The Lamanite queen, whose name is not recorded in the text, played a decisive but unwitting role in a significant political upheaval in the governance of the Lamanite people. Following the mysterious death of her husband, the king, she was approached by Amalickiah, a man of Nephite descent and a leader among Nephite dissenters who had defected to the Lamanite cause. Amalickiah, with ambitions to rule over both the Nephites and Lamanites, deceitfully sought her favor and requested her hand in marriage. The queen, in a state of bereavement and seeking clarity on the circumstances of her husband’s demise, requested that Amalickiah come before her with witnesses to discuss the matter of the king’s death (Alma 47:33).
Amalickiah, with calculated cunning, falsified an account that placed the blame for the king’s death on his own servants, presenting false witnesses to support his claims (Alma 47:34). The queen, deceived by this testimony, granted favor to Amalickiah. Their subsequent marriage secured for Amalickiah not only a position of trust and affection with the queen but also the throne of the kingdom. This act cemented his authority among the Lamanites, which included the Lamanites proper, the Lemuelites, the Ishmaelites, and the dissenters from the Nephites (Alma 47:35). Through this strategic marriage, Amalickiah would go on to wage a brutal campaign against the Nephites in an attempt to reign over all the inhabitants of the land. Thus, the Lamanite queen’s influence, though indirect and largely contingent upon the manipulations of Amalickiah, had a profound impact on the political landscape of the era, affecting the lives of both Nephite and Lamanite peoples.