(fl. c. 780 B.C.E.) Powerful ruler of Napata, in Nubia The kingdom of NAPATA, located in NUBIA, modern Sudan, maintained Egyptian traditions in religious, social, and governmental affairs. Alara was the brother of KASHTA, who founded the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling from 770 to 750 B.C.E. Kashta and his successor, PIANKHI (1), ruled only a part of Egypt in their lifetimes. The Napatans would later claim all of Egypt when SHABAKA marched northward in 712 B.C.E. and conquered the entire Nile Valley. Alara’s daughter, TABIRY, the mother of Shabaka, married Piankhi. Alara’s wife was a noblewoman named Kassaga.
alchemy A term derived from the ancient Egyptian skill in the working of precious metals, alchemy has a modern occult influence. The word is derived from the Arabic al-kimia, the art of Khemet, Khem, or Kamt, which means the Black Land—Egypt. Alchemy is thus the “Art of Egypt.”
