Kandake

Kandake or Kentake, also known as Candace, was the title for queens and queen mothers of the ancient African empire of Kush (also known as Nubia). The name Candace and its variants derive from the title Kandake.

History

The Kandakes were also known by various other titles. One of the titles associated with the Kandakes was High Priestess of Isis, even though many of the Kandakes had regnal names indicating dedication to deity named Amani (Amani is also Amun, Amen, Amon, Imana, Iman and Mani).

Famous Kandakes

Reliable historical accounts exist for several Kandakes, namely Queen Shanakdakhete, who is credited with resisting Hellenization and introducing the Meroitic script; Candace of Meroë; kandake Amanirenas, a contemporary of Augustus Caesar, went to war against the Romans; kandake Maleqereabar I had good relations with Roman Emperor Nero; kandake Amanikhatashan succeeded Maleqereabar I. Her cavalry helped in the capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Vespasian's army; Kandake Amanitore, who ruled at Meroe from 1 AD to 20 AD, is easily the most recognizable to historians and the public because dramatic records of her reign survive in on the walls of the stone ruins in the Sudan. The position of Qore corresponds with that of "queen mother" or dowager.Fact|date=September 2008 A qore did not handle state affairs directly.

Warrior Queens

The kandake sometimes functioned as commander-in-chief of the Kushite army and led soldiers into battle. Accounts of wars fought by two of these warrior queens can be found in the conflicts at Meroë between Kush and powerful armies of the day. A legend in the Alexander Romance claims that Candace of Meroë fought Alexander the Great [Jones, David E., Women Warriors: A History, Brasseys, Inc.; (2000)] . In fact, Alexander never attacked Nubia, and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa in Egypt. [cite book |title=The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |last=Gutenberg |first=David M. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location= |isbn= |pages=64 ] cite book | title=Greek Fiction: The Greek Novel in Context | author=Morgan, J.R. and Stoneman, Richard|publisher=Routledge| year=1994| isbn=0415085071|pages=p.117-118]

Later, the kandake Amanirenas, as reported by Strabo, fought a war with the army of the Roman Empire under Augustus. [ [http://www.homestead.com/wysinger/fluehr.pdf Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley and Afro-Asiatic Cultural History] - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Professor of Anthropology, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston U.S.A, August 20-26, 1998]

Religious Powers

The kandake also served as high priestess of Isis.Fact|date=August 2008

Kandakes of Kush

*Pelekh Candace of Meroe (c. 345 BC - 332 BC)
*Alakhebasken (c. 295 BC)
*Shanakdakhete (177 BC - 155 BC)
*Amanikhabale (50 BC - 40 BC)
*Amanirenas (40 BC - 10 BC)
*Amanishakheto (c. 10 BC - 1 AD)
*Amanitore (1 AD - 20 AD)
*Amantitere (22 AD - 41 AD)
*Amanikhatashan (62 - 85)
*Maleqorobar (266 - 283)
*Lahideamani (306 - 314)

References

*http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/1326/hatshepsut.html/ Immanuel Velikovsky
* [http://www.dignubia.org/bookshelf/rulers.php?rul_id=00021&ord= digNUBIA]

ee also

*Qore
*Kush

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03244c.htm Candace in the Catholic Encyclopedia]