Who Ruled in Year X

African women in power · year lookup

Who ruled in 21 BCE?

1 documented African woman ruler in these records held office in 21 BCE.

21 BCE falls in the 1st century BCE. See this era on the timeline

Documented history In office this year

Amanirenas

Qore and Kandake of Kush

late 1st century BCE Kingdom of Kush Northeast Africa & the Nile Valley

A ruling Kandake associated with Kush’s war against Roman Egypt and the peace settlement that followed; the exact boundaries of her reign remain approximate.
Sources
1. British Museum — African kingdoms timeline
2. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology — Meroe and Egypt

Before 21 BCE

Documented history Office ended about 14 centuries earlier

Hatshepsut

Pharaoh; formerly regent

c. 1479–1458 BCE Ancient Egypt Northeast Africa & the Nile Valley

After serving as regent, Hatshepsut assumed full pharaonic titulary and ruled jointly with Thutmose III; monuments and inscriptions securely document her kingship.
Sources
1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art — The Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut
2. British Museum — Timeline of ancient Egypt

After 21 BCE

Documented history Office began about 11 years later

Amanishakheto

Ruling Kandake of Kush

late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE Kingdom of Kush Northeast Africa & the Nile Valley

A ruling Kandake attested by inscriptions and royal material from Meroë; the chronology and detailed political outline of her reign remain limited.
Sources
1. British Museum — Amanishakheto collection biography
2. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology — Meroe and Egypt

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