This namewhich means great house in hieroglyphicswas given to the rulers who led this large empire.
The first recorded femalepharaohwasSobekneferu.
Her end as ruler marks the end of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.
1914 photograph of the bust of Queen Sobekneferu that was lost in WWII (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Here we will learn more about Sobekneferu and her significance.
Who was Sobekneferu?
Her relationship to Amenenhat III helped her assert legitimacy as a ruler.
Right: Bust of Amenemhat III, father of Sobekneferu (Photo: ArchaiOptix viaWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0)Left: 1914 photograph of the bust of Queen Sobekneferu that was lost in WWII (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
She based her first name on the crocodile-headed godSobekassociated with pharaonic power, fertility, and military prowess.
Historians have gleaned that Nefertiti was a major proponent of Akhenaten’s religious and cultural movement.
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Right: Bust of Sobekneferu in the Louvre (Photo: Neithsabes viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)Left: Photo of the Karnak List of Kings in the Louvre (Photo: MbztWikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 3.0)
Jean-François Champollion, Illustration of Egyptian god Sobek, 1823–1825 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum viaWikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor, Egypt (Photo: Siempreverde/DepositPhotos)
Bust of Nefertiti (Photo: wrangel/DepositPhotos)
