Teqorideamani (also Teqoridemni or Teqerideamani) was the
King of Kush
This is an incomplete list for rulers with the title of Qore (king) or Kandake (queen) of the Kingdom of Kush. Some of the dates are only rough estimates. While the chronological list is well known, only a few monarchs have definite dates. The ...
who was ruling in AD 253. His reign may be dated from 245/246 to sometime after 265/266. His
throne name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
, attested in
Egyptian hieroglyphics
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...
, was ''Ḫpr-kꜣ-Rꜥ'', meaning "
Ra is one whose
ka came into being". Rendered in
Meroitic, it is ''Natakamani'' or ''Ariteñyesebokhe''. His given name, Teqorideamani, is attested in
Meroitic hieroglyphs
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 Egypt ...
in his tomb inscription.
Teqorideamani's reign is attested in dedicatory inscriptions on three statue bases from the
Apedemak
Apedemak or Apademak was a major deity in the Ancient Nubian Pantheon. Often depicted as a figure with a male human torso and a lion head, Apedemak was a war god worshiped by the Meroitic peoples inhabiting Nubia. He has no Egyptian counterpart. ...
temple M6 in
Meroë
Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: or ; ar, مرواه, translit=Meruwah and ar, مروي, translit=Meruwi, label=none; grc, Μερόη, translit=Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east ...
.
[Nos. 0408–0410 in ]Jean Leclant
Jean Leclant (8 August 1920 – 16 September 2011) was a renowned Egyptologist who was an Honorary Professor at the College of France, Permanent Secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Letters of the Institut de France, and Honorary Se ...
's ''Répertoire d'Épigraphie Méroïtique''; cf. .
The most important monument of Teqorideamani, however, is an inscription bearing his name in
demotic
Demotic may refer to:
* Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language
* Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language
* Chữ Nôm
Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used ...
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 years of ...
in the temple of
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...
at
Philae
; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ
, alternate_name =
, image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg
, alt =
, caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nas ...
. The inscription is dated 10 April 253, during Teqorideamani's second
regnal year
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...
and during the reign of the Roman emperor
Trebonianus Gallus
Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus (206 – August 253) was Roman emperor from June 251 to August 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Early life
Gallus was born in Italy, in a family with respected Etruscan senatorial background. He ...
. The inscription was commissioned by a Kushite official named Pasan, who in Teqorideamani's first and second years was his official representative at the
Choiakh Festival of Isis in Philae. In 253, he was accompanied by Abratoye, ''
peseto'' of
Lower Nubia
Lower Nubia 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 all its modern p ...
. In 260, Abratoye and the corn-measurer Tami reached an agreement with the Egyptian priests that recognised the Kushite king's authority over the temple.
Another inscription at Philae is dated to the twentieth regnal year of an unnamed Kushite king. There are several reasons to date this inscription to about 265/266. Inge Hofmann assigns it to Teqorideamani.
Teqorideamani was buried at Meroë in
pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrila ...
Beg.N.28. In 1955,
A. J. Arkell
Anthony John Arkell Order of the British Empire, MBE Military Cross, MC Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, FSA (29 July 1898 – 26 February 1980), known as A. J. Arkell, was a British archaeologist and colonial administrator noted for his ...
suggested that the pyramid belonged to an earlier king of the same name. Although he abandoned this hypothesis by 1961, it was taken up by Steffen Wenig in 1967. Wenig assigns Beg.N.28 to the 2nd century and suggests that Teqorideamani I reigned from about 90 until 114. The discovery in the tomb of an inscribed olive oil
amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
from
Tubusuctu
Tubusuctu also known as Colonia Iulia Augusta Legionis VII, was a Roman colony founded by Augustus for military veterans and known for its olive oil.
Location
The town is located at 36.667565, 4.8462225 near El Ksour, Algeria and flourished from ...
is more consonant with a 3rd-century date.
László Török
László Török (13 May 1941 – 17 September 2020) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist, and Egyptologist. His works on the ancient Coptic language, Ancient Egypt, ancient Nubia, and the Kingdom of Kush were highly regarded. He was a me ...
considered the hypothesis of two kings debunked in 1997, but Derek Welsby still a Teqorideamani I and Teqorideamani II in his Kushit king list the following year.
Teqorideamani was succeeded by his younger brother or half-brother,
Tamelordeamani
Tamelerdeamani is believed to have been a King of Kush from the 3rd century AD. He was preceded by Teqorideamani and followed by Adeqetali.Welsby, Derek. ''The Kingdom of Kush: The Napatan and Meroitic Empires'', pg 199 - 200. Markus Wiener Publi ...
.
References
Literature
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Teqorideamani
260s deaths
3rd-century monarchs of Kush