Candace of Meroe
Encyclopedia
Candace of Meroe
was the queen
of Nubia
at the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great. According to legend, Alexander encountered her when he invaded Nubia. In fact, Alexander never attacked Nubia, and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa
in Egypt
.
The story is that when Alexander attempted to conquer her lands in 332 BC
, she arranged her armies strategically to meet him and was present on a war elephant
when he approached. Having assessed the strength of her armies, Alexander decided to withdraw from Nubia
, heading to Egypt
instead. Another story claims that Alexander and Candace had a romantic encounter.
These accounts originate from "The Alexander Romance" by an unknown writer called Pseudo-Callisthenes, and the work is largely a fictionalized and grandiose account of Alexander's life. It is commonly quoted, but there seems to be no historical reference to this event from Alexander's time. The whole story of Alexander and Candace's encounter appears to be legendary.
References to this warrior queen
are among the earliest made to the Nubian Kentakes. The name "Candace" is actually a form of the title "Kentake", and not the actual name of a person.
Meroë
Meroë Meroitic: Medewi or Bedewi; Arabic: and Meruwi) is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile about 6 km north-east of the Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan, approximately 200 km north-east of Khartoum. Near the site are a group of villages called Bagrawiyah...
was the queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
at the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great. According to legend, Alexander encountered her when he invaded Nubia. In fact, Alexander never attacked Nubia, and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km east of the Libyan border, and 560 km from Cairo....
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
The story is that when Alexander attempted to conquer her lands in 332 BC
332 BC
Year 332 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calvinus and Arvina...
, she arranged her armies strategically to meet him and was present on a war elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
when he approached. Having assessed the strength of her armies, Alexander decided to withdraw from Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, heading to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
instead. Another story claims that Alexander and Candace had a romantic encounter.
These accounts originate from "The Alexander Romance" by an unknown writer called Pseudo-Callisthenes, and the work is largely a fictionalized and grandiose account of Alexander's life. It is commonly quoted, but there seems to be no historical reference to this event from Alexander's time. The whole story of Alexander and Candace's encounter appears to be legendary.
References to this warrior queen
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
are among the earliest made to the Nubian Kentakes. The name "Candace" is actually a form of the title "Kentake", and not the actual name of a person.