B'Dora Mnemon

Amanitore: Co-Regent Kandake of Meroë and Temple Builder

| Queens & Empresses |

Amanitore was a Kandake (queen) of the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush who ruled as co-regent with King Natakamani in the late first century BCE and early first century CE. Renowned for her temple-building programme at Naqa and Wad ban Naqa, she appears in royal reliefs as an equal partner in power. This article examines the evidence, political structures, succession mechanisms, and enduring legacy of one of ancient Africa’s most prominent female sovereigns.

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The Kandake’s Economic Power: Control of the Royal Treasury and Temple Estates in the Kingdom of Kush

| Queen Mothers & Royal Offices |

The Kandake of Kush was not a ceremonial consort but a chief custodian of state wealth, directly controlling the royal treasury and the vast temple estates of Amun. This article examines the institutional, legal, and ritual foundations of that economic power, drawing on archaeology, Meroitic inscriptions, and critical readings of Greek and Roman sources. It centres the Kandake as a key figure in African traditions of female sovereignty and resource stewardship.

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The Balobedu Queenship Recognition Dispute: Traditional Leadership and the South African State

| Living Successions |

The Balobedu Queenship Recognition Dispute is a contemporary contest over the rightful successor to the Rain Queen throne of the Balobedu people in Limpopo, South Africa, following the death of Queen Makobo Modjadji VI in 2005. It pits the hereditary claim of Princess Masalanabo Modjadji, affirmed by South African courts, against the claim of her brother Prince Lekukela, advanced by factions of the Modjadji Royal Council. The dispute illuminates tensions between indigenous matrilineal succession, state legal frameworks, and gendered spiritual authority.

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God’s Wife of Amun: Female Religious Sovereignty in Ancient Egypt

| Queen Mothers & Royal Offices |

The God’s Wife of Amun was the highest-ranking priestess in the cult of Amun at Thebes, an office that evolved from a royal ritual role into a powerful political and economic institution. Held by royal women—daughters, sisters, or wives of pharaohs—the position granted its holder unprecedented authority over temple estates, legal administration, and even territorial governance, particularly during the Third Intermediate Period. This article examines the origins, functions, and legacy of this extraordinary female sovereignty within ancient Egypt’s theocratic landscape.

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Beyond Modjadji: Female Rainmakers of the Venda and Lovedu Regions

| Rainmaking & Ritual Authority |

The Venda and Lovedu regions of present-day Limpopo Province were home to a wider constellation of female rainmakers beyond the famous Modjadji line. Known as makhadzi among the Venda and mokhadi among the Lovedu, these women held real ritual and political authority through ancestral mediation, control of rain medicines, and custodianship of sacred landscapes such as Lake Fundudzi. This article examines their evidence base, institutions, biographies, and enduring legacies.

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Shanakdakhete: The First Known Female Ruler of Kush? Sovereignty, Ritual and Dynasty in Ancient Meroë

| Queens & Empresses |

Shanakdakhete is the earliest attested female sovereign of the Kingdom of Kush, ruling from Meroë in the late second century BCE with the full titulary of a reigning monarch. This article examines the archaeological and epigraphic evidence for her reign, the succession and ritual systems that enabled female rule, and her enduring legacy as a foundational Kandake in the Nile Valley.

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Amina of Zazzau: The Warrior Queen Who Built Walls – An Encyclopedic Profile

| Warrior Women |

Amina of Zazzau, remembered as the warrior queen who built walls, ruled the Hausa city-state of Zazzau in present-day northern Nigeria during the sixteenth century. Her reign is reconstructed from oral traditions, the Kano Chronicle, and the earthen ramparts known as ganuwar Amina. This article examines the evidence, political structures, military strategies, economic networks, and contested legacy of one of Africa’s most celebrated female sovereigns.

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Hatshepsut’s Erasure: Why Did Thutmose III Remove Her from the Record? An African Queens Encyclopedia Analysis

| Queens & Empresses |

Hatshepsut’s erasure was a systematic campaign to remove her name, image, and monuments from Egypt’s public record during the late reign of Thutmose III. This article examines the archaeological evidence, dynastic politics, gender dynamics, and ritual logic behind the attack, arguing that it was a calculated succession strategy rather than simple personal vengeance. It also explores how the erasure paradoxically preserved her legacy for modern scholarship.

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