Karimala facts for kids
Karimala (also spelled Katimala or Kadimalo) was an important Nubian queen from ancient times. We know about her from a special stone carving, called a relief, found in a temple in Semna, a place in Nubia. Nubia was an ancient region in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Karimala held important titles like Great Royal Wife and princess. A "Great Royal Wife" was the main wife of the pharaoh, often holding significant power and influence. The relief at Semna shows Queen Karimala wearing a crown with two feathers, holding a special whip (called a scourge), and dressed in a long robe. The goddess Isis is shown standing in front of the queen.
There is a long message written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics on the relief. These hieroglyphics are quite hard to read, even for experts! The text seems to hint at a disagreement or fight between someone named Makarasha and a king who was Karimala's husband. This gives us a small peek into the politics of that time.
When Did Queen Karimala Live?
It's not easy to figure out the exact time Karimala lived because the inscription is old and hard to date precisely. However, experts believe she lived during the Twenty-First or Twenty-Second Dynasty of Egypt. This period was roughly from 1000 BC to 750 BC.
This time is often called a "dark age" in Nubian history. This doesn't mean it was a bad time, but rather that historians don't have many records or much information about what happened then. Because of this, the discovery of Karimala's relief is very important. It helps us understand that powerful leaders and organized governments continued to exist in Nubia during this mysterious period.
Who Was Karimala's Family?
In 1999, a researcher named Chris Bennett suggested that Karimala might have been the daughter of an Egyptian king named Osorkon the Elder. He ruled from about 992 BC to 986 BC. The inscription calls Karimala both a "King's Daughter" and a "King's Wife." Her name also sounds like it might be from Libya, a country west of Egypt.
Based on the date mentioned in the inscription (which refers to "year 14"), Karimala could have been the queen of either King Siamun (who ruled from 986 BC to 967 BC) or King Psusennes II (who ruled from 967 BC to 943 BC). Chris Bennett thinks she was probably married to King Siamun. If she was, she might have taken on an important religious role in Nubia after the death of a powerful official named Neskhons.
