:Pyramid of King Arqamani, Meroe Southern Cemetery.jpg, Pyramid of King Arqamani, Meroe Northern Cemetery

Biography

See also

References

Further reading and Bibliography