Amanirenas was a kandake, or queen mother, of the Kingdom of Kush in northeast Africa from between c. 40 B.C to 10 B.C.
When in 24 B.C. the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar demanded taxes from the Kushites, Amanirenas responded by leading an army of 30,000 men into Roman-controlled Egypt.
Amanirenas was noted for leading from the front, fighting side-by-side with her own soldiers. She was blinded in one eye after she was wounded by a Roman.
Her initial campaign was hugely successful, defeating three Roman cohorts and sacking a number of Roman forts across southern Egypt. As a further insult Amanirenas had several statues of Caesar defaced or destroyed.
The war continued for three years, with the Kushites being driven back by the Romans, but at a heavy cost to both sides.The eventual peace treaty favoured the Kushites, granting them land and an exemption from future taxation.