CANDACE

(Can·daʹce) [perhaps, queen].

A queen of Ethiopia whose treasurer became a Christian. (Acts 8:27) Rather than being a specific personal name, “Candace,” like “Pharaoh” and “Caesar,” is considered to be a title. Ancient writers, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder and Eusebius, used this designation in referring to queens of Ethiopia. Pliny the Elder (c. 23-79 C.E.), in his Natural History, writes: “The edifices of the city [Meroe, capital of ancient Ethiopia] were few; a woman reigned there of the name of Candace, which name had been transmitted to these queens for many years.”