Amanishakheto was a

queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...

(

kandake Kandake, kadake or kentake ( Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 ''kdke''),Kirsty Rowan"Revising the Sound Value of Meroitic D: A Phonological Approach,"''Beitrage zur Sudanforschung'' 10 (2009). often ''Latinised'' as Candace (, ''Kandakē''), was the Mer ...

) of

Kush KUSH 1600 AM is a radio station licensed to Cushing, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a Full service format, consisting of local and national talk, sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, tha ...

who reigned in the early 1st century AD. In Meroitic hieroglyphs her name is written "Amanikasheto" (''Mniskhte'' or ''(Am)niskhete''). In Meroitic cursive she is referred to as ''Amaniskheto qor kd(ke)'' which means Amanishakheto, Qore and Kandake ("Ruler and Queen"). Amanishakheto is believed to have been the direct successor of the earlier queen regnant

Amanirenas Amanirenas (also spelled Amanirena), was queen regnant of the Kingdom of Kush from mid to late 1st century BCE.Kuckertz, Josefine, 2021, Meroe and Egypt'. In Wolfram Grajetzki, Solange Ashby, and Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egypt ...

. Amanishakheto's mother is recorded to have been named Ar(...)tḫwit; the relation between Amanishakheto and Amanirenas is thus unknown. The chronologically next Kushite ruler, and thus Amanishakheto's possible successor, was another queen regnant,

Shanakdakhete Shanakdakhete, also spelled Shanakdakheto or Sanakadakhete, was a queen regnant of the Kingdom of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the early first century AD. Shanakdakhete is poorly attested, though is known to have constructed a temple in Naqa. Shan ...

Monuments

Amanishakheto is known from several monuments. She is mentioned in the

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 ...

-temple of Kawa, on a stela from Meroe, and in inscriptions of a palace building found at

Wad ban Naqa Wad ben Naga (also Wad Ban Naqa or Wad Naga) is the name of an ancient town of the Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë in present-day Sudan. The village lies on the eastern bank of the Nile, about 80 kilometers upstream of Meroë and about 40 km s ...

, from a stela found at Qasr Ibrim, another stela from

Naqa Naqa or Naga'a () is a ruined ancient city of the Kushite Kingdom of Meroë in modern-day Sudan. The ancient city lies about north-east of Khartoum, and about east of the Nile River located at approximately MGRS 36QWC290629877. Here smaller wa ...

and her pyramid at Meroe (Beg. no. N6). Amanishakheto is best known for a collection of jewellery stolen from her pyramid in 1834 by Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini, who destroyed the pyramid in search of its burial goods. It was a treasure that fulfilled all his expectations: it consisted of 10 bracelets, 9 shield rings, 67 signet rings, 2 bracelets and a large number of amulets, all created by the best craftsmen of the Kingdom of Meroë These pieces are now in the

Egyptian Museum of Berlin The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of Berlin () is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of the Neues Museum on Berlin's ...

and in the Egyptian Museum of Munich.

Sandstone Relief

A sandstone relief depicting the queen, now at the Khartoum National Museum in Sudan, was found in the Temple of Amun in Naqa."Candace Amanishakheto of Meroe"
World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 28, 2021. The relief depicts Queen Amanishakheto next to two deities. In Egyptian art, people depicted seated are of highest importance, followed by whoever is facing towards the right. It is also important to note the hierarchy of scale. In this depiction, Amanishakheto is taller than the two figures however, the god that is seated would be taller than the two women. The deities have been identified as Amesemi and Apedemak, the warrior god and goddess. Amanishakheto is also seen wearing the royal costume that is associated with the Nubian warrior and hunting gods which further highlights her importance as a protector of her kingdom. The depiction of the queen with the two gods further emphasizes her power and status.

Stele of Queen Amanishakheto and the goddess Amesemi

The stele on the left is another representation of Amanishakheto accompanied by the warrior goddess, Amesemi. This stele is made from sandstone and was found in the Temple of Amun in Naqa.Welsby, D. A.; Anderson, Julie R.; Wildung, Dietrich. "Kushite Religion: Aspects of the Berlin Excavation at Naga", in Sudan Ancient Treasures: an Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum (London: The British Museum Press, 2004), pp. 174-182. The two women are depicted wearing similar garments: fitted clothing, a scarf with a tassel, a collar, and rounded wigs. Their bodies are represented in different ways however, the goddess has a slimmer figure with a dress that features more elaborate details. Amanishakheto is depicted in a more curvaceous way. The interaction between the two seems to be intimate, which also speaks to the power Queen Amanishakheto had. The hieroglyphs in the back of the stele identify both women.Welsby, D. A. Anderson, Julie R.; Wildung, Dietrich. “Kushite Religion: Aspects of the Berlin Excavation at Naga,” in Sudan Ancient Treasures: an Exhibition of Recent Discoveries from the Sudan National Museum (London: The British Museum Press, 2004), pp. 181. This stele was placed in the Temple of Amun in Naqa, which was built after the death of Queen Amanishakheto.

Gallery

References

External links

The treasure of the queen (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amanishakheto 1st-century BC monarchs of Kush 1st-century BC queens regnant Queens of Kush 1st-century monarchs in Africa