Ergamenes is the
hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...
name of 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 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 ...
reported by
Agatharchides
Agatharchides or Agatharchus ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθαρχίδης or , ''Agatharchos'') of Cnidus was a Greek historian and geographer (flourished 2nd century BC).
Life
Agatharchides is believed to have been born at Cnidus, hence his appellation. A ...
in
Diodorus Siculus (3.2.6, FHN II No. 142). According to this account, Ergamenes reigned in Meroë during the friendly Egyptian reign of
Ptolemy II Philadelphus to
Ptolemy IV Philopator
egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208.
, predecessor = Ptolemy III
, successor = Ptolemy V
, horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose f ...
, was instructed in
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...
, favored
Greek art
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods (with further developments during the Hellenistic Period). It absorbed influences of E ...
and its way of life,
[Samuel Sharpe: ''The history of Egypt: from the earliest times till the conquest by the Arabs'', A.D. 640, 1859, p 316] although it could be rather intended as a cultural influence from a
Ptolemaic-governed Egypt. He resented the tradition of
ancient Egypt and the Ethiopian priests' control over the King's power and preferred the
absolute power of his neighbor, Ptolemy II:
[
]
Identification
Ergamenes was tentatively identified with many archaeologically known king of Meroë, above all two kings with similar names, Arakamani
Arakamani (also Arkamaniqo, Arkakamani or Ergamenes I) was a Nubian king of Meroë, who ruled in the early third century BCE.
Biography
The only secure archeological attestations of Arakamani come from his funerary pyramid at Meroë (Pyramid B ...
and Arqamani
Arqamani (also Arkamani or Ergamenes IITörök (2008), p. 393) was a Kushite King of Meroë dating from the late 3rd to early 2nd century BCE.
Biography
It is believed that Arqamani ruled in Meroë at the time of the Egyptian revolt of Horwen ...
. This situation has led to cause these two kings to be called Ergamenes I (Arakamani) and Ergamenes II (Arqamani). Although it is possible that – in a way similar to the semi-mythological Sesostris
Sesostris ( grc-gre, Σέσωστρις), also transliterated as Sesoösis, or Sesonchosis, is the name of a legendary king of ancient Egypt who, according to Herodotus, led a military expedition into parts of Europe. Tales of Sesostris are pro ...
– Greeks conflated
Conflation is the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, opinions, etc., into one, often in error. Conflation is often misunderstood. It originally meant to fuse or blend, but has since come to mean the same as equate, treati ...
several rulers into a single figure named ''Ergamenes'', Egyptologist Fritz Hintze and Meroitologist László Török believes that the original Ergamenes should be identified with Arakamani.[Török (2008), pp. 389–90 and references therein.]
References
*László Török, ''Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC – 500 AD'', Brill, 2008, {{ISBN, 978-90-04-17197-8.
Kings of Kush