Talk:Kandake

More information

More infmation please. This female led monarchy was over a thousand years long, and thus would need more documentation than this. I'm going to try to look for some info my self, but it would be great if others could expand on this in equal measure, or more if feasible.

Tags

I have placed several tags on this article. It is full of POV, OR and unverified, unverifiable or simply incorrect claims. Tameamseo (talk) 17:20, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm now removing some of the more problematic material. I will try to find verifiable facts to replace it. Tameamseo (talk) 14:49, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

Could you please point out the faulty text to us? Maikel (talk) 15:54, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Hi Maikel. As a matter of fact, although there are still a number of unverified claims, most of the obviously problematic material is now gone. I've removed most of the tags which were on top. Tameamseo (talk) 16:15, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Great, thanks Tame. All those tags did look a tad depressing. Maikel (talk)

Candace G. Martinez, Woodbridge, VA —Preceding unsigned comment added by 8.15.144.28 (talk) 19:14, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Amantitere

She would have been the Kanake at the time of Acts 8, but Wikipedia doesn't have a page for her. I was hoping to learn more about her. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.92.234.42 (talk) 12:41, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Amanikhabale

According Reisner Amanikhabale is a Qore (King), not a Kandake.--AnnekeBart (talk) 13:13, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Agree. I have removed him. (He has a stela where his mother or wife is shown on a throne, but he was the king). --Enric Naval (talk) 11:02, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

Queen mother?

@LeGabrie: Török does not think the term means "queen mother". He thinks it means "royal sister". Fluehr-Lobban likewise sees the kandakes as ruling alongside their brothers (when not ruling alone). There is no question that qore also means queen regnant, so maybe the lead did need rewording, but I don't think we should say that the term means "queen mother" only. Srnec (talk) 19:40, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

@Srnec: Succession in Nubia was matrilliear in the sense that the kings sister would provide the next heir, meaning that she automatically was a queen mother as well. See also Angelika Lohwasser, "Die Frau um antiken Sudan", p. 131. LeGabrie (talk) 19:57, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Unclear if title or name

I feel like the opening paragraph could be easily taken as about a specific person and name. When I google Kandake, it shows the first paragraph, but is cut off right at the part that says it was incorrectly treated as a name. I think it’s too specific. I changed it to “A Kandake” but I feel like more could be done still. Lettuce Spice (talk) 16:56, 23 August 2022 (UTC)

Like what? It seems pretty clear as written. "Kandake ... was the Meroitic term". Srnec (talk) 02:19, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

Despite this I’ve already seen many people online say that Kandake is the name of a real historical queen. Maybe this is because it could be understood as there only being one Kandake. For example, it says “She had her own court” rather than “They had their own courts.” I’m certainly not an expert, but I think the phrasing could be better.

Lettuce Spice (talk) 08:33, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ARH 370 African Art - Ancient to Colonial

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 14 January 2025 and 5 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Zahrac777 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Zahrac777 (talk) 16:20, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

Reverting updates without justifications

Hi @Srnec I noticed that you reverted my recent edits to the Kandake article without providing a reason or engaging with the justification I included when submitting. As a reminder, Wikipedia encourages editors to explain reversions, especially when well-sourced and contextually appropriate changes are made. Simply undoing others' contributions without dialogue can discourage collaborative editing and is generally discouraged under WP:BRD and WP:Etiquette.

The introduction currently suggests the Kandake was always the king’s sister, which is factually inaccurate. While some Kandakes were sisters of the king, many others were queen mothers, royal wives, or ruling queens in their own right. This is well documented in historical, epigraphic, and archaeological sources (e.g., Wenig 1995; Török 2002; Rilly & De Voogt 2012).

For instance, Queen Amanirenas and Amanishakheto are not known to be sisters of reigning kings, yet ruled with full authority. Kandake was a dynastic title associated with matrilineal succession, and its holders often wielded political and military power, sometimes independently.

I restored the edits, and would be happy to collaborate on wording to reflect the full historical nuance. Open to your thoughts. Thanks! Gingerfruit (talk) 11:37, 1 June 2025 (UTC)

I said "see talk". The relevant section is #Queen mother? above. As for justification, I note that you may have had a long edit summary but you added no new sources to the article. You have ignored BRD in favour of BRRD.

I agree with this source that a "complete understanding of this position still eludes us". That source takes the position that it probably meant "royal sister who was mother of the heir" whereas Lohwasser is clear that she think's it means "queen mother". It never means ruler. A kandake who was a ruler was a qore. The article was not supposed to imply that it meant reigning king's sister but a king's sister. Srnec (talk) 19:13, 1 June 2025 (UTC)