Tantamani ( egy, tnwt-jmn,

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

, grc, Τεμένθης ), also known as Tanutamun or Tanwetamani (d. 653 BC) was ruler of the

Kingdom of Kush The Kingdom of Kush (; Egyptian: 𓎡𓄿𓈙𓈉 ''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 ...

located in Northern Sudan, and the last

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

of the

Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...

. His

prenomen The ''praenomen'' (; plural: ''praenomina'') was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birt ...

or royal name was Bakare, which means "Glorious is the Soul of Re."

Filiation

He was the son of King

Shabaka Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Sha-ba-ku-u'') was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 705 to 690 BC.F. Payraudeau, Retour sur la succession ...

and the nephew of his predecessor

Taharqa Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo ( Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...

. In some sources he is said to be the son of

Shebitku Shebitku ( egy, šꜣ-bꜣ-tꜣ-kꜣ, Neo-Assyrian: , grc, Σεθῶν ) also known as Shabataka or Shebitqo, and anglicized as Sethos, was the second pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt who ruled from 714 BC – 705 BC, according to ...

. Assyrian records call Tantamani a son of Shabaka and refer to his mother,

Qalhata Qalhata was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240 Qalhata was a daughter of King Piye and a queen consort to her bro ...

, as a sister of Taharqa. Some Egyptologists interpreted the Assyrian text as stating that Tantamani was a son of Shebitku, but it is now more common to consider Tantamani a son of Shabaka.

Conflict with Ashurbanipal of Assyria

Soon after the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

ns had appointed

Necho I Menkheperre Necho I ( Egyptian: Nekau, Greek: Νεχώς Α' or Νεχώ Α', Akkadian: Nikuu or Nikû) (? – near Memphis) was a ruler of the ancient Egyptian city of Sais. He was the first securely attested local Saite king of the 26th Dyn ...

as king and left, Tantamani invaded Egypt in hopes of restoring his family to the throne. Tantamani marched down the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

from Nubia and reoccupied all of Egypt, including

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. Necho I, the Assyrians' representative, was killed in Tantamani's campaign. This led to a renewed conflict with Ashurbanipal in 663 BCE. The Assyrians led by Ashurbanipal returned to Egypt in force. Together with

Psamtik I Wahibre Psamtik I ( Ancient Egyptian: ) was the first pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the Saite period, ruling from the city of Sais in the Nile delta between 664–610 BC. He was installed by Ashurbanipal of the Neo-Assyrian Empir ...

's army, which included

Carian The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...

mercenaries, they fought a pitched battle in north Memphis, close to the temple of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

, between the

Serapeum A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were s ...

and

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis o ...

. Tantamani was defeated and fled to

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

. Forty days after the battle, Ashurbanipal's army arrived in Thebes. Tantamani had already left the city for Kipkipi, a location that remains uncertain but might be

Kom Ombo Kom Ombo (Egyptian Arabic: ; Coptic: ; Ancient Greek: or ; or Latin: and is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with t ...

, some south of Thebes. The city of Thebes was conquered, "smashed (as if by) a floodstorm" and heavily plundered in the

Sack of Thebes The Sack of Thebes took place in 663 BC in the city of Thebes at the hands of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under king Ashurbanipal, then at war with the Kushite Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt under Tantamani, during the Assyrian conquest of Egypt. Af ...

. The event is not mentioned in Egyptian sources, but is known from the Assyrian annals, which report that the inhabitants were deported. The Assyrians took a large booty of gold, silver, precious stones, clothes, horses, fantastic animals, as well as two obelisks covered in

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 ...

weighing 2.500 talents (c. 75.5 tons, or 166,500 lb): Egypt - Capture of Memphis by the Assyrians

The sack of Thebes was a momentous event that reverberated throughout the

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

. It is mentioned in the

Book of Nahum The Book of Nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Nahum, and was probably written in Jerusalem in the 7th century BC. Background Josephus places Nahum during the reign of Jotham ...

chapter 3:8-10: A prophecy in the Book of Isaiah refers to the sack as well: The Assyrian reconquest effectively ended Nubian control over Egypt, although Tantamani's authority was still recognised in Upper Egypt until his 8th Year in 656 BCE, when

's navy peacefully took control of Thebes and effectively unified all of Egypt. These events marked the start of the

Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) dynasty was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664–525 ...

Later rule

Thereafter, Tantamani ruled only Nubia (

Kush Kush or Cush may refer to: Bible * Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible Places * Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan * Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire * Hindu Kush, a ...

). He died in 653 BC and was succeeded by

Atlanersa Atlanersa (also Atlanarsa) was a Kushite ruler of the Napatan kingdom of Nubia, reigning for about a decade in the mid-7th century BC. He was the successor of Tantamani, the last ruler of the 25th Dynasty of Egypt, and possibly a son of Tah ...

, a son of Taharqa. He was buried in the family cemetery at

El-Kurru El-Kurru was the first of the three royal cemeteries used by the Kushite royals of Napata, also referred to as Egypt's 25th Dynasty, and is home to some of the royal Nubian Pyramids. It is located between the 3rd and 4th cataracts of the Nile ...

. The archaeologist

Charles Bonnet Charles Bonnet (; 13 March 1720 – 20 May 1793) was a Genevan naturalist and philosophical writer. He is responsible for coining the term ''phyllotaxis'' to describe the arrangement of leaves on a plant. He was among the first to notice parthe ...

discovered the statue of Tantamani at

Kerma Kerma was the capital city of the Kerma culture, which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5,500 years ago. Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, i ...

(now called Doukki Gel) in 2003.

Tomb in El-Kurru

The tomb of Tantamani was located below a pyramid, now disappeared, at the site of

. Only the entrance and the chambers remain, which are beautifully decorated with mural paintings. Exterior of one of the ancient Nubian tombs at El-Kurru near Karima.jpg, Exterior of the Nubian tomb of Tantamani. File:Portrait of Tantamani in his tomb in El-Kurru.jpg, Portrait of Tantamani in his tomb in

File:Grabkammer des Tanotamun.jpg, Tomb of the pyramide of Tantamani, at the site of

Burial Chamber of the tomb of Tanutamani (5) (33554932640).jpg, Burial Chamber of Tantamani Burial Chamber of the tomb of Tanutamani (4) (33096700524).jpg, Tomb of Tantamani Painting in the ancient Nubian tombs at El-Kurru near Karima, Sudan.jpg, Burial Chamber of Tantamani Burial Chamber of the tomb of Tanutamani (2) (33809906071).jpg, Tomb of Tantamani

Artifacts

Kerma King Tantamani (r.664-653 BCE) XXV Dynasty Kushite.jpg, King Tantamani,

National Museum of Sudan The National Museum of Sudan or Sudan National Museum, abbreviated SNM, is a two-story building constructed in 1955 and established as a museum in 1971. The building and its surrounding gardens house the largest and most comprehensive Nubian ar ...

Tanotamun statue in Kerma Museum.jpg, Statue of Tantamani,

Kerma Museum The Kerma Museum is an archeological site museum located in front of the Western Deffufa on the archaeological site of Kerma, in the Northern State of Sudan. It opened in 2008 and contains many archaeological items removed from the Kerma cultur ...

Tanotanum statue, Kerma Museum.jpg, Yet another statue of Tantamani,

File:Tanotamun portrait in Kerma Museum.jpg, Tanotamun portrait in Kerma Museum File:Tantamani profile.jpg, Tantamani, in profile. Kerma Museum Tantamani statue Toledo Museum.jpg, Tantamani statue,

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

Tanuatamanu in Thebes.jpg, Painting of Tantamani, in Thebes File:25th Dynasty head of Amun.JPG, Statuette of god

Amon Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...

dedicated by Tantamani File:F2241 Louvre Amon belier 25 dynastie E33072 rwk.jpg, Head of Amon-Ram dedicated by Tantamani,

Musée du Louvre 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 ...

File:Stele of the Dream by Tantamani, Jebel Barkal, Sudan.jpg, Stele of the Dream by Tantamani, Jebel Barkal, Sudan File:Stele of Dream, Tantamani making offerings to Egyptian Gods.jpg, Stele of the Dream, Tantamani making offerings to Egyptian Gods File:Prenomen and Nomen of Tantamani.jpg, Prenomen and Nomen of Tantamani

Filiation

Conflict with Ashurbanipal of Assyria

Later rule

Tomb in El-Kurru

Artifacts

See also

References

Further reading