The Candaces of Meroe (332 BC- 12 AD)

Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley and Afro-Asiatic Cultural History, Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Professor of Anthropology, Ninth International Conference for Nubian tudies, !useu" of Fine Arts, #oston $% %A, August &'-&(, )**+ !ost scholars ,ould dis"iss the accounts of Herodotus, trabo, and -iodorous as co"pelling e.idence to support the e/istence of ,o"en ,arriors in Africa, although all three ancient ,riters ha.e pro.ed accurate in the great "a0ority of their testable obser.ations about life in the centuries before Christ% As ti"e progresses, the e.idence supporting the presence of a tradition of African ,o"en ,arriors gro,s in its persuasi.eness% An i"pressi.e series of Nubian ,arrior 1ueens, 1ueen regents, and 1ueen "others, 2no,n as kentakes 34ree25 Candace 6Canda2e67, are only appearing to the light of history through the ongoing deciphering of the !erotic script% 8hey controlled ,hat is no, 9thiopia, udan, and parts of 9gypt% :ne of the earliest references to the kentakes co"es fro" ;;& #%C% ,hen Ale/ander the 4reat set his sights on the rich 2ingdo" of Nubia% 8he presiding kentakes, 2no,n in history as 6#lac2 Queen Candace of Nubia,6 designed a battle plan to counter Ale/ander<s ad.ance% he placed her ar"ies and ,aited on a ,ar elephant for the !acedonian con1ueror to appear for battle% Ale/ander approached the field fro" a lo, ridge, but ,hen he sa, the #lac2 Queen<s ar"y displayed in a brilliant "ilitary for"ation before hi", he stopped% After studying the array of ,arriors ,aiting ,ith such deadly precision and reali=ing that to challenge the kentakes could 1uite possibly be fatal, he turned his ar"ies a,ay fro" Nubia to,ard a successful ca"paign in 9gypt% #as-reliefs dated to about )>' #%C% re.eal kentakes hana2da2heto, dressed in ar"or and ,ielding a spear in battle% he did not rule as 1ueen regent or 1ueen "other but as a fully independent ruler% Her husband ,as her consort% In bas-reliefs found in the ruines of building pro0ects she co""issioned, hana2da2heto is portrayed both alone as ,ell as ,ith her husband and son, ,ho ,ould inherit the throne by her passing% 8he follo,ing African 1ueens ,ere 2no,n to the 4reco-?o"an ,orld as the 6Candaces65 A"anisha2hete, A"anitore,A"anirenas, Na,ide"a2, and !alegereabar%

THE ROMAN CONQUEST O E!"#T AND THE RE$O%T O A MERO&T&C CANDA'E

Q(een Mo)her A*an+renas

N(,+a ne-er ,eca*e .ar) of )he Ro*an e*.+re / a0)ho(1h )he Ro*ans )r+ed )o *a2e +) .ar)3 ?o"an in.ol.e"ent in the affairs of Africa progressi.ely increased during the course of the first century #%C%9%, particularly after Ptole"y @II Auletes secured financial and "ilitary support fro" ?o"e in his successful bid to reestablish hi"self as pharaoh of 9gypt, ha.ing been forced into e/ile by a ri.al faction% $pon his death in A) #%C%9% he be1ueathed his 2ingdo" to his daughter, Cleopatra VII, and her "uch younger brother, Ptole"y @III% :f

Cleopatra<s direct ancestors, only the identity of her "aternal grand"other re"ains un2no,n, and there is no co"pelling e.idence to suggest that she ,as either an 9gyptian or a Nubian% All of Cleopatra VII<s other forebears ,ere of !acedonian 4ree2 descent% 8he account of her spectacular rise to po,er and her relationships ,ith Bulius Caesar and !arc Antony are beyond the scope of this narrati.e, but her ulti"ate confrontation ,ith :cta.ian at the #attle of Actiu" in ;) #%C%9% and suicide a year later enabled the ?o"ans to gain possession of 9gypt% :cta.ian, no, na"ed Augustus as the first e"peror of ?o"e, fearing that 9gypt "ight "ount another challenge to his authority, declared the country his personal property rather than a pro.ince of the e"pire and forbade i""igration e/cept by those ,ith specially issued i"perial .isas% #et,een &+-&) #%C%9%, his ad"inistrators ,ere confronted ,ith disturbances in the Arabian peninsula directly across the ?ed ea fro" 9gypt% Cishing to address the situation as e/peditiously as possible, the ?o"ans decided to dispatch legions already stationed in 9gypt to the troubled area% :nce the legions had departed, the Nubians of Lo,er 9gypt appear to ha.e re.olted and stor"ed the frontier at As,an, sac2ing the area and toppling official "onu"ents, including recently erected statues of Augustus hi"self% 8he head of one of these bron=e i"ages of Augustus ,as se.ered fro" its body and carried off to !eroe, ,here it ,as intentionally buried beneath the threshold of one of the palaces so that each ti"e the !eroites entered and e/ited, they ,ould be sy"bolically tra"pling the head of their foe underfoot% 8he Classical authors credit a Canda2e as the leader of the !eroites% As one has seen earlier, they had "ista2en the title, kdke, for the personal na"e of the fe"ale ruler of 2ingdo" of !eroe% Her identity re"ains un2no,n, although there are atte"pts to identify her ,ith the Queen !other A"anirenas, ,ho is suggested to ha.e ruled during this period of ti"e% he apparently shared po,er ,ith the pqr, A2inidad% If one<s reading of the "onu"ents is correct, A2inidad continued to rule after her de"ise ,ith another kdke, A"anisha2heto by na"e% A2inidad e/ercised personal control o.er both $pper and Lo,er Nubia, as his titles attest% He is to date the only !eroite 2no,n to ha.e held the office of pqr and pesato, 6.iceroy Dof Lo,er NubiaE,6 si"ultaneously% In order to address this insurrection, the ?o"ans dispatched ne, legions to the region in anticipation of a "ilitary confrontation and began their "arch into Lo,er Nubia% 8he !eroites, in an atte"pt to "eet the ?o"an challenge, "ustered their o,n forces and "arched north% #oth forces "arched into the .icinity of Qasr Ibri" 3Pri"is7% A pitched battle ,as a.oided ,hen representati.es fro" both sides agreed to discuss the "atter% 8he !eroites indicated that their re.olt against ?o"e ,as pro"pted by certain grie.ances that had not been re"edied% 8he ?o"an geographer, trabo, ,riting in 4ree2 shortly after the actual e.ents, is decidedly pre0udiced in his account, incredulously posing a 1uestion to the !eroites in1uiring as to their reason for not bringing their concerns to the e"peror Augustus% As if to portray the !eroites as indi.iduals ignorant of current affairs, trabo records their reply by stating that the !eroites did not 2no, ,here to find Augustus% In point of fact, the !eroites ,ere correct because Augustus hi"self had been on the "o.e as a result of his inspection tour of the 9ast% It ,as then resol.ed that an e"bassy of the !eroites ,ould be granted safe conduct to the 4ree2 island of a"os, ,here Augustus ,as te"porarily head1uartered% 8his ,as perhaps the first recorded instance in the entire history of Africa ,hen diplo"ats representing a #lac2 African ruler independent of 9gypt tra.eled to 9urope to effect a diplo"atic resolution% 8he !eroites and ?o"ans signed a peace treaty that not only re"itted their ta/ liability to ?o"e, but also established the -ode2aschoinos as a buffer =one% In order to gain the fa.or of the inhabitants of this region, Augustus directed his ad"inistrators to collaborate ,ith the priesthoods of the region in the erection of a te"ple at -endur% In its relief and inscriptions, Augustus hi"self appears as the chief celebrant of the local deities but there pays particular ho"age to t,o youths Dbrothers, Pahor and Pedese, ,ho are belie.ed to ha.e been sons of a local Nubian elite rulerE, ,hose deaths had ele.ated the" to the status of di.ine intercessors% 8hey are enrolled a"ong the local deities in this te"ple and are the recipients of a cult% 8he te"ple of -endur also ser.ed as their cenotaph% So(rce4

The Candaces of Meroe (332 BC- 12 AD)

Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley and Afro-Asiatic Cultural History, Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Professor of Anthropology, Ninth International Conference for Nubian tudies, !useu" of Fine Arts, #oston $% %A, August &'-&(, )**+