Abar - Infinite Women

Born: Unknown (700s BCE), Sudan or Egypt (assumed)
Died: Unknown (600s BCE)
Country most active: Sudan, Egypt
Also known as: Abala, Abale, Abalo, Abiru, and Ibart

In the 7th century BCE, Abar was a queen consort of Kush, wife of King Piye and mother of King Taharqa. Little is known about her; the only extant record of her life exists on stelae (monuments) to her son that were excavated at Gematen and in a temple wall relief at Jebel Barkal and the nearby Amun Temple at Sanam. She is depicted playing the sistrum. According to the Dictionary of African Biography, archaeologists believe that she was the niece of the Kushite king Alara, daughter of his sister Piankhy and another Kushite king Kashta.
Little is known about Abar beyond her family connections; the stelae depict mother and son joyously reuniting after a long absence in the sixth year of his reign, but with no explanation for that separation. It is believed his mother’s relationship to Alara was important in the legitimacy of Taharqa’s claim to the throne, and thus her presence strengthened his power base. As the Dictionary of African Biography notes, “The precedent of Abar is particularly important as the earliest of the more or less distinct relevant pieces of evidence regarding the development of queenship as a political institution of Kush.”