Siaspiqa
Siaspiqa | |
---|---|
Siaspiqo, Siaspi-qo, Si'aspiqo, Sa'asheriqa. | |
Pharaoh | |
Reign | c. 487–468 BC |
Predecessor | Amaniastabarqa |
Successor | Nasakhma |
Consort | possibly queen Pi'ankhqewqa |
Burial | Nuri, pyramid 4 |
Siaspiqa (also Si'aspiqo) was a ruler of the Kushite kingdom of Meroë reigning for close to twenty years in the first half of the 5th century BC. Very little is known of Siaspiqa's activities beyond the construction of his pyramid at Nuri, now known as Nuri 4. The pyramid and its chapel have yielded several inscribed stelas bearing his name as well as numerous artefacts suggesting a once rich burial. Nothing is known for certain on the relations between Siaspiqa and his predecessor Amaniastabarqa and successor Nasakhma. Equally uncertain is the identity of his consort, with queen Pi'ankhqewqa buried in the nearby Nuri 29 conjectured for that role.
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Identity and chronology
Siaspiqa is known under two or less likely three names: his
Siaspiqa's filiation is unknown. He is believed to be the successor of Amaniastabarqa—who might have reigned over the period 510–487 BC—based on the relative position of their pyramids with respect to one another.[3][6] The same argument suggests that Siaspiqa was succeeded by king Nasakhma.[7] Several dates for Siaspiqa's reign have been proposed: 489–471 BC,[8] 487–468 BC,[9][10][11][8] and 478–458 BC,[12][13] making him a likely contemporary of the Achaemenid emperor Xerxes I, then ruler of Egypt.[14]
Royal family
No member of Siaspiqa's family has been identified with certainty. The archaeologists Dows Dunham and Laming Macadam conjectured that queen Piankhqewqa, buried in pyramid Nuri 29, may have been his consort.[10]
Attestations
Siaspiqa is well attested by numerous finds, the majority of which come from Nuri. These include a libation jar uncovered in the chapel of his pyramid which bears his throne name and nomen,
His tomb, the 4th pyramid of Nuri, was excavated in 1917 under the aegis of a joint Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. These works have yielded at least 11 fragmentary faience
Siaspiqa's name is also attested on votive objects from the temple of Amun in Meroë.[30]
Pyramid
Siaspiqa was buried in a pyramid he had prepared for himself at the royal necropolis of Nuri, now known as pyramid Nuri 4. The pyramid is made of sandstone masonry disposed in a plinth course as well as a sandstone enclosure.[6] The building, too damaged to evaluate its original height, covers 26.95 m2 (290.1 sq ft).
Adjacent to the south-eastern face of the pyramid is a small chapel which housed the main granite offering stela. Walls of chapel might have been plastered white with incised hieroglyphs in red and gold.[17]
The pyramid was built atop three subterranean chambers on the same level and entered in succession from a long corridor accessed via a flight of 49 stairs starting at ground level, the entrance of which is nearly 40 m (130 ft) in front of the chapel. The corridor is still blocked by a masonry plug as the thieves entered the pyramid by digging a vertical hole from ground level and leading directly behind the plug. The first chamber is 4.9 m × 4 m (16 ft × 13 ft) in size with a paved floor, the second is 5.8 m × 5.9 m (19 ft × 19 ft), its floor unpaved, and the third and largest is 7.50 m × 6.65 m (24.6 ft × 21.8 ft) with a paved floor of sandstone and granite.[17] The walls of the chamber are uninscribed.
The burial chamber originally housed one or possibly two wooden anthropoid coffins for the king that were richly inlaid with obsidian, Lapis lazuli, slate and alabaster materials.[17] Four fragments of what might be a human skull have also been uncovered there.[17]
References
- ^ Dows Dunham, The Royal Cemeteries of Kush, Volume II Nuri, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, 1955, fig. 212.
- ^ ISBN 3-8053-2591-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Eide, Tormod ; Hægg, Tomas ; Pierce, Richard Holton ; Tørøk, Laszlo, Fontes historiae Nubiorum. Textual Sources for the History of the Middle Nile Region Between the Eighth Century BC and the Sixth Century AD. Vol 1. From the Eighth to the Mid-Fifth Century BC, pp. 300-301
- ISBN 978-9004104488, p. 232
- ^ Hans Goedicke, "ZMA-TAWY", Mélanges Gamal Eddin Mokhtar. Volume I (1985), BdE, 97/1. Le Caire, IFAO. 307–324
- ^ a b c Dows Dunham, Nuri, Boston (1955), pp. 176-180
- ^ Samia Dafa'alla, Succession in the Kingdom of Napata, 900-300 B.C., The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 26, No. 1 (1993), pp. 167-174
- ^ a b P. L. Shinnie, Ancient Peoples and Places: Meroe - A Civilization of the Sudan (1967), pp 58-59
- OCLC 781990483.
- ^ The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 35 (Dec., 1949), pp. 139-149. JSTOR link. See cartouches from the libation jar on Pl. XVI (70 b), cartouches from the offering table on Pl. XVI (70 e) and mention of the heart-scarab p. 147
- ^ Steffen Wenig, Africa in Antiquity: The Arts of Ancient Nubia and the Sudan, Volume 2, Brooklyn Museum (1978), p. 16.
- JSTOR 219190.
- ^ Dows Dunham, Nuri, Boston (1955), p. 3
- ISBN 978-3805323109. See p. 192 for the dates of Xerxes I's reign.
- ^ Museum object reference: Khartoum 1861.
- ^ Museum object reference: Khartoum 1868.
- ^ a b c d e Dows Dunham, Nuri, Boston (1955), p. 176
- ^ Dows Dunham, Nuri, Boston (1955), p. 272
- ^ a b Dows Dunham, Nuri, Boston (1955), p. 177
- ^ Shawabty of Siaspiqa, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 21.13942.
- ^ Gold pendant in the form of a ba-bird, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 20.290.
- ^ Disc bead, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 20.292
- ^ Rosette, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 20.291.
- ^ Finger ring, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 20.296.
- ^ Finger ring 2, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, accession number 20.297.
- ^ Gold plaque, British Museum EA55571
- ^ Sarcophagus inlays series 1, inlays series 2, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
- ^ Eye inlays, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, accession number 17-4-119
- ^ Cup with inverted rim, Small offering dish, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, accession numbers 20.4335 and 20.4050]
- ISBN 978-0856981371. Inscriptions numb. 13 and 14.