Sobekneferu

Earliest confirmed female Egyptian pharaoh c. 1800 BC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sobekneferu or Neferusobek (Egyptian: Sbk-nfrw, lit. 'Beauty of Sobek') was the first confirmed queen regnant (or 'female king') of ancient Egypt and the last pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty and of the Middle Kingdom. Her reign was brief, lasting three years, 10 months, and 24 days according to the Turin Canon in the 18th century BC. She distinguished herself from any potential prior female rulers by adopting the full royal titulary which were often had modified to acknowledge her womanhood such as by the titles 'daughter of Re' and 'female Horus'. She was also the first ruler to be associated with the crocodile god Sobek in her nomen and to have associated herself with him through her praenomen.

Reign3 years, 10 months, and 24 days according to the Turin Canon in the 18th century BC[1][a]
PredecessorAmenemhat IV
SuccessorSobekhotep I or Wegaf
ConsortAmenemhat IV?
Quick facts Pharaoh, Reign ...
Sobekneferu
Neferusobek
Greek: Σκεμίοφρις, romanized: Skemiophris
Partially damaged statue of a female
Statue of Sobekneferu (Berlin ÄM 14475) which was lost during World War II
Pharaoh
Reign3 years, 10 months, and 24 days according to the Turin Canon in the 18th century BC[1][a]
PredecessorAmenemhat IV
SuccessorSobekhotep I or Wegaf
Royal titulary
Horus name
mryt-rꜥ
Meryt-re
Beloved of Re[20][21]
G5X1
N5U6M17M17X1

G5X1
N5Z1U6
X1
Nebty name
sꜣt-sḫm-nbt-tꜣwy
Sat-sekhem-nebet-tawy
The daughter of the powerful one is Mistress of the Two Lands[20][21]
G16
X1
G39		 S42V30
X1		 N16
N16
Golden Horus
ḏdt-ḫꜥw
Djedet-khau
Stable of appearances[20][21]
G8
X1
R11 N28 G43
S12
Prenomen
kꜣ-sbk-rꜥ / sbk-kꜣ-rꜥ
Ka-sobek-re / Sobek-ka-re
The ka of Sobek-Re[20][21]
or
Sobek is the ka of Re[12]
M23
X1		 L2
X1
N5I4D28
Nomen
sbk-nfrw
Sobek-neferu / Neferu-sobek
Beauty of Sobek[20][21]
H_SPACE
X1		 G39N5
F35F35F35I5A

sbk-šdt-nfrw
Sobek-shedet-neferu
Beauty of Sobek, lord of Shedyt[22][21]
H_SPACE
X1		 G39N5
I5AF30
X1		 F35F35F35
ConsortAmenemhat IV?
FatherAmenemhat III?
MotherUnknown
BurialSee Burial
DynastyTwelfth Dynasty
Close

Sobekneferu ascended to the throne following the death of Amenemhat IV, her presumed brother and husband, albeit the relationship is unsubstantiated. The reasons for her accession are debated. One possibility is that her predecessor had no male heir to bestow the throne to, thus leaving his sister to take the mantle of king. Yet, there are two candidate sons, Sobekhotep I and Sonbef, that are stated through their filiative nomen to be 'Amenemhat's son'. If Amenemhat IV is meant, then it may be that she usurped the throne from them, perhaps because she perceived them to be illegitimate. She also never associated herself with Amenemhat IV, instead asserting her legitimacy through their presumptive father, Amenemhat III. It appears though, that Sokebhotep I modelled his praenomen after Sobekneferu's Nebty name, indicating that he may have sought legitimacy from his predecessor and also demonstrating the esteem she was held in.

Contemporary evidence from her reign is scant. There are a few partial statues – one with her face, now lost – and a small corpus of seals and inscriptions that have been preserved. These mainly originate from Faiyum where she is credited with the completion of 'the Labyrinth' – the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara. One important inscription is a graffito recording the level of the Nile inundation at the fortress at Kumma in her third regnal year indicating that she maintained authority across Egypt. Her funerary monument remains unidentified, though a papyrus discovered in Harageh mentions a site called Sekhem Sobekneferu which may refer to it, and there is a storeroom administrator attested to on a stela providing evidence of an active funerary cult. Her rule is also attested to on several later king lists from the Thutmosid and Ramesside periods and in Manetho's Aegyptiaca.

Family

See also: Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt family tree
Statue of Amenemhat III (Pushkin 4757), presumed father of Sobekneferu

The link between Amenemhat III and his two successors, Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu, is uncertain,[23] though they are usually presumed to be his son and daughter.[24] For Amenemhat IV, this identification is not universal. Kim Ryholt has proposed that because Amenemhat IV's mother, Hetepti, only has the mw.t-nsw[i] title and not ḥm.t-nsw,[ii] that this indicates that Amenemhat IV is of non-royal lineage.[25] Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton note that while Amenemhat IV does refer to Amenemhat III as his father in inscriptions, this may simply be referring to him as a predecessor, and also notes the lack of the ḥm.t-nsw title for Hetepti.[26] It also possible that Amenemhat IV was his grandson rather than his son.[27] For Sobekneferu, her mother's identity is unknown.[28] The relationship between Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu is also unclear. The ancient historian Manetho in Aegyptiaca states that they were brother and sister.[29] This filial identification is the norm and there is speculation on a potential marriage between them.[30] There is no contemporary evidence for this as neither sn.t-nsw[iii] nor ḥm.t-nsw are attested for Sobekneferu.[31]

Amenemhat III had two known wives, Aat and Khenemetneferhedjet III, who died early in his reign and were buried in his first pyramid at Dahshur.[32] He had at least one daughter, Neferuptah, who had a burial at his second pyramid at Hawara that was eventually moved to her own pyramid.[33] The enclosure of Neferuptah's name in a cartouche suggests that she may have been groomed for the throne.[34] The burials of three other princesses – Hathorhotep, Nubhotepet, and Sithathor – were found at the Dahshur complex, but it is unclear whether these princesses were his daughters because the complex was used for royal burials throughout the Thirteenth Dynasty.[35]

Sobekneferu's accession may have been motivated by a lack of a male heir for Amenemhat IV;[36] though there are two kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, Amenemhat [Sa] Sobekhotep (Sobekhotep I) and Amenemhat [Sa] Senebef (Sonbef),[37] that have the filiative nomen ỉmn-m-hꜣt sꜣ[iv] indicating they may be his sons.[38] Kim Ryholt proposes that in this case, Sobekneferu may have taken the throne following Amenemhat IV's death because she perceived them to be illegitimate.[39] Barbara Bell has questioned the premise of a dynastic split following Sobekneferu and has proposed that Sobekhotep I may have been a son of Amenemhat III from a secondary queen that legitimately ascended the throne.[40] Julien Siesse and Robyn Gillam note that Sobekhotep I's praenomen sḫm-rꜥ-ḫw-tꜣwy[v] bears a distinct resemblance to Sobekneferu's Nebty name sꜣt-sḫm-nbt-tꜣwy[41][b][vi] which Gillam additionally notes indicates that Sobekhotep I appears to have sought legitimacy through his predecessor and reflects the esteem held by Sobekenferu.[43]

History

Late Twelfth Dynasty

The Middle Kingdom attained its military and economic zenithon during the reigns of Senusret III and Amenemhat III respectively.[44] Senusret III's reign was an inflection point in the domestic and foreign policy of Egypt.[45] On the domestic front, he reorganized the administration displacing authority away from the nomarchs and condensing it into the hands of his appointed viziers and their councils.[46][c] Yet, it is his foreign policy that forms the most significant component of his legacy and is defined by the military campaigns he led into Nubia and Syria–Palestine.[48] These contributed the basis of the Greek legendary figure of Sesostris described by Manetho and Herodotus.[49] Following 19 years of sole reign, he passed the throne to his son, Amenemhat III, with whom he seems to have shared it for a further 20 years.[50][d] In turn, Amenemhat III presided over a peaceful Egypt enabling him to direct his attention to the economic development of the nation.[52] His building programme spanned all of Egypt, but its nexus was at Faiyum to which he contributed two colossi of himself at Biahmu, temples to Sobek and Renenutet, a pyramid at Dahshur and another at Hawara which is most noted for its mortuary temple known by the epithet 'the Labyrinth', and expanded the agricultural potential of Lake Moeris.[53] To provide the materials for these projects, the natural deposits of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula to Nubia were extensively exploited.[54] His reign lasted for at least 45 years, possibly longer,[55] and may have ended with a coregency with his successor.[56] Amenemhat IV ruled for nine or ten years,[57] but there is scant information regarding his reign,[58] and by the end of it the dynasty was in decline.[59]

Accession

Sobekneferu ascended to the throne following Amenemhat IV.[e] The reasons for the accession of a 'female king' are obscure,[64] but may have been motivated by the lack of a male heir for Amenemhat IV[65] or a dispute over their legitimacy.[66] She is the earliest confirmed woman to rule over Egypt as a king[67] and the first to adopt the full royal titulary.[68][f] The traditional titles preceding her names were modified to note Sobekneferu's womanhood by appending the feminine marker t to them: sꜣ.t-rꜥ;[vii] ḥr.t.[viii] Though this was an inconsistent practice that was not done to all names bỉk-nbw[ix] or even in all cases sꜣ-rꜥ.[75][x]

She was the first ruler to have a theophoric association with the crocodile god Sobek, whose identity appears in both her given nomen Sobekneferu and her chosen praenomen Sobekkare.[76] The cult of Sobek had risen to prominence during the Twelfth Dynasty, particularly as successive kings directed their energy towards the development of Faiyum where Sobek was revered.[77] This culminated in the incorporation of Sobek into the sun deity from whence he became a manifestation of that god as Sobek-Re in a process beginning in the Middle Kingdom and lasting through to the New Kingdom.[78] Many of Sobekneferu's successors in the Second Intermediate Period also bore nomen invoking the god, further testifying to his elevated status.[79][g]

Reign

Her comparatively brief reign of about four years has left, much as with her predecessor, a paucity of surviving contemporary records.[81] Her efforts were concentrated on the Faiyum region – much like Amenemhat III earlier – indicating its retained import.[82] In Faiyum, she is credited with the completion of 'the Labyrinth' of Amenemhat III's pyramid at Hawara.[83] A group of statues of Sobekneferu found at Tell el-Dab'a, but bearing the epithet sbk-šdt,[xi] also suggest a Faiyum origin.[84] Further south, she is attested in inscriptions from 'the temple of Kom el-Akareb' in Heracleopolis Magna.[85] That a graffito was left at Kumma in her third year indicates that she was able to effect her authority across Egypt.[86] Her funerary monument has not been positively identified. The two pyramids at Mazghuna have been proposed as potential candidates,[87] but there is no evidence to support this assignment and they may date to the Thirteenth Dynasty.[88] Sobekneferu's death brought a close to the Twelfth Dynasty[89] and began the Second Intermediate Period.[90][h] This transition appears to have been smooth as there is no evidence to suggest a violent collapse.[92]

Early Thirteenth Dynasty

The Second Intermediate Period is poorly understood owing to the paucity of attestations for individual rulers of the time.[93] The early Thirteenth Dynasty was characterised by a rapid succession of ephemeral rulers,[94] the first of whom remains debated, though the principal candidates are Khutawyre Wegaf (Wegaf) and Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep (Sobekhotep I).[95] The sheer numerosity of kingships and the brevity of their rule suggests that the throne may have been held by a rotating succession of members of the most influential families.[96] This initial phase was brief owing to the exceptionally short reigns of the kings and was followed by a more stable succession with better attested rulers.[97]

Attestations

Contemporary sources

Graffiti and seals

Only a small collection of sources attest to Sobekneferu's rule as king of Egypt.[98] In Nubia, a graffito in the fortress of Kumma records the height of the Nile inundation at 1.83 m (6.0 ft) during her third regnal year.[99] Another inscription discovered in the Eastern Desert records 'year 4, second month of the Season of the Emergence'.[100]

The British Museum has a fine cylinder seal (EA 16581) bearing her name and royal titulary in its collection.[101] The glazed steatite seal measures 4.42 cm (1.74 in) long with a diameter of 1.55 cm (0.61 in).[102] There is a 4.5 cm (1.8 in) long faded green faience cylinder from Faiyum in the collection of Farouk I carrying two columns of inscriptions. The first bears her name and titles and the second contains formulaic writing.[103] There is another cylinder seal (JE 72663) from the collection of Fuad I, now in the Cairo Museum, which curiously places nsw-bỉty[xii] before Sobekneferu's nomen sbk-šdt-nfrw[xiii] instead of her praenomen kꜣ-sbk-rꜥ.[xiv] Sydney Aufrère notes that by the reign of Senusret II the kingly title had rigidified in presentation before the praenomen and proposes that Sobekneferu's may rather have been sbk-šdt-nfrw considering that there are several instances of that pairing.[104] There is record of a further partial cylinder seal with Sobekneferu's titles in the private collection of a 'Mr. Nash from Margate'.[105]

The British Museum also possesses an inscribed scarab (EA 66159) bearing Sobekneferu's name. The glazed steatite scarab measures 2.03 cm (0.80 in) by 1.32 cm (0.52 in) and 0.86 cm (0.34 in) in height.[106] There is also a second scarab from the Grant Collection recorded in Historical scarabs[107] and History[108] by Flinders Petrie.[109]

Statuary

Quartzite statue of Sobekneferu (E 27135) in the Louvre, Paris

Several headless statues of Sobekneferu have been identified.[111] One is a quartzite torso (E 27135) of an originally life-size statue, held by the Louvre in Paris.[112] It was purchased by the Louvre Museum in 1973, but its provenance is unknown.[113] The remnant – which is missing the head, arms, and lower body[63] – measures 0.48 m (1 ft 7 in) vertically, 0.33 m (1 ft 1 in) frontally, and 0.215 m (8.5 in) sagitally.[114] In its iconography it blends feminine and masculine dress:[115] She wears the typical female sheath dress, with straps attached reaching over the shoulders and covering her breasts,[116] over which she has a šnḏwt kilt[117] held by an inscribed belt and a strip of apron covering the genital region usually worn by men.[118] On her chest rests a bivalve shell pendant like those that appear on statues of Senusret III and Amenemhat III.[119] Finally, the statue bears the royal nms, of which only the striated lappets survive, identifying the subject as a ruler.[120] Owing to the condition of the statue it is impossible to determine the depicted pose, though it may have been the subject in prayer with her hands laid flat upon the kilt.[121]

Three apparently life-sized basalt or greywacke statues of Sobekneferu were found in Tell el-Dab'a:[122] Two depict her in a seated posture trampling the Nine Bows, representing the subjugation of Egypt's enemies, while the third depicts her kneeling.[123] The two seated statues were probably originally identical, though they were severely damaged by the time of their discovery. The better preserved 0.73 m (2 ft 5 in) tall statue retains the lower half, while the less preserved 0.64 m (2 ft 1 in) tall statue has additionally lost the subject's feet and pedestal.[124] The surviving inscriptions commend her to Sobek of Shedyt,[125] an important centre since Amenemhat III[126] and an indicator that they might originate from Faiyum.[127] The kneeling statue is also partial, retaining the lower 0.85 m (2 ft 9 in) of the whole, but displays the great ability of the work's executor to capture the motion of subject: She is planted firmly upon the plinth in the ball of her feet and knees, her mass resting on her heels and hands in her lap, before an inscription run right-to-left commending her to 'Sobek of Shedyt' and 'Horus residing in Shedyt, foremost of the Palace Lake', and wishing that she, the King of the Two Lands, may live.[128] These statues were probably moved to Tell el-Dab'a by the Hyksos during their rule.[129] Their current location is unknown.[130] There is also a headless black basalt, granite, or granodiorite sphinx originally discovered by Édouard Naville in Qantir bearing a damaged inscription determined to be kꜣ-sbk-rꜥ the praenomen of Sobekneferu.[131] The sphinx's current location is also unknown.[132]

One statuette (Berlin ÄM 14475) of Sobekneferu with her visage is known.[133] It was bequeathed to the Egyptian Museum of Berlin by 'Dr. Deibel' in 1899 but lost during World War II, yet its existence is assured by photographs and a plaster cast made in 1905.[134] The fragment is made of greywacke[i] and measures 0.09 m (3.5 in) wide by 0.062 m (2.4 in) deep and is 0.14 m (5.5 in) tall.[137] It depicts a woman wearing a Hathor wig with a hole in her skull apparently there to receive a headdress, possibly a crown. It is uninscribed, and thus unidentifiable alone, but can be dated to the late Twelfth to Thirteenth Dynasty by its style.[138] Biri Fay proposed the possible identification with Sobekneferu in 1988 writing '[o]ne such example, the bust of a queen of the late Middle Kingdom ... with the features of Amenemhat III, is perhaps a representation of Nofrusobek'.[139] The upper fragment connects with the lower part of a seated statuette (MFA 24.742), discovered by George Andrew Reisner in the temple of Taharqa, of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, at Semna and held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[140] The greywacke[j] lower fragment measures 0.085 m (3.3 in) wide by 0.175 m (6.9 in) deep and rising 0.214 m (8.4 in) high.[143] It depicts a woman with her hands on her lap seated upon a throne bearing the royal symbol smꜣ tꜣwy[xv] flanked by plants representing Upper and Lower Egypt on each side.[144] The identity of the subject was confirmed on connecting the two pieces. The upper half depicts a woman of the Twelfth to Thirteenth Dynasty, whilst the lower half with its smꜣ tꜣwy inscription designates a seated pharaoh, which in combination leaves a single potential candidate: Sobekneferu.[145]

Buildings

Sobekneferu invariably related herself to Amenemhat III, suggesting that she was a royal daughter, whilst never mentioning her predecessor Amenemhat IV, indicating they may have only been step-siblings and that his mother may not have been a member of the royal family.[146] One such association comes from a limestone block (LDUCE-UC 14337) from 'the Labyrinth' of the pyramid at Hawara bearing both Amenemhat III and Sobekneferu's names that also contains the only known reference to a goddess Dḥdḥt.[147] Further inscriptions from Hawara include: Three blocks (including Berlin 1164) found by Karl Richard Lepsius containing fragmentary cartouches reconstructed with Sobekneferu's name,[148] a granite block discovered by Flinders Petrie bearing no name, but connected to Sobekneferu by its content which reads '... her monument to her father forever',[149][k] and a 0.4 m (1 ft 4 in) section of an up to 7 m (23 ft 0 in) tall red granite column bearing the serekhs of Amenemhat III and Sobekneferu with a Horus falcon atop each. The Horus of Amenemhat III carries a composite of an ꜥnḫ sign and ḏd pillar, representing life and stability respectively, that it presents to the Horus of Sobekneferu.[151] This imagery indicates that Amenemhat III was deified before the column was built and reflects Sobekneferu's intent to legitimise her reign by securing his favour.[152] The evidence from Hawara suggests that 'the Labyrinth' was completed during Sobekneferu's reign.[153] By contrast, Amenemhat IV's name does not appear at Hawara and with the exception of the temple of Renenutet at Medinet Madi he is unattested in the Faiyum region.[154]

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin possesses an alabaster fragment (Berlin 38/66) acquired in 1966 that bears the names of Amenemhat III and Sobekneferu enclosed in rectangles and in association with Sobek.[155] The provenance of this item is unknown, but it too may originally have come from Hawara.[156] Marco Zecchi comments that the contents of the inscription suggest a dual purpose to draw a connection between Sobekneferu and Amenemhat III via Sobek and then to employ the god's authority over Egypt, shown by his title ḥqꜣ idbwy,[xvi] to grant legitimacy to Sobekneferu as Amenemat III's successor.[157]

There is evidence that she built in Heracleopolis Magna[98] from a destroyed 'temple of Kom el-Akareb',[158] south of the temple of Haryshef,[159] which remains unidentified.[160] It appears to be oriented towards the pyramid of Senusret II which may indicate a Middle Kingdom origin.[161] The portico of this temple is partially preserved.[162] In 1915, Georges Daressy discovered a pair of colossi that Ramesses II – and later Merneptah[163] – had appropriated from an earlier Twelfth Dynasty pharaoh[164] – potentially Senusret III, based on a third colossus from this king that was found in 2011, or Amenemhat IV.[161] Whilst excavating, Daressy found a red granite architrave bearing Sobekneferu's names reused in the temple's pillars.[165] Four more granite papyriform columns bear Sobekneferu's inscriptions, while a further ten granite beams may originate from the same source.[160]

  • Columns inscribed with the names of Amenemhat III and Sobekneferu, from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo
    Columns inscribed with the names of Amenemhat III and Sobekneferu, from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Uncertain attestations

A possible reference to Sobekneferu before her accession was found on a statue base discovered in Gezer in 1971,[166] but its current whereabouts is unknown.[167] The statue fragment made of granite gneiss measured 0.117 m (4.6 in) wide by 0.102 m (4.0 in) deep and rose to a height of 0.056 m (2.2 in).[168] It is partial, preserving only the pedestal and feet of the subject with identical, albeit very fragmentary, inscriptions on either side.[169] These bear Sobekneferu's nomen and identify her as a sꜣ.t-nsw.[170][xvii] Nevertheless, there are multiple candidate subjects available: Sobekneferu, daughter of Senusret I;[l] Sobekneferu, presumed daughter of Amenemhat III; or even a third as yet unknown Sobekneferu.[179]

A damaged statuette (MET 65.59.1) of a woman in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York has been suggested to represent Sobekneferu.[180] The schist statuette measures 0.163 m (6.4 in) vertically, 0.11 m (4.3 in) frontally, and 0.75 m (30 in) sagitally.[181] The woman's face is badly damaged, retaining only the features of her brow, left eye, cheek, and traces of her nose.[182] She wears a shoulder-length globular wig which frames her ears,[182] and a crown composed of a uraeus – now headless – flanked by two vultures with outstretched wings which is of unknown iconography.[183] She was probably seated, her arms were crossed across her chest with the left hand alone protruding from beneath her ḥb-sd cloak pulled taught revealing her chest and shoulders.[184] This posture and garb are known from a handful of Third and Fourth Dynasty images of royal women.[185] The omission of the symbols of royal authority – the wꜣs scepter and ḥḏt crown – suggests the subject may be a royal mother rather than a pharaoh.[186] It proves equally difficult to place in context: The style of the ears and eyelids preclude a dating earlier than the reign of Senusret III; however, the presence of archaic features from the Old Kingdom is unattested in the late Middle Kingdom suggesting a later date when both Old and Middle Kingdom styles were in vogue, particularly between the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Sixth Dynasties.[187] It has a companion in a granite statuette head (ÆIN 595) found in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen that, though substantially worn, bears the same style globular wig and uraeus – whether it also shares the vulture iconography is indeterminable – placing the two statuettes as contemporaneous which is easier to explain with a late Middle Kingdom date.[188]

A statue-head (MET 08.200.2) of a Twelfth Dynasty king[m] in The Met discovered in a burial shaft south of the causeway of the pyramid of Amenemhat I at El Lisht remains unassigned, though candidates include Amenemhat I,[190] III,[191] IV,[192] Senusret III,[193] and Sobekneferu.[194] The 0.14 m (5.5 in) tall limestone head's style is akin to those from late in Amenemhat III's reign. It may belong to a shrine from the same pyramid of which a partial limestone lintel (MET 22.1.12a, b), measuring 0.25 m (9.8 in) high by 0.65 m (2 ft 2 in) wide, bearing Amenemhat IV's name and titles has been recovered.[195][n] The image bears a striking resemblance to Amenemhat IV, but has softer, more feminine features and is free of the wrinkles and depressions that characterise the bridge of Amenemhat IV's nose, leading Simon Connor to propose that it might be Sobekneferu.[194]

A king's face from a statue (MET 29.100.150) of unknown provenance may speculatively represent Sobekneferu.[198] It was bequeathed to The Met by Louisine W. Havemeyer in 1929 at which time it was identified as bearing the likeness of Amenemhat III,[199] an attribution which remains the norm.[200] The statue is 1:3 scale[199] with a height of 0.089 m (3.5 in) carved into a grey marble.[201] Its face is remarkably intact[202] though only small fragments of the royal nms headdress are present and nothing below the neckline.[198] It is wrinkle-free, with a defined bone structure and slight traces of loose skin; the nose has a slight characteristic arch with a bulbous tip; the lower lip bears a distinct depression; and the eyes are formed into the hooded almond shape recognisable in late Twelfth Dynasty portraiture.[203] William Hayes assigned it to the 'expressive style' of Amenemhat III's sculptural tradition for its idealistic presentation of the young subject and contrasted it against a much later statue-head in black granite that portrayed him with 'utter and unrelenting realism'.[204] Dorothea Arnold writes that the face displays 'an unmistakable femine character' making it 'tempting to identify the pharaoh represented as Queen Sobekneferu'.[198]

  • Damaged statuette of a late Middle Kingdom queen (MET 65.59.1) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, possibly Sobekneferu
  • The unique twin vultures with wings outstretched either side of a uraeus wound through the centre of the subject's head
  • The head of an undetermined Twelfth Dynasty king (MET 08.200.2), perhaps of Amenemhat IV or Sobekneferu

Historical sources

In the Thutmosid period, she is listed on the Karnak list of early Egyptian kings.[205] In the Ramesside period, she is conspicuously excluded from the Abydos King List,[206] but mentioned in the Saqqara Tablet,[207] and Turin Canon.[98] The Turin Canon – second entry of the sixth column[208] – credits her with a reign of 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days.[209] Her exclusion at Abydos, along with all other female kings, pharaohs of the First and Second Intermediate Periods, and of the Amarna Period, indicates who Seti I and Ramesses II viewed as legitimate rulers of Egypt.[206] In the Hellenistic period, Manetho gives her the name Σκεμιoφρις ('Skemiophris') and credits her with a reign of four years.[29]

In the opening half of the Eighteenth Dynasty, a visiting scribe(s) left a pair of inscriptions referencing Sobekneferu in TT60 belonging to Senet, mother or wife of Intefiqer, vizier under Senusret I.[210] The tomb contains the largest corpus of graffito amongst those in the Theban necropolis,[211] indicating a pronounced interest in site driven by some combination of its prominent siting atop the hill at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, impeccable state of preservation, contemporaneously perceived ancientness – few monuments in the area originate from the period[212] –, and/or assumed affiliation with the royal house of the Twelfth Dynasty – perhaps inferred from the unique depiction of a seated king (Senusret I) by its entrance which do not otherwise appear in private tombs before the New Kingdom.[213] The two inscriptions appear to erroneously identify the tomb as either belonging to or belonging to the time of Sobekneferu – a portion of the first inscription is now illegible casting doubt on its precise reading.[214]

Burial

Map of the El Lisht pyramid field by Karl Richard Lepsius. Northern Mazghuna pyramid (middle, top).

Sobekneferu's tomb has not yet been positively identified.[215] There is a Sekhem Sobekneferu mentioned on a papyrus (LDUCE-UC 32778) found at Harageh which may identify her monument.[216] On a Thirteenth Dynasty funerary stela (Marseille 223) from Abydos, now in Marseille, there is mention of a ỉr.y-ꜥ.t[xviii] of Sobekneferu named Heby attesting to an ongoing funerary cult.[217]

Mazghuna

Two pyramids at Mazghuna were cleared and excavated by Ernest Mackay in 1910–1911 who attributed them to the final two suzerains of the Twelfth Dynasty: Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu.[218][o] No name was recovered from either site, so Mackay based his assignment on its similarity to the Hawara pyramid, proposing that '[t]he northern pyramid, being the largest, was probably intended for the former ruler, but it is practically certain that he must have been buried elsewhere, for the tomb had never been used'.[222][p] Since then, scholars have frequently[226] designated them to Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu,[227] with the North Mazghuna pyramid typically assigned to Sobekneferu.[228]

Only the substructure of the pyramid was completed; construction of the superstructure and wider temple complex was never begun. The substructure passages had a complex plan: A stairway descended south from the east side of the pyramid leading to a square chamber connecting to a sloping westward passage up to a portcullis – consisting of a 42,000 kg (93,000 lb) quartzite block intended to slide into and block the passage – beyond which it wound through several more turns and a second, smaller portcullis before terminating at the antechamber. South of it lay the burial chamber which was near wholly occupied by a quartzite monolith vessel for the sarcophagus. In a deep recess lay a quartzite lid which was to be slid over the coffin and locked into place with a stone block. All of the exposed surfaces were painted red with additional lines of black paint. Though the burial place had been constructed, no burial was interred there. Outside lay a mudbrick causeway leading to the pyramid built to serve the workforce.[229]

Mackay's designation preceded the discoveries of the pyramids of Khendjer[q] and Ameny Qemau[r] of the Thirteenth Dynasty which have been noted to resemble those in Mazghuna[232] causing some scholars to attribute them to the Thirteenth Dynasty instead.[233]

Other proposals

Nabil Swelim and Aidan Dodson propose a chronological order of Hawara, Ameny-Qemau, North Mazghuna, South Mazghuna, and Khendjer.[234][s] For either Amenemhat IV or Sobekneferu, Dodson suggests the South Dahshur A pyramid noting that it 'should probably be placed within the twenty-five years following the death of [Amenemhat] III'.[235] Christoffer Theis revises Dodson's chronology, shifting the South Mazghuna pyramid much earlier in the chronology and provisionally assigns it to Sobekneferu on the basis of its architectural style and the evidence it was used for a burial, whilst for Amenemhat IV he suggests an as yet undiscovered tomb near Neferuptah's pyramid.[236][t] Stefania Pignattari suggests that Sobekneferu's tomb may reside in Hawara owing to her connections with the site, and that Amenemhat IV's may be in Dahshur.[238]

See also

Notes

General

  1. [a]
    Proposed dates for the reign of Sobekeneferu: c. 1812–1809 BC,[2] c. 1805–1802 BC,[3][4] c. 1805–1801 BC,[5] c. 1799–1795 BC,[6] c. 1790–1786 BC,[7][8] c. 1790–1785 BC,[9] c. 1789–1786 BC (HC),[10] c. 1787–1783 BC,[11] c. 1785–1782 BC,[12] c. 1785–1781 BC,[13] c. 1782–1778 BC,[14] c. 1777–1773 BC,[15][16] c. 1763–1760 BC,[17] c. 1763–1759 BC (LC),[18] c. 1760–1755 BC.[19]
  2. [b]
    Siesse also noted a similarity between the Horus name of Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw (whom Siesse identifies with Sobekhotep I) ḫꜥ-bꜣw with that of Amenemhat III's ꜥꜣ-bꜣw.[42]
  3. [c]
    There is debate as to whether this was a conscious effort by Senusret III to wrest power away from local governors, or moreso a consequence of centralization that occurred as officials moved to the capital and into the court of the regnant for work.[47]
  4. [d]
    The topic of co-regencies during the Middle Kingdom remains fraught. Some Egyptologists obstinately refuse to entertain the idea of them, while others treat their existence as settled fact. The issue has thus occupied a substantial fraction of academic discourse on chronological issues for the period.[51]
  5. [e]
    The proposition of a coregency between Sobekneferu and Amenemhat III, put forth by Percy Newberry[60] and later Alan Gardiner,[61] is generally rejected.[62] Similarly, a coregency period between Sobekenefru and Amenehat IV is also unevidenced.[63]
  6. [f]
    There is some evidence for other earlier female rulers. As early as the First Dynasty, Neithhotep has been proposed as a possible regent on the basis of a palace seal with royal insignia.[69] In the same dynasty, Merneith may have ruled as regent for her son.[70] In the Fifth Dynasty, Setibhor has been proposed to have been a female king regnant based on the manner her monuments appeared to have been targeted for destruction.[71] In the Sixth Dynasty, Nitocris is generally considered as a king,[72] though there is little proof of her historicity[71][73] and she is not mentioned prior to the Eighteenth Dynasty.[72] The recounting of Nitocris' reign may be a Greek legend[73] and the name may originate from an incorrect translation of Neitiqerty Siptah.[74]
  7. [g]
    In the Thirteenth Dynasty, seven kings bore nomem invoking Sobek: Sobekhotep I, Sobekhotep II, Sobekhotep III, Sobekhotep IV, Sobekhotep V, Sobekhotep VI, and Sobekhotep VII. In the Sixteenth Dynasty a further king bore such a nomen: Sobekhotep VIII. Finally in the Seventeenth Dynasty two more kings bore such nomen: Sobekemsaf I and Sobekemsaf II.[80]
  8. [h]
    There is no firm consensus across Egyptologists as to whether the Middle Kingdom period concludes with the Twelfth or Thirteenth Dynasty. There is a continuation in the arts and culture following the transition between the two dynasties, but an immediate political change as the longevity of individual suzerains dissipates from decades-long to years- or months-long. Thus, academics focussing on the former subject tend to include the Thirteenth Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom, whereas those focussed on the latter subject identify it with the Second Intermediate Period.[91]
  9. [i]
    It is alternatively described as being steatite[135] or slate.[136]
  10. [j]
    This too is described as being either steatite[141] or slate.[142]
  11. [k]
    It is open to interpretation whether 'her father' refers to Amenemhat III or to a god.[150]
  12. [l]
    This daughter is attested to on an inscribed syenite offering stand (MET 34.1.11) found in a rubbish pile at the pyramid of Senusret I at El-Lisht and thought to bear sꜣt-nsw sbk-nfrw.[171][172][173] In the vicinity an ivory wand (Cairo CG 9438 or JE 31046) inscribed for sꜣt-nsw nfrw-ptḥ (Neferuptah) was also found.[171][174][175] Ryholt notes that the pyramid complex was regularly visited well into the Thirteenth Dynasty and argues therefore that there is 'nothing to indicate' that this attestation refers to a contemporary of Senusret I.[176] Dodson and Hilton consider that the woman referred to is probably the daughter of Senusret I, but acknowledge the possibility of it being Sobekneferu.[177] The fragment is very partial preserving only sꜣt-n... sbk-... which might even be ...-n sꜣt-sbk (Sat-Sobek) thus further complicating identification.[178]
  13. [m]
    The head bears the royal nemes and uraeus, establishing the subject as a ruler.[189]
  14. [n]
    The lintel bears an inscription reading 'long live the good god, Mꜣꜥ-ḫrw-rꜥ (Maa-kheru-re), given life forever'.[196] Maa-kheru-re, meaning 'the righteous one of Ra' or 'the true of voice of Ra' is Amenemhat IV's praenomen.[197]
  15. [o]
    The Northern Mazghuna pyramid, known previously, was apparently entered by Jacques de Morgan in the late 19th century,[219] but the results of his work were evidently never published.[220][221] The Southern Mazghuna pyramid was discovered and cleared during that excavation season.[222]
  16. [p]
    The two pyramids are discussed in chapters xiii (southern) and xiv (northern).[223] On attributing the southern pyramid: 'For whom was the southern pyramid of Mazghuneh built? The reply must be either Amenemhat IV, or his sister and successor Queen Sebek-neferu ... [t]he former king followed his father Amenemhat III ... [whose] tomb agrees in many important respects with the tomb I have just described, but is ... the earlier'.[224] On the northern: 'We cannot say for whom this tomb was intended, for no trace of a name was found in the building, but, as we have noted, the presumption is that it was for Amenemhat IV or his immediate successor. It is also difficult to decide whether the tomb was ever in use ... yet the fact that the wall ... was broken would suggest that plunderers found [the chamber] blocked up when they entered it ...'.[225]
  17. [q]
    Discovered and excavated by Gustave Jéquier between 1929–1931.[230]
  18. [r]
    Discovered by Charles Arthur Musès in 1957; investigated by Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi in 1968.[231]
  19. [s]
    Dodson proposes that the Mazghuna pyramids belong to two rulers from Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, Hotepibre, Sewadjkare, Nedjemibre, Khaankhre Sobekhotep, and Amenemhat VII.[235]
  20. [t]
    Theis's proposed chronology is South Mazghuna, Central Dahshur, Hor Awibre, Khendjer, Ameny-Qemau, Mazghuna Nord, Merneferre Ay, and Southern South Saqqara.[237]

Titles, names, and epithets

  1. [i]
    king's mother
  2. [ii]
    king's wife
  3. [iii]
    king's sister
  4. [iv]
    Amenemhat's son
  5. [v]
    The powerful one of Re is Protector of the Two Lands
  6. [vi]
    The daughter of the powerful one is Mistress of the Two Lands
  7. [vii]
    daugher of Re
  8. [viii]
    female Horus
  9. [ix]
    Golden Falcon; or ḥr-nbw Golden Horus
  10. [x]
    son of Re
  11. [xi]
    Sobek of Shedyt
  12. [xii]
    He of the Sedge and Bee; King of Upper and Lower Egypt
  13. [xiii]
    Beauty of Sobek of Shedyt
  14. [xiv]
    The ka of Sobek-Re; Sobek is the ka of Re
  15. [xv]
    union of the Two Lands
  16. [xvi]
    ruler of the Two Banks
  17. [xvii]
    king's daughter
  18. [xviii]
    storeroom administrator

References

Bibliography

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