Sobekhotep III (throne name: Sekhemre-sewadjtawy) was an Egyptian king of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt who reigned three to four years, c. 1740 BC or 1700 BC.

Family

Parents and siblings

The family of the king is known from several sources. A monument from

Sehel Island Sehel Island () is located in the Nile, about southwest of Aswan in southern Egypt. It is a large island, and is roughly halfway between the city and the upstream Aswan Low Dam. Geography Sehel Island, spanning 3/4 the width of the Nile, is t ...

shows Sobekhotep with his father Mentuhotep, his mother was king's mother Iuhetibu (Yauheyebu), his brothers Seneb and Khakau, and a half-sister called Reniseneb. Reniseneb was a daughter of Iuhetibu and her second husband Dedusobek.M. F. Laming Macadam, A Royal Family of the Thirteenth Dynasty, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 37 (Dec., 1951), pp. 20-28

Wife and children

Sobekhotep III had two wives, Senebhenas and Neni. A stela from Koptos (Qift),Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

(C 8), mentions the daughters of Nenni: Iuhetibu (Fendy) and Dedetanqet. Iuhetibu Fendy wrote her name in a

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...

. This is the second time in Egyptian history that a king's daughter received this honor. Senebhenas is shown with Sobekhotep on an altar in

and a stela in Wadi el-Hol. The stela depicts Sobekhotep III before the god

Monthu Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in Upper ...

. He receives an

ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphat ...

and a was-scepter from the god. Sobekhotep is followed by his father Montuhotep, his mother Iuhetibu, and his wife Senebhenas.

Reign

Sobekhotep III is known from many objects despite the fact that the Turin King List gives him a reign of only four years and two to four months in length. He added inscriptions to the temple of

Menthu Montu was a falcon-god of war in ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in Upper ...

at Madamud and built a chapel at El Kab. On

Sehel Sehel Island () is located in the Nile, about southwest of Aswan in southern Egypt. It is a large island, and is roughly halfway between the city and the upstream Aswan Low Dam. Geography Sehel Island, spanning 3/4 the width of the Nile, is t ...

an altar with his name was found. A number of scarab seals have been found that were from an ''officier of the ruler's table'' Sobekhotep begotten of the ''officier of the ruler's table'' Mentuhotep.G.T. Martin, ''Egyptian Administrative and Private Name Seals'' Oxford 1971, n. 575-588 It is possible that these seals belonged to Sobekhotep III before he became king. Sobekhotep III was the first of a group of Thirteenth Dynasty kings about whom there exists historical records. This group of Thirteenth Dynasty kings are all known from many objects. These kings produced many seals and there are many private monuments that can be dated to these reigns. This would seem to indicate that Egypt was relatively stable during this period.

References

Bibliography

*K.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800-1550 BC,'' (''Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications'', vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997), 343-44, File 13/26.

External links

Sobekhotep III
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobekhotep 03 18th-century BC Pharaohs Pharaohs of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt