| Arikhankharer | |
| Crown prince of Kush | |
| Full Name: | Arikhankharer (Arikḫror, ’Irk-nḫr) |
| Dynasty: | Meroitic |
| Father: | Natakamani |
| Mother: | Amanitore |
| Birth Date: | unknown |
| Death Date: | ca. mid-1st century AD |
| Place Of Burial: | Pyramid 5 (?), North Cemetery, Meroë |
Arikhankharer (also transliterated Arikankharor, Arrikharêr; in Meroitic hieroglyphics Arikḫror; in Egyptian hieroglyphs ’Irk-nḫr) was crown prince of the Meroitic Kingdom of Kush in the first half of the 1st century AD.[1]
Arikhankharer was the eldest son of the co-regents Natakamani and Amanitore, and is depicted with them in reliefs in the temple of Apedemak at Naqa and the temple of Amun at Meroë.[2] His royal dress and other aspects of his iconography, along with the Meroitic title pqrtr and the Egyptian throne name Ꜥnḫ-kꜢ-Rᵉ (Ankh-ke-re), confirm his status as the heir apparent.[1] [3] In a relief now in the Worcester Art Museum, he is depicted in royal dress, smiting his enemies and watched over by the winged goddess Tly (otherwise unattested).[1] [4]
Arikhankharer died before reaching the throne and was succeeded as crown prince by his brother Arikakahtani.[1] [3] He may have been[5] buried in pyramid 5 of the north cemetery at Meroë (Begarawiyah N 5), which was excavated in 1921 by an expedition sponsored by Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[6] Roman glass and other imported objects from the tomb suggest a date around the middle of the 1st century AD.[1] [7] The tomb also produced fragments of Greek bronze sculpture, including two small heads of Dionysos.[8]