Senkamanisken was a
Kushite King who ruled from 640 to 620 BC at
Napata
Napata
(2020).
. He used
royal titles
Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anothe ...
based on those of the
ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian pharaohs.
Biography
He might have been married to queens
Amanimalel and
Nasalsa, the latter of whom bore him two sons:
Anlamani and
Aspelta
Aspelta was a ruler of the kingdom of Kush (c. 600 – c. 580 BCE). More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign.
Family
Aspelta was the son of Senkamanisken and Q ...
. Both sons would ultimately assume the
Kushite throne after his death at Napata, Nubia's capital city. His
pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
is Nu.3 in
Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
History
Nuri is the second of three Napatan bur ...
.
Statues of Senkamanisken have been found buried or hidden in the
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal () is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 104 m tall, has a f ...
, presumably due to
Psamtik II's attack on Kush in 592 BC. A
sphinx
A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle.
In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...
has also been found which was inscribed with his name. Objects bearing the name of this king have also been found in
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 ...
indicating that he placed a degree of importance to this site which would be the political capital of the Kushite kingdom after Psamtik II's sack of
Napata
Napata
(2020).
in 592 BC.
He is the only Nubian king after the 25th Dynasty known from an inscription found in Egypt. He appears on a fragment of an offering table from Memphis.
Artifacts
File:Senkamanisken statue, Kerma Museum.jpg, Senkamanisken statue, Kerma Museum
File:Senkamanisken Louvre Museum reconstruction.jpg, Senkamanisken, Louvre Museum
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
reconstruction, with pharaonic headdress.
File:Senkamanisken, Black Pharaohs Cache (Dukki Gel ) , Kerma Museum, Sudan.jpg, Senkamanisken portrait in the Kerma Museum
Senkamanisken, Black Pharaohs Cache (Dukki Gel ) , Kerma Museum , Sudan.jpg, Senkamanisken portrait in the Kerma Museum
File:Senkamanisken, original statue in Kerma Museum, and Louvre Museum reconstruction.jpg, Senkamanisken, original in Kerma Museum, and Louvre Museum reconstruction through color-pigment analysis
File:Senkamanisken, wearing the skin of a feline over his torso.jpg, Senkamanisken, wearing the skin of a feline over his torso, Kerma Museum
Funerary figure of King Senkamanisken.jpg, An '' ushabti'' figurine of Senkamanisken, found in his tomb at Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
History
Nuri is the second of three Napatan bur ...
File:Statue of King Senkamanisken Boston Museum.jpg, Statue of King Senkamanisken, Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
File:5D4 1256-3.jpg, Queen Amanimalil, possible consort of Senkamanisken
File:Nuri Pyramid Nu -III King Senkamanisken r 640-620 BCE, seen from the top of the pyramid of Taharqa.jpg, Ruins of the pyramid of Senkamisken at Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
History
Nuri is the second of three Napatan bur ...
Temple B700 at Jebel Barkal
He also decorated Temple B700 (started by
Aspelta
Aspelta was a ruler of the kingdom of Kush (c. 600 – c. 580 BCE). More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign.
Family
Aspelta was the son of Senkamanisken and Q ...
) at
Jebel Barkal
Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal () is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 104 m tall, has a f ...
, where he is shown clubbing enemies.
["Following their expulsion from Egypt by the Assyrians in 661 BC, the Kushites continued to develop the Barkal sanctuary . Atlanersa and Senkamanisken erected the small Temple B 700, which became a royal mortuary temple ." ]
The hieroglyphic inscription on the Temple described the role of God
Amun
Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
in selecting Sekamanisken as king:
File:Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821.jpg, Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821 by Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds
File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal.jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies in front of God Amun
Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
, at Jebel Barkal (pylon of building B 700, west of the main temple).[
File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail).jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail).][
File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail of the enemies).jpg, Detail of the enemies
]
References
External links
Senkamanisken
{{Kushite Monarchs footer
7th-century BC monarchs of Kush