Sabtah (Part 3/3)

Closing up our discussion of Sabtah's identification

Dec 06, 2023

Following our previous line of thinking, the only major people and Kingdom that is lacking a proper identification so far are the Nubian Kushites, both the Napatan Kush Kingdom, and the later Kingdom of Meroe centered around the Astaboras. Tentatively we can place these Kushites, or Nubians, separate from the origin culture for all these people in Kerma, as the identification for Sabtah. The implication is then that the first Kushite period around Napata might represent Sabtah, and strangely even the name seems like a strange phonological shift from “Napta”>”Sabta”.

The major supporting evidence for this theory is found in the name of the leaders and elite of the Kushite’s at Napata. The first Nubian King is Alara who unifies most of the Nubian region including Meroe, however lacking any piece of Egypt he is not an official Pharaoh of the 25th dynasty. Alara is integrated into the Kushite origin myth, almost in a similar way to the Greek Iapetus, and assumes a pseudo mythological status in Kush.1

Alara’s successor was the husband of his sister Pebatjma, who married someone known as “Kashta”. His name obviously is related to Kush, likely meaning “of the land of Kush”, and is sometimes translated to just mean “The Kushite”.2 Ruling sometime in the 8th century BCE. Kashta is the first Nubian ruler to extend their power north to Thebes after he installs his daughter Amenirdis I as the God’s Wife of Amun in Thebes, in line to succeed Pharaoh Osorkon III’s daughter. This critical event is often seen as the “key moment in the process of the extension of Kushite power over Egyptian territory” helping to legitimize Kushite rule of the Nile3, and as a result Kashta is often considered the founder of the 25th dynasty of Egypt.4 Indeed a peaceful transition is observed between Osorkon and Kashta, likely owing to Kashta’s legitimized status among the Egyptian elite. The length of Kashta’s reign is unknown, but two of his sons go on to become Kings, with the son through his own daughter Khensa named Piye becoming Pharaoh following Kashta’s death.

Piye is one of the more notable Nubian Pharaohs reigning over a lengthy thirty year period. Much of this period is spent solidifying the newly found Nubian rule over Egypt, and sadly his reign is quite uneventful in terms of foreign relations. Piye never conquers the Lower Nile portion of Egypt, and this is left to his successor Shebitku, who is either the son, or brother of Piye.5 The previously mentioned Taharqa - who is arguably the most important ruler of Nubia - is also a son of Piye through his wife Queen Abar. Taharqa even marries three of Piye’s daughters, all his sisters. This intermarriage between family members is a persistent theme found in nearly every era of Egyptian history until it’s conquest by Rome, with Cleopatra herself engaging is numerous instances of incest.

Following Piye’s massive 30 year reign is the comparatively short 9 year reign of his son Shebitku. Scholarship has yet to settle on an understanding for Shebitku’s reign, and some believe he formed a coregency with his heir. Whatever the case, Shebitku was the first Nubian ruler to control the entirety of Egypt, and continuously clashed with Assyrian Kings often being mentioned in their records from the era of Sargon II.

Immediately obvious is that King “Shebitku” pretty much retains most of the sounds necessary to form Sabtah. Herodotus identifies this Shebitku in his Histories6 as a High Priest of Ptah named “Sethos”, or Sethon in Greek. Something was obviously lost in translation but it is actually his successor which clues us into the name. Following the reign of Shebitku is the confusingly named “Shabaka”. Obviously, this name throws nearly everything for a loop since it would imply Sabtah and Sabtecah come after one another. However it is mostly likely a coincidence of naming or a similar root, and Shabaka himself is not the precise identification of Sabtecah.

Helping clarify this designation is again Herodotus - as well as Manetho - who refer to this ruler as “Sabacon” helping us separate his identification from Sethon. Earlier we gave a possible Hebrew intermediary term for the two brothers as “Sabatah” and “Sabatacah”. The Greek terms help support my argument with Sabatah mirroring “Sethon” and “Sabaca” being only one “ta” away from becoming “Sab(a)taca”. The sheer similarity of these rulers makes it very difficult to understand why the Hebrew terms are also so similar, but one potential theory is that like Greek records, the only Pharaohs of Nubia that were notable in the wider ancient world in terms of their foreign policy were these two Pharaohs. Would Israel, like the Greeks, find it only important to note these two rulers? Unlikely, and there are some stronger potential identifications rather than making both of these Pharaohs the two brothers in the table of nations.

We will fully flesh out this theory when we come to Sabtecah, as it’s possible Sabtah does represent both of these combined Kingdoms in nearly the same area - thus making Sabtecah a separate African nation, or people - but it’s also just as likely they represent separate Kushite Kingdoms. There is even the possibility Meroe isn’t necessarily meant to be represented at all, as Meroe doesn’t show up until the 3rd century BCE. Whatever the case, we will reapproach and finalize an identity for Sabtah after figuring out an identification for Raamah.

Link to the next post

While we haven’t fully identified Sabtah, it should be fairly obvious his most likely identification. It will fully become clear after we look at the rest of the region, and fill out some of the more obvious members of Cush’s lineage. Next time we will start digging into Raamah and Ethiopia.

Sabtah (Part 3/3)

Closing up our discussion of Sabtah's identification

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