g. The title of the queen was Kentake, commonly rendered as 'Candace' (which most likely meant 'Queen Regent’or 'Queen Mother') and there were at least seven Candaces between 284 BCE and 115 CE. The Candace Amanishakheto is depicted as extremely fat, a towering figure
conquering her enemies who are all rendered as smaller and helpless in her grasp and the Candace Amanitore is shown in the same way, clearly illustrating the power and prestige women rulers had in the Meroitic culture.
Easily the most famous (though fictional)event illustrating the esteem in which the Candaces were held is the legendary tale from Psuedo-Callisthenes of
Alexander the Great being deftly turned aside from his attack on the kingdom by a Candace of Meroe in 332 BCE. According to this story, the Candace arrayed her army so perfectly that Alexander, surveying the field of
battle, thought it more prudent to retreat than press an attack. The true account of
Augustus Caesar's clash with the forces of Meroe in 22 BCE, however, is actually more compelling as the Emperor ended hostilities with the Kushyte Kingdom by a peace treaty which favored Meroitic interests over those of
Rome; a very rare gesture for Augustus to offer.