Tantamani

Tantamani (Assyrian pronunciation, identical to Tandaname) or Tanwetamani (Egyptian) or Tementhes (Greek) (d. 653 BC) was king of Egypt (664 BC to 656 BC), and a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of King Shabaka and the nephew of his predecessor Taharqa. His prenomen was Bakara.

Once the Assyrians had appointed Necho I as king and left Egypt, Tantamani marched down the Nile from Nubia and reoccupied all of Egypt including Memphis. Necho I, the Assyrians' representative, was killed in Tantamani's campaign. In reaction, the Assyrians returned to Egypt in force, defeated Tantamani's army in the Delta and advanced as far as south as Thebes, which they sacked. The Assyrian reconquest effectively ended Nubian control over Egypt although Tantamani's authority was still recognised in Upper Egypt until his 8th Year in 656 BC when Psamtik I's navy peacefully took control of Thebes and effectively unified all of Egypt.

Thereafter, Tantamani ruled only Nubia. Tantamani died in 653 BC and was succeeded by Atlanersa, a son of Taharqa. He was buried in the family cemetery at El-Kurru. The archaeologist Charles Bonnet discovered the statue of Tantamani at Kerma (now called Doukki Gel) in 2003. [ [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/870/heritage.htm Digging into Africa's past] ]

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