Kashta
Encyclopedia
Kashta was a king of the Kush
ite Dynasty and the successor of Alara
. His name translates literally as "The Kushite".
. Both Alara and Kashta were thought to have married their sisters. These theories dates back to the work of Dunham and Macadam, but Morkot points out that there is no clear evidence to support these assumptions.
Kashta's only known wife was Pebatjma
. Several children and possible children are recorded:
, which is 400 km north of Khartoum
, the modern capital of Sudan
, he also exercised a strong degree of control over Upper Egypt
by managing to install his daughter, Amenirdis I
, as the presumptive God's Wife of Amun
in Thebes
in line to succeed the serving Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I
, Osorkon III
's daughter. This development was "the key moment in the process of the extension of Kushite power over Egyptian territories" under Kashta's rule since it officially legitimized the Kushite takeover of the Thebaid
region. The Hungarian Kushite scholar László Török notes that there were probably already Kushite garrisons stationed in Thebes itself during Kashta's reign both to protect this king's authority over Upper Egypt and to thwart a possible future invasion of this region from Lower Egypt
.
Török observes that Kashta's appearance as King of Upper and Lower Egypt and peaceful takeover of Upper Egypt is suggested both "by the fact that the descendants of Osorkon III, Takelot III
and Rudamun
continued to enjoy a high social status in Thebes in the second half of the 8th and in the first half of the 7th century" [BCE] as is shown by their burials in this city as well as the joint activity between the Divine Adoratrice Shepenupet I and the God's Wife of Amun Elect Amenirdis I, Kashta's daughter. A stela from Kashta's reign has been found in Elephantine
(modern day Aswan
)--at the local temple dedicated to the God Khnum—which attests to his control of this region. It bears his royal name or prenomen: Nimaatre. Egyptologists today believe that either he or more likely Piye
was the Year 12 Nubian king mentioned in a well-known inscription at Wadi Gasus which associates the Adopted God's Adoratice of Amun, Amenirdis, Kashta's daughter together with Year 19 of the serving God's Wife of Amun, Shepenupet. Kashta's reign length is unknown. Some sources credit Kashta as the founder of the 25th dynasty since he was the first Kushite king known to have expanded his kingdom's influence into Upper Egypt. Under Kashta's reign, the native Kushite population of his kingdom, situated between the third and fourth Cataracts of the Nile
, became rapidly 'Egyptianized' and adopted Egyptian traditions, religion and culture. Kashta's successor was Piye
.
Kashta was the 25th dynasty of Egypt.
contain the tombs of Kashta and several of his successors. The highest part of the cemetery contains 4 tumulus tomb (Tum.1,2,4 and 5). To the east of the tumulus tombs we find row of at least eight pyramids. One of them partially intrudes on a tumulus tomb (Tum.19). The southern most of this row of pyramids belong to Kashta (presumably to) his wife Pebatjma
. Before this row is another row of pyramids which includes those of Piye
, Shabaka
and Tanutamani.
To the south of the (presumed) pyramid of Pebatjma
one has to cross the southern wadi to reach the southern pyramids. These are the pyramids of the Queens: Naparaye
(K.3), Khensa
(K.4), Qalhata
(K.5), and Arty
(K.6).
Kingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
ite Dynasty and the successor of Alara
Alara of Nubia
Alara was a King of Kush who is generally regarded as the founder of the Napatan royal dynasty by his 25th Dynasty Nubian successors and was the first recorded prince of Nubia. He unified all of Upper Nubia from Meroë to the Third Cataract and is possibly attested at the Temple of Amun at Kawa....
. His name translates literally as "The Kushite".
Family
Kashta is thought to be a brother of his predecessor AlaraAlara
Alara may refer to:* Alara , a popular Turkish name* Alara , an insect genus in the family Derbidae* ALARA, an acronym for "As Low As Reasonably Achievable"* Alara of Nubia, the unifier of Kush...
. Both Alara and Kashta were thought to have married their sisters. These theories dates back to the work of Dunham and Macadam, but Morkot points out that there is no clear evidence to support these assumptions.
Kashta's only known wife was Pebatjma
Pebatjma
Pebatjma was a Nubiaqueen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of King Kashta. She is mentioned on a statue of her daughter Amenirdis I, now in Cairo . She is also mentioned on a door-jamb from Abydos.-Family:...
. Several children and possible children are recorded:
- King PiyePiyePiye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
- Thought to be a son of Kashta. Possibly a son of Pebatjma - King ShabakaShabakaShabaka or Shabaka Neferkare, 'Beautiful is the Soul of Re', was a Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, between according to Peter Clayton .-Family:...
- Mentioned as a brother of Amenirdis I, and hence a son of Kashta and Pebatjma. - Queen KhensaKhensaKhensa was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Khensa is named as a King's Wife and King's Sister together with King Piye...
- Wife of PiyePiyePiye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
, thought to be a daughter of Kashta and possibly Pebatjma. - Queen PeksaterPeksaterPeksater was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.-Biography:Peksater was the daughter of King Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She appears with her husband Piye in a relief in the Amun Temple at Barkal. Piye is dressed as a high priest and officiates before the barque of Amun...
(or Pekareslo) - She was married to Piye and was buried in Abydos. She may have died while accompanying Piye on a campaign to Egypt. Laming and Macadam suggest she was an adopted daughter of Pebatjma. - God's Wife of AmunGod's Wife of AmunGod's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important Ancient Egyptian religious institution centered in Thebes during the Egyptian 25th and 26th dynasties...
Amenirdis IAmenirdis IAmenirdis I was a God's Wife of Amun in ancient Egypt.She was a Kushite princess, daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye. Kashta arranged to have her adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her...
. A statue of Amenirdis mentions she is the daughter of Kashta and Pebatjma. - Neferukakashta - Thought to be a daughter of Kashta and possibly Pebatjma.
Kushite rule of Upper Egypt under Kashta
While Kashta ruled Nubia from NapataNapata
Napata was a city-state of ancient Nubia on the west bank of the Nile River, at the site of modern Karima, Northern Sudan.During the 8th to 7th centuries BC, Napata was the capital of the Nubian kingdom of Kush, whence the 25th, or Nubian Dynasty conquered Egypt...
, which is 400 km north of Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, the modern capital of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, he also exercised a strong degree of control over Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
by managing to install his daughter, Amenirdis I
Amenirdis I
Amenirdis I was a God's Wife of Amun in ancient Egypt.She was a Kushite princess, daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye. Kashta arranged to have her adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her...
, as the presumptive God's Wife of Amun
God's Wife of Amun
God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important Ancient Egyptian religious institution centered in Thebes during the Egyptian 25th and 26th dynasties...
in Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
in line to succeed the serving Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I
Shepenupet I
Shepenupet I was an ancient Egyptian high priestess during the reign of the 23rd dynasty. She was the first “hereditary” God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient Thebes and its surrounding region...
, Osorkon III
Osorkon III
Usermaatre Setepenamun Osorkon III Si-Ese was Pharaoh of Egypt in the 8th Century BC. He is the same person as the Crown Prince and High Priest of Amun Osorkon B, son of Takelot II by his Great Royal Wife Karomama II. Prince Osorkon B is best attested by his Chronicle—which consists of a series of...
's daughter. This development was "the key moment in the process of the extension of Kushite power over Egyptian territories" under Kashta's rule since it officially legitimized the Kushite takeover of the Thebaid
Thebaid
The Thebaid or Thebais is the region of ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. It acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes....
region. The Hungarian Kushite scholar László Török notes that there were probably already Kushite garrisons stationed in Thebes itself during Kashta's reign both to protect this king's authority over Upper Egypt and to thwart a possible future invasion of this region from Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
.
Török observes that Kashta's appearance as King of Upper and Lower Egypt and peaceful takeover of Upper Egypt is suggested both "by the fact that the descendants of Osorkon III, Takelot III
Takelot III
Usimare Setepenamun Takelot III Si-Ese was Osorkon III's eldest son and successor. Takelot III ruled the first five years of his reign in a coregency with his father and served previously as the High Priest of Amun at Thebes. He was previously thought to have ruled Egypt for only 7 years until his...
and Rudamun
Rudamun
Rudamun was the final pharaoh of the Twenty-third dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His titulary simply reads as Usermaatre Setepenamun, Rudamun Meryamun, and excludes the Si-Ese or Netjer-Heqawaset epithets employed by his father and brother....
continued to enjoy a high social status in Thebes in the second half of the 8th and in the first half of the 7th century" [BCE] as is shown by their burials in this city as well as the joint activity between the Divine Adoratrice Shepenupet I and the God's Wife of Amun Elect Amenirdis I, Kashta's daughter. A stela from Kashta's reign has been found in Elephantine
Elephantine
Elephantine is an island in the River Nile, located just downstream of the First Cataract at the southern border of Ancient Egypt. This region is referred to as Upper Egypt because the land is higher than that near the Mediterranean coast. The island may have received its name because it was a...
(modern day Aswan
Aswan
Aswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
)--at the local temple dedicated to the God Khnum—which attests to his control of this region. It bears his royal name or prenomen: Nimaatre. Egyptologists today believe that either he or more likely Piye
Piye
Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
was the Year 12 Nubian king mentioned in a well-known inscription at Wadi Gasus which associates the Adopted God's Adoratice of Amun, Amenirdis, Kashta's daughter together with Year 19 of the serving God's Wife of Amun, Shepenupet. Kashta's reign length is unknown. Some sources credit Kashta as the founder of the 25th dynasty since he was the first Kushite king known to have expanded his kingdom's influence into Upper Egypt. Under Kashta's reign, the native Kushite population of his kingdom, situated between the third and fourth Cataracts of the Nile
Cataracts of the Nile
The cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones protruding out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets. Aswan is also the Southern boundary of Upper Egypt...
, became rapidly 'Egyptianized' and adopted Egyptian traditions, religion and culture. Kashta's successor was Piye
Piye
Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
.
Kashta was the 25th dynasty of Egypt.
Burial
The pyramids of el-KurruEl-Kurru
El-Kurru was one of the royal cemeteries used by the Nubian royal family. Reisner excavated the royal pyramids. Most of the pyramids date to the early part of the Kushite period, from Alara of Nubia to King Nastasen ....
contain the tombs of Kashta and several of his successors. The highest part of the cemetery contains 4 tumulus tomb (Tum.1,2,4 and 5). To the east of the tumulus tombs we find row of at least eight pyramids. One of them partially intrudes on a tumulus tomb (Tum.19). The southern most of this row of pyramids belong to Kashta (presumably to) his wife Pebatjma
Pebatjma
Pebatjma was a Nubiaqueen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of King Kashta. She is mentioned on a statue of her daughter Amenirdis I, now in Cairo . She is also mentioned on a door-jamb from Abydos.-Family:...
. Before this row is another row of pyramids which includes those of Piye
Piye
Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
, Shabaka
Shabaka
Shabaka or Shabaka Neferkare, 'Beautiful is the Soul of Re', was a Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, between according to Peter Clayton .-Family:...
and Tanutamani.
To the south of the (presumed) pyramid of Pebatjma
Pebatjma
Pebatjma was a Nubiaqueen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of King Kashta. She is mentioned on a statue of her daughter Amenirdis I, now in Cairo . She is also mentioned on a door-jamb from Abydos.-Family:...
one has to cross the southern wadi to reach the southern pyramids. These are the pyramids of the Queens: Naparaye
Naparaye
Naparaye was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Naparaye was the daughter of King Piye and the sister-wife of King Taharqa....
(K.3), Khensa
Khensa
Khensa was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Khensa is named as a King's Wife and King's Sister together with King Piye...
(K.4), Qalhata
Qalhata
Qalhata was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Qalhata was a daughter of King Piye and a queen consort to her brother Shabaka. She is known from the Dream Stela of King Tantamani and from her pyramid in El-Kurru ....
(K.5), and Arty
Arty
Arty is an independent British art fanzine started by the artist Cathy Lomax in 2001. Arty is for art fans written by artists themselves and published by Transition Gallery's editions department, the artist-run space in East London.-History:...
(K.6).