Physical fitness buff? Pharaoh Taharqa of Egypt

[zarahan]

QUOTE:

"And within the 300-foot high sacred mountain, within the very
birthplace of Amen himself, Taharqa created a stunning chapel,
its walls showing him before the gods with his mother Abar and
his sister-wife Takahatamen. Taharqa’s figures, modelled on
those of Amenhotep III, were coloured yellow-gold against a
blue background, and his crown bears the distinctive rams’
horns of Amen.

Having so adorned the interior of the mountain, Taharqa did the
same to its exterior, its unusually shaped pinnacle, regarded as a
giant uraeus, emphasising that the mountain was the very
source of royal power bestowed by Amen. So Taharqa had the
pinnacle gilded to catch the rising sun and, like Egypt’s
traditional obelisks, to act as a brilliant, reflective mirror,
casting its light out into the desert to be visible for miles. An
inscription carved at the very top of the pinnacle was also
covered in gold, but was so inaccessible it could only be seen by
the gods - and the brave craftsmen who had risked their lives to
erect the scaffolding needed to create the effect.

But beyond such architectural endeavours, the Kushite
pharaohs were also keen to defend their borders and allied
themselves with Hezekiah, king of Judah, in his struggles to
keep down the growing power of Assyria (modern Iraq).

Taharqa himself went to great lengths to keep his army in prime
condition. As revealed by the ‘Running Stela of Taharqa’,
the pharaoh instigated regular training runs, on one occasion
ordering his army to undertake a 100-kilometre foot race from
Memphis to the Fayum and back again. The stela’s text even
claims that Taharqa not only accompanied his men by chariot to
inspire them, but even dismounted to join them, running for an
hour during the four-hour outward journey, which was sensibly
completed at night to take advantage of the cooler
temperatures. On reaching the Fayum they had a two-hour
break and then returned to Memphis, a run which - with
temperatures rising - took about five hours. At the end, the
winners were awarded prizes and everyone who completed the
race feasted at royal expense, the king selecting the most
promising athletes as shock troops for specific missions."

FROM: Joann Fletcher 2015. The Story of Egypt
The Civilization that Shaped the World. P.149-151

[anansi]

Wow! that's Navy Seals elite especial forces, type hell wk run , and I bet they did it bare footed over sand and gravel,
The Zulus were no slouches either, something to think about before making excuses to not go outside for an hr's walk..

[zarahan]

LOL, and here I was thinking these Pharaohs were just lounging around eating and drinking..
This dude was serious.. Hell he even did the Jews a solid in Jerusalem against the Assyrians..

[anansi]

Oct 25, 2020 11:33:09 GMT -5 zarahan said:

LOL, and here I was thinking these Pharaohs were just lounging around eating and drinking..
This dude was serious.. Hell he even did the Jews a solid in Jerusalem against the Assyrians..

Yeah its all fun and games until someone gets hurt, it seemed being fit for a Pharaoh would mean the difference between life and death, if found wanting, according to Diop this practice of regiscide
was common in African royal houses, even into modern times.
Mention is made of one Kushite king the Greeks called Eragamenes, was called upon to commit to be killed or be suicided , however the King got the jump on them and had the whole lot slain, thus ended the practice in those Nile Valley kingdoms.

The ancient festival might, perhaps, have been instituted to replace a ritual of murdering a pharaoh who was unable to continue to rule effectively because of age or condition.[4] Eventually, Sed festivals were jubilees celebrated after a ruler had held the throne for thirty years and then every three to four years after that. They primarily were held to rejuvenate the pharaoh's strength and stamina while still sitting on the throne, celebrating the continued success of the pharaoh

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

From our boy running history down for the Home Team (caveats applicable) on the 1st King of Swag

Oct 26, 2020 3:26:37 GMT -5 anansi said:

Mention is made of one Kushite king the Greeks called Eragamenes, was called upon to commit to be killed or be suicided , however the King got the jump on them and had the whole lot slain, thus ended the practice in those Nile Valley kingdoms.

This was one of the most dynamic changes in African history.

The adoption of outside premises counter to the general view
of collectivity and spiritualism core to a peoples' value systems.

Individuality and 'autocracy' introduced by teachers of Greek
lineage and their gross material philosophy which would become
the world's norm in ages to come.

The complexity is was Erg a forward thinker or a selfish man?
What need was there to slay the priests who though perhaps out
of self-interest were carrying out political law/philosophy in
the name of the state, religion, and culture?

I wonder how close this incident was to Axum's destruction of Meroe?

=-=

More to the topic's point, to put it simply
TARHARQA was the epitome of BLACK MANHOOD.

[anansi]

Me thinks it have to be pre Roman, cuz that's when the Axumites started mashing up the place , Erg most likely dancing with those Egypto-Greeks called Ptolemy.

And yeah how, selfish of him to wanna breathe..lol

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

Yeah, apparently some Ptolemy's philosophers were
tasked with influencing Arkamani and Diodorus'
does assess Kushites as a weak minded people
as shown in their indigenous inferior attachment
to religion now supplanted by foreign superior
gross materialism.

Too bad we only have the Greek side of the
story and only a few sentences at that. It
could've been some kind of political intrigue
going on since Arkamani murdered the entire
priesthood and set up one of his own liking.

Arkamani looks like the initiator of Meroe
kingship. At any rate Kush culture changes
with a move of capital and royal tombs. He
headed a 500 yr new epoch in history.

Some think Arkamani's reforms led to the
promotion of queenship, a queenship that
would fend off Rome. Would the great nation
Meroitic Kush and all its accomplishments
like world's first iron foundry and early
script invention, have existed without
Arkamani and his change of mind though
crass materialism leading to land misuse
finally allowed for Axum's victory. Ah,
but a new world was coming into effect
hemispherewide at that time.

[zarahan]

Oct 26, 2020 10:15:45 GMT -5 Tukuler al~Takruri said:

From our boy running history down for the Home Team (caveats applicable) on the 1st King of Swag

Oct 26, 2020 3:26:37 GMT -5 anansi said:

Mention is made of one Kushite king the Greeks called Eragamenes, was called upon to commit to be killed or be suicided , however the King got the jump on them and had the whole lot slain, thus ended the practice in those Nile Valley kingdoms.

This was one of the most dynamic changes in African history.

The adoption of outside premises counter to the general view
of collectivity and spiritualism core to a peoples' value systems.

Individuality and 'autocracy' introduced by teachers of Greek
lineage and their gross material philosophy which would become
the world's norm in ages to come.

The complexity is was Erg a forward thinker or a selfish man?
What need was there to slay the priests who though perhaps out
of self-interest were carrying out political law/philosophy in
the name of the state, religion, and culture?

I wonder how close this incident was to Axum's destruction of Meroe?

Interesting stuff. I wonder though if Arkamani was influenced by the Greeks in
what he did or whether he just wanted to hold on to power, and purge domestic
opponents. It would not be an unusual move logically given human nature. Since
he was going against the traditional customs, one clear option was to "clean house"
to eliminate traditional opposition.

One book notes that regicide in Africa was not automatic after a certain number of years
but dependent on a number of factors, and various delaying tactics and maneuvers
were used to avoid actual implementation. Anxious to hold on to power, Arkamani
may just have decided to skip political or ritual delaying tactics, make a clean sweep
and be done with it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
“In a penetrating article dealing with the Mundang of Tchad, Alfred Adler pays particular attention to this aspect (Adler, 1978). The king of Ltrt’s strength lies in a substance (fee) which gives him the power to control rainfall. His palace is ‘likened to a microcosm and the king is like the sun of this universe' (Adler. 1978:34). The numerous prohibitions he has to obey ‘both in his physical life and in his social relations' impose constraints whose function is', to paraphrase Frazer, as much to protect the king as to protect the people from him’ (Adler, 1978:34). Adler proposes interpreting ritual regicide as royalty’s ‘supreme prohibition'.

The king’s life will be shortened. Yet this premature end is delayed by various tactics. Each year a double takes upon himself the tragic fate to which the l>rt king is doomed. A naan, a ‘sort of scapegoat for the king’ sacrifices an ox and, during the night, flees from the palace with the hide . The burden he carries condemns him to die soon in place of his glorious double' (Adler, 197836). During the feast honouring the soul of the millet, which takes place at the end of harvest, a servant replaces the king: he places a large sheaf of millet in the palace’s central granary: naked, his body covered with ashes and wearing a penial sheath, the young man is indeed dressed like an initiate emerging from initiatory death'. The king ‘throws pebbles in his direction three times hurries to a room to avoid seeing him* (Adler, 197836). “
-- Sacrifice in Africa: A Structuralist Approach. By Luc de Heusch. 1985
------------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder how close this incident was to Axum's destruction of Meroe?

Seems quite a bit before. If Aermani was 250-200BC or so, then that leaves about
500 years before Ezana muscled in on MEroe to finish it off in about 330-360 AD.


Some think Arkamani's reforms led to the
promotion of queenship,

How did Arkamani promote queenship? Family members like a daughter
or powerful females in royal court lineage?

[anansi]

Oct 27, 2020 12:14:02 GMT -5 Tukuler al~Takruri said:

Yeah, apparently some Ptolemy's philosophers were
tasked with influencing Arkamani and Diodorus'
does assess Kushites as a weak minded people
as shown in their indigenous inferior attachment
to religion now supplanted by foreign superior
gross materialism.

Too bad we only have the Greek side of the
story and only a few sentences at that. It
could've been some kind of political intrigue
going on since Arkamani murdered the entire
priesthood and set up one of his own liking.

Arkamani looks like the initiator of Meroe
kingship. At any rate Kush culture changes
with a move of capital and royal tombs. He
headed a 500 yr new epoch in history.

Some think Arkamani's reforms led to the
promotion of queenship, a queenship that
would fend off Rome. Would the great nation
Meroitic Kush and all its accomplishments
like world's first iron foundry and early
script invention, have existed without
Arkamani and his change of mind though
crass materialism leading to land misuse
finally allowed for Axum's victory. Ah,
but a new world was coming into effect
hemispherewide at that time.

Perhaps a lil of both??., remember the earlier Kemetian cheat sheet or not keeping it real , by swapping out real sacrificed officials and servants for ushabti carved figurines, to serve their king in the after life.

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

Yup. Andalotta those cat mummies suppliants paid good money for?
Hah, turns out thet was molded straw, not a fur ball to be found.
More anti-priest ammo for your magazine. <<snort>>

=-=

Honestly? I don't think the event in Diodorus ever occured.
Arakamani initiating a new Meroe burial dynasty? Sure. That
he did.

Priest enforced regicide in 3rd century BCE and earlier Kush?
Where's any evidence any Napatan dynasty kings had it done?
And if it's so supposed to be since time immemorial how come
Taharqa, Piye, on back to Hun Nefer didn't have it happen to
'em?

Plus there's a Heb Sed recorded by Napata's King Aryamani
on his Donation stele at Kawa in the 3rd century.
Read it in Fontes Historiae Nubiorum II p523

BEFORE THE SEATED FIGURE OF AMEN-RE (two (?) columns, reading left to right):
[...] 'hb-sd'
[...] 'sed-festival'.

OK so I only found this out yesterday.
Still it's good to correct a lifetime
of canonized disinformation about good
king Ergamenes, a forward thinker and
ruler of a cosmopolitan yet Upper Nile
ethnic heritage based Kush.

The unfortunate aspect of crass materialism
was depletion of soil resources and all
depending on such though it happened
a lot slower than it's happening now.

Is it fair to fault Meroitic Kush
for lacking sustainable resource
policy so far in the past? What
other Afr civs declined due to
the same root cause? Everywhere
with massive iron production,
with or without over grazing
or over farming?

=-=

Oct 27, 2020 18:55:46 GMT -5 zarahan said:

How did Arkamani promote queenship? Family members like a daughter
or powerful females in royal court lineage?

No idea how Arkamani practicably promoted queenship.
It's just that kandake as fully reigning and war queen,
not queenmother/queensister, is something that like
local script, prominent Upper Nile deities, and Meroe
royal tombs defines the Arkamnai initiated Meroe dynasty
Kush spanning those 600 years marking her rise and fall
you just hipped me to.

One thing I'm sure of, queenship ain't no Greek philosophy.
We see it in the nearby Arabian Peninsula too, no? Or is it
just the legendary Bilqis there?