Born: Unknown, Sudan (assumed)
Died: Unknown
Country most active: Sudan
Also known as: NA
This biography was originally published in the World History Encyclopedia and was written by Joshua J. Mark. It is shared in line with the Encyclopedia’s policies under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Amanikhatashan (r. c. 62-c. 85 CE): Nothing is known of her reign except for the military aid she provided to Rome during the First Jewish-Roman War of 66-73 CE. She sent Kushite cavalry but most likely also sent archers since the Kushite archers were legendary for their skill. One of the early Egyptian names for the region of Kush, in fact, was Ta-Sety (“The Land of the Bow”) for this reason. Nothing else is known of her reign but, like other later Candaces, she was most likely associated with the Egyptian goddess Nut as a High Priestess. Nut was the sky goddess who personified the canopy of the heavens and was mother to the primary deities Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder. Although Egyptian script fell out of use during Ergamenes’ reign, Egyptian gods such as Amun, Nut, and others continued to be venerated. It is possible, though far from clear, that Amanikhatashan would have served as the most powerful religious figure in Meroe as priestess of Nut.