Naparaye was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Naparaye was the daughter of King Piye and the sister-wife of King Taharqa. -Illustration by Sara Winters She held several titles: Great of Grace, Great of Praises, Sweet of Love, (Great?) King’s Wife, Lady of the Two Lands and King’s Sister. Naparaye’s name is known from her tomb in el-Kurru (Ku. 3). At […]
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She is the earliest known ruling African queen of ancient Nubia. She is said to have ruled with full power in the Meroë Empire. She is also said to have ruled without a king. It is also stated that as queen she played a significant role in the Meroitic religion. Shanakdakheto’s name is inscribed as […]
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Amanirenas (also spelled Amanirena) was one of the greatest kandakes, or queen mothers, who ruled over the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, (a region from Southern Egypt to Northern Sudan). Amanirenas was the second of several “Qore and Kandake’s” (the title given to ruling Queens). She reigned over the kingdom between 40 BC to […]
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For centuries the extraordinary monumental achievements of ancient Egypt have dominated the history of African civilizations in the public mind. It is not until the last 60 years or so that research and excavation has gradually revealed to us the extent and power of the great kingdoms of ancient Nubia. Produced by Penn Museum, Penn Museum Education Department, and Annenberg TV. Narrated […]
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The reign of Arrakkamani (c. 280 BCE) when the royal burial ground was transferred to Meroë from Napata (Jebel Barkal). In the fifth century BCE, Greek historian Herodotus described Meroë as “the mother city of the other Ethiopians”. Roman Men & The Sabine Women Their connection to many major river systems such as the Niger River, West […]
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Ancient Nubia In November 2011, Museum Curator Alex de Voogt, Postdoctoral Fellow Vincent Francigny, and Research Associate William Harcourt-Smith set out on a Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition to Sudan. Over the course of two weeks, the team traveled some 2,000 kilometers and visited about 20 archaeological sites dating from the ancient kingdom of Meroë. Beautiful […]
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Cultural Similarities: Libation was part of ancient Egyptian society where it was a drink offering to honor and please the various divinities, sacred ancestors, humans present and not present, as well as the environment. It is suggested that libation originated somewhere in the upper Nile Valley and spread out to other regions of Africa and […]
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The fall of the Aksumite kingdom of Ethiopia toward the end of the 10th century A.D. was attributed to a queen who invaded from the south. This queen is said to have laid waste to the city of Aksum and the countryside, destroyed churches and monuments, usurped the throne from the ruling Aksumite king, and […]
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She was a (c.1851–1918) formidable Queen and Empress of Ethiopia. An astute diplomat determined to resist imperialist designs on her country, she increasingly opposed any negotiations that would result in the loss of Ethiopian territory. When diplomacy gave way to war, she rode out at the head of her own army, at her husband’s side. -Portrait […]
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Please keep in mind that Egypt was invaded numerous times in the past. –“The Sorceress”, illustrated by Chris Dacus They could cast actors that looks similar to the people in the Maghreb Region & as far down the Nile River which is an international river that flows through 11 countries that include Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, […]
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One overlooked fact is that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt, in places like Nuri and Bijrawiyah, though they are smaller and not as old. Meroe was often ruled by queens, known by the title “kandake,” and boasts scores of pyramids similar in shape to the one exhibited on a one-dollar bill. “I discovered a […]
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Amanirenas (also spelled Amanirena) was a queen of the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush. The Romans themselves were intrigued by Aminarenas, whom one source described as “a masculine sort of woman, blind in one eye.” Too Much like the Amazons of myth, she was a warrior queen who commanded her own soldiers in battle, something which […]
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