She was a Kushite princess, the daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye.[3][4] Kashta arranged to have Amenirdis I adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her successor.[5] This shows that Kashta already controlled Upper Egypt prior to the reign of Piye, his successor.[6]
She ruled as high priestess approximately between 714 and 700 BCE, under the reigns of Shabaka and Shabataka, and she adopted Piye's daughter Shepenupet II as her successor.[3] She also held the priestly titles of Divine Adoratrice of Amun and God's Hand.[7] Upon her death, she was buried in a tomb in the grounds of Medinet Habu.[3]
She is depicted in the Osiris-Hekadjet ("Osiris, Ruler of Eternity") temple in the Karnak temple complex, and in Wadi Gasus, along with Shepenupet I. She is mentioned on two offering tables, five statues, a stela and several small objects including scarabs.[3] A statue of Amenirdis I carved from granitoid and decorated in gold leaf is held by the Nubian Museum in Aswan, Upper Egypt. The statue itself shows her decorated in the Egyptian style, with similarities to depictions of Isis and Hathor.[8]
Ayad, Mariam F. (2004). "The Selection and Layout of the Opening of the Mouth Scenes in the Chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 41: 113–133. doi:10.2307/20297190. JSTOR20297190.
Ayad, Mariam F. (2007). "The Pyramid Texts Of Amenirdis I: Selection And Layout". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 43: 71–92. JSTOR27801607.
Ayad, Mariam F. God's Wife, God's Servant: The God's Wife of Amun (c. 740–525 BC). Routledge, 2009. ISBN978-0-415-41170-7.
Dodson, Aidan (2002). "The Problem of Amenirdis II and the Heirs to the Office of God's Wife of Amun during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 88: 179–186. doi:10.2307/3822343. JSTOR3822343.
