Sobeknefru

Queen Sobeknefru

Sobeknefru Cartouche

Sobekneferu (sometimes written “Neferusobek”) was an Egyptian woman reigning as pharaoh after the death of her brother Amenemhat IV. She the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty and governed Egypt for almost 4 years from 1806 to 1802 BC.[1] Her name means “the beauty of Sobek.

She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. Sobekneferu had an older sister named Nefruptah who may have been the intended heir. Neferuptah’s name was enclosed in a cartouche and she had her own pyramid at Hawara. Neferuptah died at an early age

Collar of Neferuptah

Sobekneferu is the first known female ruler of Egypt, although Nitocris may have ruled in the Sixth Dynasty, and there are five other women who are believed to have ruled as early as the First Dynasty.

Amenemhat IV most likely died without a male heir; consequently, Amenemhat III’s daughter Sobekneferu assumed the throne. According to the Turin Canon, she ruled for 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days[3] in the late 19th century BC.

She died without heirs and the end of her reign concluded Egypt’s brilliant Twelfth Dynasty and the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom as it inaugurated the much weaker Thirteenth Dynasty.

Sources

http://www.touregypt.net/images/touregypt/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobekneferu