Arakamani on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Arakamani (also Arkamaniqo, Arkakamani or Ergamenes I) was a
If the identification of Arakamani with Ergamenes I is correct, Arakamani provides an important chronological marker for Nubian history as Diodorus writes that he was a contemporary of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reign 285–246 BCE) in Ptolemaic Egypt. Most Nubian kings are otherwise very difficult to date precisely as well as to order chronologically.
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 king of Meroë
Meroë (; also spelled ''Meroe''; Meroitic: or ; ar, مرواه, translit=Meruwah and ar, مروي, translit=Meruwi, label=none; grc, Μερόη, translit=Meróē) was an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east ...
, who ruled in the early third century BCE.
Biography
The only secure archeological attestations of Arakamani come from his funerary pyramid at Meroë (Pyramid Begarawiyah S 6). In addition, many scholars believe that he should be identified with theNubia
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 king '' Ergamenes'' mentioned by the Classical historian Diodorus Siculus in his '' Bibliotheca historica''.Török (2008), pp. 389–90 and references therein. Diodorus writes that the powerful priesthood wanted the death of Ergamenes in order to please the gods, but because he was educated in Hellenistic culture
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
, Ergamenes' strong will enabled him to negate this destiny and to overpower the priesthood.
The events reported in this account are now interpreted as a dynastic change in relation with the transfer of the royal necropolis – and thus of the capital city – from Napata
Napata (Old Egyptian ''Npt'', ''Npy''; Meroitic ''Napa''; grc, Νάπατα and Ναπάται) was a city of ancient Kush at the fourth cataract of the Nile. It is located approximately 1.5 kilometers from the right side of the river at the ...
to Meroë. Thus, many scholars regard Arakamani/Ergamenes as the first king of the Meroitic phase of Nubian history, when the power base of the kingdom finally moved to its southern reaches and when a distinct Nubian influence became stronger. It has been suggested that the "Greek culture", which Diodorus claimed was the origin of Ergamenes' strong-will, should be understood as the Greco-Egyptian culture of the Ptolemaic Kingdom (305 BC–30 BC), when Egypt was ruled by a Greek dynasty.Török (2008), p. 511
If the identification of Arakamani with Ergamenes I is correct, Arakamani provides an important chronological marker for Nubian history as Diodorus writes that he was a contemporary of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reign 285–246 BCE) in Ptolemaic Egypt. Most Nubian kings are otherwise very difficult to date precisely as well as to order chronologically.
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book , last=Török , first=László , date=2008 , title=Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC - 500 AD , publisher= Brill , isbn= 978-90-04-17197-8 3rd-century BC monarchs of Kush 3rd-century BC rulers 3rd-century BC rulers in Africa Hellenistic rulers