Amanishakheto

Amanishakheto was a Kandake of Kush. She seems to have reigned from 10 BC to 1 AD, although most dates of Kushite history before the Middle Ages are very uncertain.

Amanishakheto
Kushite Queen of Meroe
Stele of Amanishakheto (center) from the temple of Amun in Naqa
PredecessorAmanirenas
SuccessorAmanitore
BornUnknown
DiedUnknown
Burial
Meroe (Beg. N 6)

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").[1]

Monuments

Amanishakheto is known from several monuments. She is mentioned in the Amun-temple of Kawa, on a stela from Meroe, and in inscriptions of a palace building found at Wad ban Naqa, from a stela found at Qasr Ibrim, another stela from Naqa and her pyramid at Meroe (Beg. no. N6).[1]

Amanishakheto is best known for a collection of jewelry stolen from her pyramid in 1834 by Italian treasure hunter Giuseppe Ferlini, who destroyed the pyramid in search of its burial goods.[2] 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[3] These pieces are now in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and in the Egyptian Museum of Munich.

Great pyramid N6 of the Pyramids of Meroë, belonging to Queen Amanishakheto, before and after its destruction by the treasure-hunter Giuseppe Ferlini in the 1830s
  • Usekh collar of the queen
  • Bracelet from the tomb of Amanishakheto in Nubia
  • The Meroe pyramids. N6, the tomb of Amanishakheto, is highlighted
  • Some of the treasures stolen by Ferlini

References
  1. László Török, The kingdom of Kush: handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization
  2. Welsby, D. 1998: The kingdom of Kush: the Napatan and Meroitic empire. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener, pp. 86 and 185.
  3. Vela-Rodrigo, Alberto A. (2021). "The sacred treasure of Queen Amanishakheto". Ancient Egypt Magazine. 21 (5): 44–50.

Further reading
  • Laszlo Török, in: Fontes Historiae Nubiorum Vol. II, p. 723–725 (Bergen, 1996). ISBN 82-91626-01-4
  • Vela-Rodrigo, Alberto A., in: The sacred treasure of Queen Amanishakheto, Ancient Egypt Magazine, 21(5), 2021, 44-50.
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