Silver drachm of Aretas IV with his wife Huldu

Chuldu or Huldu (

Nabataean Aramaic Nabataean Aramaic is the Aramaic variety used in inscriptions by the Nabataeans of the East Bank of the Jordan River, the Negev, and the Sinai Peninsula. Compared to other varieties of Aramaic, it is notable for the occurrence of a number of loa ...

: ''Ḥūldū''; fl. 1st-century CE), was a

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

of the

Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...

, spouse and co-ruler of

Aretas IV Aretas IV Philopatris (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢗𐢓𐢆‎ 𐢊𐢛𐢞𐢞 𐢛𐢊𐢒 ''Ḥārīṯat Rāḥem-ʿammeh'', "Aretas, friend of his people") was the King of the Nabataeans from roughly 9 BC to AD 40. His daughter Phasaelis was m ...

in 9 BC–AD 16. She ruled jointly with her husband from 9 BCE until 16 CE.

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

where she is depicted with her husband have been recovered. Little is known about the exact date and reason of the transition from Chuldu to

Shaqilath Shaqilath (Nabataean Aramaic: , ''ŠQYLT''; also spelled ''Shaqilat'', ''Shaqeela'', ''Shaqeelah'', ''Šagīlat'') was a queen of the Nabataeans. She was the second wife and co-ruler of Aretas IV of the Nabataeans in AD 16–40. She married Kin ...

, who appears on coins after an unexplained gap in 18 CE. Maurice Satre suggested previous gaps in the minting of coins could have been due to a period of capitulation to

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. She has been presumed to be the mother of Malichus, Obodas and Rabbel, and of three daughters,

Phasa'el {{Expand French, Phasaélis, date=February 2022 Phasaelis (1st-century) was a princess of Nabatea, daughter of king Aretas IV Philopatris. She was married to prince Herod Antipas. Phasaelis fled to her father when she discovered her husband in ...

(first wife of

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas ( el, Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, ''Hērǭdēs Antipas''; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "H ...

), Shu'dat and Hagera. The latter also had a son, also called Aretas, grandson of Aretas IV.

References

1st-century Nabataean monarchs 1st-century women rulers {{MEast-hist-stub

See also

References