| Sobekemsaf | |
|---|---|
| Great Royal Wife Khenemetneferhedjet | |
 Stela depicting queen Sobekemsaf (center) along with other relatives. | |
| Spouse | Nubkheperre Intef |
| Dynasty | 17th of Egypt |
| Father | possibly Rahotep |
| Mother | unnamed queen |
Sobekemsaf (sbk-m-z3=f) was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 17th Dynasty.
Family
She was the wife of king Nubkheperre Intef and sister of an unidentified pharaoh, probably Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef, Sobekemsaf II or Senakhtenre Ahmose.
Her name ("Sobek protects him") is grammatically masculine. Although a female version of the name (sbk-m-z3=s) did exist, the queen is named Sobekemsaf in all sources, so it was not an error on the scribe's part, but she was probably named for an ancestor. Masculine names for females were not uncommon during the Second Intermediate Period.
Attestations
| ||||
| Sobekemsaf in hieroglyphs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Era: 2nd Intermediate Period (1650–1550 BC) | ||||
She is mentioned on a bracelet and a pendant, now both in the British Museum.
A stela, also from Edfu (Cairo JE 16.2.22.23), depicts queen Sobekemsaf along with other relatives; the stela names the queen's sister Neferuni and their mother, whose name is lost.
Sobekemsaf's titles were: King's Wife (ḥm.t-nswt), Great Royal Wife (ḥmt-nỉswt wr.t), United with the White Crown (ẖnm.t-nfr-ḥḏ.t), King's Daughter (z3.t-nỉswt), and King's Sister (zn.t-nswt).
Non-contemporary attestations
In Edfu, her family's hometown, she is known from stelae (Cairo CG 34009). The stela, belonging to an official called Yuf dated to the 18th Dynasty, mentions reconstruction of her tomb.
Sources
- ^ Engelbach, Reginald (1922). "Steles and tables of offerings of the Late Middle Kingdom from Tell Edfû". Annales du Service des antiquités de l'Égypte. 22. Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire: 180 plate 1, no. 6.
- ^ Grajetzki, Wolfram. Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary. London: Golden House Publications. ISBN 0-9547218-9-6 (2005), p. 44
- Dodson, Aidan & Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05128-3 (2004), p.117
- Dodson & Hilton, p. 118
- ^ Grajetzki, p. 304
- Polz, Daniel: Der Beginn des Neuen Reiches. Berlin & New York, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2007. ISBN 978-3-11-019347-3 p. 39
- Ranke, Hermann: Die ägyptische Persönennamen, Band II, p. 4
- Polz, Daniel: "The Territorial Claim and the Political Role of the Theban State", in: Forstner-Müller & Moeller (eds.), The Hyksos Ruler Khyan and the Early Second Intermediate Period in Egypt: Problems and Priorities of Current Research. Proceedings of the Workshop of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Vienna, July 4 – 5, 2014, p. 229
- Engelbach, Reginald (1922). "Steles and tables of offerings of the Late Middle Kingdom from Tell Edfû". Annales du Service des antiquités de l'Égypte. 22. Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire: 116.
- Breasted, James Henry (1906). Ancient Records of Egypt. Vol. II. Chicago. pp. 44-46 §§ nos. 109−114.
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