Senkamanisken was a

Kushite The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙 𓈉 ''kꜣš'', Assyrian: ''Kûsi'', in LXX grc, Κυς and Κυσι ; cop, ''Ecōš''; he, כּוּשׁ ''Kūš'') was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in wh ...

King who ruled from 640 to 620 BC at

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 ...

. He used royal titles based on those of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs.

Biography

He might have been married to queens Amanimalel and

Nasalsa Nasalsa was a Nubian queen of the Kingdom of Kush dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She is known from a shabti, some inscriptions on tablets and cups, text on the stela of Khaliut, a dedication inscription and a text from Kawa.Dows Du ...

, the latter of whom bore him two sons:

Anlamani Anlamani was a king of the Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, who ruled from 620 BC and died around 600 BC. Under his reign, Kush experienced a revival in its power. Anlamani was the son of Senkamanisken, his predecessor, and the elder brother of ...

and

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 a ...

. Both sons would ultimately assume the

throne after his death at Napata, Nubia's capital city. His

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

is Nu.3 in

Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of ...

. Statues of Senkamanisken have been found buried or hidden in the

Jebel Barkal Jebel Barkal or Gebel Barkal ( ar, جبل بركل) is a mesa or large rock outcrop located 400 km north of Khartoum, next to Karima in Northern State in Sudan, on the Nile River, in the region that is sometimes called Nubia. The jebel is 1 ...

, presumably due to

Psamtik II Psamtik II ( Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus, was a king of the Saite-based Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (595 BC – 589 BC). His prenomen, Nefer-Ib-Re, means "Beautiful s theHear ...

's attack on Kush in 592 BC. A

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

has also been found which was inscribed with his name. Objects bearing the name of this king have also been found in

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 ...

indicating that he placed a degree of importance to this site which would be the political capital of the Kushite kingdom after Psamtik II's sack of

in 592 BC. He is the only Nubian king after the 25th Dynasty known from an inscription found in Egypt. He appears on a fragment of an offering table from Memphis.

Artifacts

File:Senkamanisken statue, Kerma Museum.jpg, Senkamanisken statue, Kerma Museum File:Senkamanisken Louvre Museum reconstruction.jpg, Senkamanisken,

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

reconstruction, with pharaonic headdress. File:Senkamanisken, Black Pharaohs Cache (Dukki Gel ) , Kerma Museum, Sudan.jpg, Senkamanisken portrait in the Kerma Museum Senkamanisken, Black Pharaohs Cache (Dukki Gel ) , Kerma Museum , Sudan.jpg, Senkamanisken portrait in the Kerma Museum File:Senkamanisken, original statue in Kerma Museum, and Louvre Museum reconstruction.jpg, Senkamanisken, original in Kerma Museum, and Louvre Museum reconstruction through color-pigment analysis File:Senkamanisken, wearing the skin of a feline over his torso.jpg, Senkamanisken, wearing the skin of a feline over his torso, Kerma Museum Funerary figure of King Senkamanisken.jpg, An ''

ushabti 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 "' ...

'' figurine of Senkamanisken, found in his tomb at

File:Statue of King Senkamanisken Boston Museum.jpg, Statue of King Senkamanisken,

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

File:5D4 1256-3.jpg, Queen Amanimalil, possible consort of Senkamanisken File:Nuri Pyramid Nu -III King Senkamanisken r 640-620 BCE, seen from the top of the pyramid of Taharqa.jpg, Ruins of the pyramid of Senkamisken at

Temple B700 at Jebel Barkal

He also decorated Temple B700 (started by

) at

, where he is shown clubbing enemies. The hieroglyphic inscription on the Temple described the role of God Amun in selecting Sekamanisken as king: File:Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821.jpg, Ruins of Temple B700 of Jebel Barkal with relief of Senkamanisken clubbing enemies, drawn in 1821 by Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal.jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies in front of God Amun, at Jebel Barkal (pylon of building B 700, west of the main temple). File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail).jpg, Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail). File:Senkamanisken slaying enemies at Jebel Barkal (detail of the enemies).jpg, Detail of the enemies

References

External links

Senkamanisken
{{s-end 7th-century BC monarchs of Kush 7th-century BC rulers