The Warrior Queens of Africa: Queen Amanirenas
KANDAKE AMANIRENAS (The Warrior Queen, ruled 40 BC-10 BC)
There are numerous woman rulers in African History, matrilineal supremacy is as old as the human story. I’ve recently discovered a lineage of mighty woman rulers of the Kush Kingdom (which evolved into present day Sudan) and their stories are bold and energizing. Who’s crazy idea was it to cut THIS historic gold from a textbook!? These empires held great wealth, brokered long term peace and built over 200 pyramids around its seat of the Nile & The Red Sea: Nubia. These rulers went by Kandake, Candace, or Candice which means Great Woman or Queen Mother.
KANDAKE AMANIRENAS
-Remembered as a fierce warrior and strong leader of the Kush Kingdom
-Showed bravery in battle and led vast troops from the front lines
-Ruled at the same time as Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra
-She lost an eye, her husband and her son in battle
-Shares a collective mention with her fellow powerful Candace of Kush in the Bible (Acts 8:27)
-After victory in battle against Roman oppression she removed the bronze statue head of Caesar Augustus and buried it under the entrance road to her kingdom, an almost humorously brutal insult to the fallen foe.
-After 5 years of conflict trying to resist Roman oppression, she brokered a peace deal which retained the lion's share of Kush territory, avoided ever having to pay a tribute or tax to the oppressing force and ushered in 300 year of peace between the lands and people.
For further learning:
-PBS documentary Africa's Great Civilizations: https://www.pbs.org/show/africas-great-civilizations/
-AE Learning has a bunch of literature and videos that I haven’t extensively checked out for myself yet: https://www.aelearning.net/
-Black History Buff: https://www.blackhistorybuff.com/
#blackhistory #africanhistory #wearenotforgotten #powerfulwomen #blackpower #peacefirst #discoveringafricanhistory