Amanitakaye was a
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
n royal woman, so far only known from her burial in the royal cemetery of
Nuri
Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile River, Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, Sudan, Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal.
Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites ...
(Nuri 26). She was perhaps the mother of king
Malonaqen
Malonaqen was a Meroe, Meroitic king who probably governed in the first half of the 6th century BC. His prenomen was "Sekhemkare."
He is thought to be the son of king Aramatle-qo and queen Amanitakaye, although this is based merely on assumptio ...
, but this is only a guess, although supported by objects with that king's name in her burial. Without much evidence it was proposed that she was the daughter of
Aspelta
Aspelta was a ruler of the kingdom of Kush (c. 600 – c. 580 BCE). More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign.
Family
Aspelta was the son of Senkamanisken an ...
and sister-wife of
Aramatle-qo
Aramatle-qo or Amtalqa was a Meroitic king.
Dunham and Macadam, as well as Török, mentions that Aramatle-qo used the following prenomen and nomen:
''Prenomen:'' Wadjkare ("Re is one whose ka endures")
''Nomen:'' Aramatle-qo
Family
Aramatle-qo ...
.
She bears the titles ''king's mother'' and ''king's sister''.
Amanitakaye's burial consisted of a pyramid with a chapel and the underground burial rooms. In the chapel there was still standing a stela. There was a staircase going underground and leading to the two burial chambers. The burial was found robbed, but fragments of at least 89
shabti
The ushabti (also called shabti or shawabti, with a number of variant spellings) was a funerary figurine used in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. The Egyptological term is derived from , which replaced earlier , perhaps the nisba of "'' ...
s were found. They bear the name and the title of the queen. Several vessels were found too. There were further on faience plaques with her name and with the name of king Malonaqen. This might indicate that she was his mother. Another object with her name is an
electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. It has been produced artificially, and ...
cylinder. On this cylinder she bears the title ''king's sister'' too.
[Dows Dunhamː ''The Royal cemeteries of Kush'', vol. II, Boston 1955, pp. 145-128, 263 (fig. 207), pls. XLIV B, CI]
online
/ref>
References
6th-century BC women
Queens of Kush