Alara of Kush facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alara
Kushite King of Napata
The cartouche of Alara as appears on the much later stele of Nastasen
Successor	Kashta
Spouse	Kasaqa
Issue	Queen Abar, Queen Tabiry
nomen

Alara was an important King of Kush. Many people see him as the founder of the Napatan royal family. He was the first Kushite prince whose name we know today.

Alara brought together all of Upper Nubia. This area stretched from Meroë to the Third Cataract. He also made Napata the main religious city of Kush. Alara himself did not rule over any part of Egypt. His successors, Kashta and Piye, were the ones who later controlled parts of Egypt.

Nubian stories say that Alara ruled for a very long time. Later Nubian kings often wished for a reign as long as his. His story was also key to how the Kushite kingdom began. Alara was a highly respected leader in Nubian culture.

Who Was King Alara?

Alara was a powerful leader in the ancient kingdom of Kush. He helped unite different parts of Nubia. This made his kingdom stronger. He also set up Napata as a very important religious center. This city became the heart of their faith.

Alara was not part of the 25th dynasty of Egypt. This means he did not rule Egypt directly. However, his family members did later become pharaohs of Egypt. His long reign was seen as a sign of great success.

Alara in Ancient Records

We first learn about Alara from an ancient Egyptian stone tablet. This tablet is called a stele. It belonged to Queen Tabiry. She was Alara's daughter. Her mother was Queen Kasaqa, Alara's wife.

Queen Tabiry was married to King Piye. Piye took over the throne after King Kashta. This means Alara was most likely King Kashta's predecessor. Even though Alara was not called a king on Tabiry's stele, his name was written in a special royal oval. This oval is called a cartouche. It shows he was indeed a Kushite king.

Alara is also mentioned in other writings. These writings say he was the brother of Taharqa's grandmother. Taharqa was a famous pharaoh from the 25th dynasty.

Some experts thought Alara might be a king named 'Ary'. This king's name was found on a broken stele from the Temple of Amun at Kawa. However, other scholars do not agree with this idea. They believe 'Ary' was a different, later king.

Alara's Burial Place

Alara was followed as king by Kashta. Kashta expanded Nubia's power even further. He reached areas like Elephantine and Thebes in Egypt.

Alara was buried in the royal cemetery of El-Kurru. This cemetery is located downstream from Napata. His wife, Queen Kasaqa, was buried in tomb Ku.23. Her tomb was right next to tomb Ku.9. Experts believe Ku.9 is where Alara himself was buried.

What Was Alara's Tomb Like?

The tomb believed to be Alara's (Ku.9) shows a mix of Nubian and Egyptian styles. The king was buried in the traditional Nubian way. He lay on a bed inside a small room at the bottom of a deep shaft.

However, the visible part of the tomb had many Egyptian features. The top of the tomb may have had a bronze statue. This statue looked like an Egyptian ba. A ba was believed to be part of a person's soul.

The tomb's chapel had a simple stone table for offerings. The chapel walls had carvings. One carving showed the upper part of a man's head. He wore a crown with a special snake ornament called a uraeus. This snake symbol was often seen on Egyptian pharaohs' crowns. This suggests that Alara, or his successor, wanted to show him as a true pharaoh.

Experts agree that Alara's tomb chapel (Ku.9) was one of the first at El-Kurru to have a tomb stele and an offering table. This shows his importance as an early Kushite king.

See also

In Spanish: Alara para niños