Amanirenas (1 st century BC), one of the most famous rulers of the Kingdom of Kush, leads the armies of her kingdom against the Roman Empire.
The Kingdom of Kush
Amanirenas, whose full name and title is Amnirense qore li kdwe li (Amanirenas, Qore and Kandake), is candace (sovereign) of the kingdom of Kush. Located in the south of Egypt (in a region today in Sudan), the kingdom of Kush was born from the independence of Nubia from ancient Egypt.
The Kushite Empire – after the nickname that the ancient Egyptians gave to their southern neighbor – synthesized Nubian and Egyptian influences, retaining the religion and architectural elements such as the pyramids from ancient Egypt. The kingdom's capital is Napata, then Meroe, an ancient city known for its necropolises with pyramids. Throughout its history, the kingdom has known several candaces, queens who wielded real power.
Fierce one-eyed queen
Little is known about Amanirenas, whose inscriptions unambiguously mention the title of candace. She may have been born around 60 or 50 BC. JC, within the kingdom of Meroe. She becomes candace by succeeding Teriteqas, but the links between them are not known with certainty; he could have been her husband. Amanirenas is described by the Greek historian Strabo as fierce, with only one eye; she could have lost an eye in battle.
Amanirenas is on the throne when Egypt becomes a Roman province, after the death of Cleopatra VII. When the prefect of Egypt Cais Aelius Gallus is absent for a military campaign in Arabia, the kingdom of Kush attacks Egypt. Amanirenas and Prince Akinidad - possibly Teriteqas's son, possibly his son - win victories at Syene (or Aswan) and Philae. The queen returns from her military campaign with the head of a bronze statue of Emperor Augustus, which she has buried under the steps of a temple in victory. So every time someone walks in or out, they stomp on the enemy's head. The head will be found in Meroe in 1912.
Peace Treaty
The following year, the next prefect of Egypt, Gaius Petronius, took over Syene and descended further south into the kingdom of Kush, as far as Napata, which he did not retain. The Romans left a garrison at Qasr Ibrim, which the Kingdom of Kush failed to recapture. Negotiations start between the two powers, until a peace treaty is concluded in 21-20 BC. JC. Favorable to the Kingdom of Kush, the treaty lasted about four centuries.
Amanirenas, whose date and circumstances of death are unknown, is buried at Gebel Barkal, the site of a famous temple of Amun in Napata. His daughter Amanishakéto will become candace in turn.
Useful links
Amanirenas Wikipedia Page
The Kingdom of Kush