Queen Amanirenas
*On this date in 57 BCE, we affirm the birth of Queen Amanirenas. She was a queen and military leader of the Kingdom of Kush from the end of the 1st Century BCE to the beginning of the 1st Century C.E.
Biography
Queen Amanirenas was born in Kush in present-day Sudan. This affluent city was the political and cultural center of Kush after the decline of the preceding Napatan dynasty. The Meroitic dynasty was also notable for its tradition of powerful female rulers who held significant authority and played crucial roles in governing the kingdom. Thus, Queen Amanirenas followed in the footsteps of her predecessors, such as Queen Amanishakheto and Queen Shanakdakhete, who were renowned for their leadership and military achievements.
Her title was Amnirense qore li kdwe li ("Ameniras, qore and kandake"). Meroitic, the indigenous language of the kingdom of Kush, remains undeciphered; however, inscriptions giving Queen Amanirenas the title of "qore" and "kandake" suggest that she was an individually ruling queen. She is known for halting the Roman expansion into Kush in present-day Sudan.
This war is largely responsible for halting Rome's southward expansion in Africa. After an initial victory against Roman Egypt, Prefect Gaius Petronius drove the Kushite army from Egypt and established a new Roman frontier. Scholar's account of the Meroitic War led against the Roman Empire includes a queen named Kandakê. Her name appears on stelae alongside those of Teriteqas and Akinidad; scholars generally consider Akinidad her son and Teriteqas to be her husband.
