Meroë was 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 is a group of villages called Bagrawiyah. This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush for several centuries from around 590 BC, until its collapse in the 4th century AD. The Kushitic Kingdom of Meroë gave its name to the "Island of Meroë", which was the modern region of Butana, a region bounded by the Nile, the Atbarah and the Blue Nile.
Apedemak or Apademak was the Chief deity in the ancient Kushite pantheon. Often depicted as a figure with a male human torso and a lion head, Apedemak was a war god worshiped by the Meroitic peoples inhabiting Kush. He has no Egyptian counterpart. As a war god, Apedemak came to symbolize martial power, military conquest, and empire for the Meroitic peoples. Apedemak is also closely associated with Amun, the state-sponsored Egyptian deity during the preceding Napatan period, and is assumed to hold an equal level of importance.
Amanikhatashan was a queen regnant of the Kingdom of Kush, probably ruling in the middle 2nd century CE. Amanikhatashan is known only from her tomb in Meroë, designated as Beg. N 18.
Amanishakheto was a queen regnant (kandake) of Kush who reigned in the early 1st century AD. In Meroitic hieroglyphs her name is written "Amanikasheto". In Meroitic cursive she is referred to as Amaniskheto qor kd(ke) which means Amanishakheto, Qore and Kandake.
Shorkaror was a king of Kush who ruled from Meroë in the second half of the 1st century AD. Shorkaror is attested as king in two inscriptions in Amara and in a large rock carving at Gebel Qeili. His identification as a king has sometimes been doubted, though the rock carving depicts him with royal regalia and attire. The carving is near to the trade route to Kassala and is the easternmost inscription of the Meroitic kings found so far.
Shanakdakhete, also spelled Shanakdakheto or Sanakadakhete, was a queen regnant of the Kingdom of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the early first century AD. Shanakdakhete is poorly attested, though is known to have constructed a temple in Naqa.
Kandake, kadake or kentake, often Latinised as Candace, was the Meroitic term for the sister of the king of Kush who, due to the matrilineal succession, would bear the next heir, making her a queen mother. She had her own court, probably acted as a landholder and held a prominent secular role as regent. Contemporary Greek and Roman sources treated it, incorrectly, as a name. The name Candace is derived from the way the word is used in the New Testament.
Amanitore, also spelled Amanitere or Amanitare, was a queen regnant of the Kingdom of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the middle of the 1st century CE. She ruled together with her son, Natakamani. The co-reign of Amanitore and Natakamani is a very well attested period and appears to have been a prosperous time. They may have been contemporaries of the Roman emperor Nero.
The Kingdom of Kush, also known as the Kushite Empire, or simply Kush, was an ancient kingdom in Nubia, centered along the Nile Valley in what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt.
Tamelerdeamani was a king of Kush who ruled in the second half of the 3rd century AD. He was the younger half-brother of his predecessor, Teqorideamani. His successor is not known, though may based on the overall chronology have been Talakhidamani.
The Pyramids of Meroë are a large number of Nubian pyramids, encompassing three cemeteries near the ancient city of Meroë. The Meroë pyramids date to the later stage of the Kingdom of Kush and were burial places for Kushite monarchs, other members of the royal family, and important officials and dignitaries.
Amanikhabale was a King of Kush who probably ruled in the first half of the 1st century CE. Amanikhabale is known from inscriptions from Kawa, Basa, and Naqa, as well as a broken stela from Meroë. The quality and scale of the monuments on which Amanikhabale's inscriptions have been found, as well as their geographical distribution, indicates that he had a prosperous reign.
Adikhalamani was a king of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the first half of the 2nd century BCE.
Sebiumeker was a major supreme god of procreation and fertility in Nubian mythology who was primarily worshipped in Meroe, Kush, in present-day Sudan. He is sometimes thought of as a guardian of gateways as his statues are sometimes found near doorways. He has many similarities with Atum, but has Nubian characteristics, and is also considered the god of agriculture.
Maloqorebar was an ancient Kushite prince.
Amanipilade is the name conventionally attributed to a Kushite queen regnant buried in pyramid Beg N. 25 in Meroë. Amanipilade ruled the Kingdom of Kush from Meroë in the middle of the fourth century AD. Circumstantial and indirect evidence suggests that she might have been the last ruler of the kingdom.
Amanitaraqide was a king of the kingdom of Kush, ruling from Meroë. The timeframe of his reign and the location of his burial are uncertain and disputed.
Talakhidamani was the king of Kush in the mid or late 3rd century AD, perhaps into the 4th century. He is known from two Meroitic inscriptions, one of which commemorates a diplomatic mission he sent to the Roman Empire.
Shesepankhenamen Setepenre is the Horus name of an otherwise unknown king of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the second half of the 3rd century BCE. His personal name is unknown. The Horus name is known only from fragmentary inscriptions on a stray block in Meroë's northern cemetery. No burial site has been identified for this king.
