Amanitore, also spelled Amanitere or Amanitare, 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 ...
of the
Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian language, Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Akkadian language, Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX Χους or Αἰθιοπία; ''Ecōš''; ''Kūš''), also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an an ...
, ruling from
Meroë in the middle of the 1st century CE.
She ruled together with her son,
Natakamani.
The co-reign of Amanitore and Natakamani is a very well attested period and appears to have been a prosperous time.
They may have been contemporaries of the
Roman emperor Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
.
Life
Amanitore and Natakamani are known from their tombs and from numerous monuments where the two are depicted together. Older scholars assumed that Amanitore was Natakamani's wife, though they are now conventionally assumed to have been mother and son; an ancient graffito found at the
Temple of Dakka strongly suggests that Amanitore was Natakamani's mother.
During their co-reign, only Natakamani was explicitly titled as ruler (''qore''), with Amanitore being titled only as ''
kandake'' (queen consort/mother).
They are however clearly depicted as co-rulers with equal power given that both are shown with the regalia and attire of kings.
Neither Natakamani nor Amanitore are ever attested to have ruled on their own without the other.
Amanitore is buried in her own
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 ...
in Meroë, Beg. N 1.
The tomb is approximately six metres square at its base, and not a pyramid in the mathematical sense.
Amanitore's royal palace was at
Gebel Barkal in modern-day
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, which now is a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
heritage site. The area of her rule was between the
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
and the
Atbara rivers.
[50 Greatest Africans — Pharaoh Natakamani and Queen Amanitore & Ngola Ann Nzinga]
whenweruled.com. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
Three crown princes are attested in Amanitore and Natakamani's co-reign:
Arikhankharer, Arikakahtani, and
Shorkaror.
Both Arikhankharer and Arikakahtani are believed to have predeceased Natakamani and Amanitore since only Shorkaror is attested to have become king. The familial relationship between the princes and Natakamani and Amanitore is unknown.
Amanitore and Natakamani may based on their chronological position have been preceded by
Amanikhabale. They were succeeded by
Shorkaror.
Construction projects
Amanitore was among the last great Kush builders. She was involved in restoring the large temple for
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 Meroë and the Amun temple at Napata after it was demolished by the Romans. Reservoirs for the retention of water also were constructed at Meroë during her reign.
[ The two rulers also built Amun temples at Naqa and Amara.
The quantity of building that was completed during the middle part of the first century indicates that this was the most prosperous time in Meroitic history. More than two hundred Nubian pyramids were built, most plundered in ancient times.
File:Amanitore.jpg, Queen Amanitore quashing her enemies
File:Amanitore pyramid.jpg, Pyramid of Amanitore in Meroë
File:Nubia pyramids1.JPG, ]Pyramids
A pyramid () is a Nonbuilding structure, structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a Pyramid (geometry), pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid ca ...
built in Meroë differed significantly from those of the Ancient Egyptians
New Testament
Amanitore may be the ''kandake'' mentioned in the Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
in the story about the conversion of the Ethiopian in '' Acts'' 8:26–40:
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amanitore
1st-century monarchs of Kush
1st-century queens regnant
Queens of Kush
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown