Kandake

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"Candace" redirects here. For other uses, see Candace (disambiguation).

Kandake or Kentake, also known as Candace, was the title for queens and queen mothers of the ancient African empire of Kush. The names Candace and Candice derive from the title Kandake. The institution of the kandake is also known as the Candacate.[citation needed]

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[edit] History

The Kandakes were also known by various other titles. One of the titles associated with the Kandakes was High Priestess of Isis, even though many of the Kandakes had regnal names indicating dedication to deity named Amani (Amani is also Amun, Amen, Amon, Imana, Iman and Mani).

[edit] Famous Kandakes

Reliable historical accounts exist for several Kandakes, namely Shanakhdakheto, who is credited with resisting Hellenization and introducing the Meroitic script; Candace of Meroë; kandake Amanirenas, a contemporary of Augustus Caesar, went to war against the Romans; kandake Maleqereabar I had good relations with Roman Emperor Nero; kandake Amanikhatashan succeeded Maleqereabar I. Amanikatashan. Amanikatashan . Her cavalry helped in the capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Vespasian's army; Kandake Amanitore, who ruled at Meroe from 1 AD to 20 AD, is easily the most recognizable to historians and the public because dramatic records of her reign survive in on the walls of the stone ruins in the Sudan.

[edit] In the Bible

The title kandake is mentioned in New Testament of the Bible. In the Acts of Apostles 8:27 et seq., the eunuch of a "Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians" is converted to Christianity by Philip. The actual kandake was likely Amantitere, who ruled from 22 AD to 41 AD.

[edit] Role

The Kandake could be a ruling queen, a queen mother or a queen consort.

The kandake operated in political, military, religious capacities. She shared power with another female, usually older, who held the title of Qore. The Qore (also written "Gore") was in charge of protocol and managed the royal house, but was not in charge of affairs of state due to her divine status. The position of Qore corresponds with that of "queen mother" or dowager. A qore did not handle state affairs directly.

[edit] Warrior Queens

The kandake sometimes functioned as commander-in-chief of the Kushite army and led soldiers into battle. Accounts of wars fought by two of these warrior queens can be found in the conflicts at Meroë between Kush and powerful armies of the day. A legend in the Alexander Romance claims that Candace of Meroë fought Alexander the Great [1]. In fact, Alexander never attacked Nubia, and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa in Egypt.[2] [3]

Later, the kandake Amanirenas, as reported by Strabo, fought a war with the army of the Roman Empire under Augustus. [4]

[edit] Religious Powers

The kandake also served as high priestess of Isis, one of the many deities Kushites had adopted from their Egyptian neighbors to the north. In their capacity as high priestess of Isis, the kandakes had spiritual authority well beyond the borders of Kush, extending to wherever Isis was worshipped, especially in Egypt.[citation needed]

[edit] Kandakes of Kush

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jones, David E., Women Warriors: A History, Brasseys, Inc.; (2000)
  2. ^ Gutenberg, David M. (2003). The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Princeton University Press, 64. 
  3. ^ Morgan, J.R. and Stoneman, Richard (1994). Greek Fiction: The Greek Novel in Context. Routledge, p.117-118. ISBN 0415085071. 
  4. ^ Nubian Queens in the Nile Valley and Afro-Asiatic Cultural History - Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Professor of Anthropology, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston U.S.A, August 20-26, 1998

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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