Faience plaque with a cartouche of Amenirdas, King's wife and God's Wife dating to the 25th Dynasty.

Amenirdas was the daughter of King Kashta of Nubia, Amenirdas came to Egypt with the successful invasion of her brother, King Piankhi of Kush, in 716-715 B.C. At the time of the Kushite conquest, Shepenupet I, daughter of the last native king, held the supreme religious office of the land at Thebes, which had long been the spiritual capital of Egypt. Shepenupet was compelled to adopt the Kushite princess, who henceforth as Amenirdas I became the Divine Consort, earthly bride of the state god, Amun. This act lent legitimacy to the claim of Piankhi as the first foreigner in a thousand years to become ruler of a large part of Egypt.