Sekhemre Sankhtawy Neferhotep III Iykhernofret was the third or fourth ruler of the
Theban 16th Dynasty, reigning after
Sobekhotep VIII according to Egyptologists
Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker.
[Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC, Stacey International, , 2008, pp. 256-257] He is assigned a reign of 1 year in the
Turin Canon and is known primarily by a single stela from Thebes.
[Kim Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C, Museum Tusculanum Press, (1997), p.202] In an older study,
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920 – 26 June 2016) was a German Egyptology, Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '':fr:Orientalia, Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journa ...
dated Neferhotep III to the end of the
13th Dynasty.
Attestation
Stela, Cairo JE 59635
In the heavily damaged stela (Cairo JE 59635
G 20799,
[Pascal Vernus (1982): "La stèle du roi Sekhemsankhtaouyrê Neferhotep Iykhernofret et la domination Hyksôs (stèle Caire JE 59635)", ''ASAE'' 68, pp.129-135.] Neferhotep III repeatedly calls Thebes ''"my city"'' and praises himself as ''"the guide of victorious Thebes"''.
This emphasis on Thebes is understood by Ryholt as showing that Neferhotep III reigned exclusively over the Theban region. Additionally, Baker points out the total lack of contemporary attestations for kings of the 16th Dynasty (except
Bebiankh and
Nebiryraw I) outside of a 200 km long stretch of the Nile valley comprising Thebes, from
Hu in the north to
Edfu in the south.
That Neferhotep III ruled over little more than the Theban region is further strengthened by a stela of Neferhotep's successor
Seankhenre Mentuhotepi where Mentuhotepi states ''"I am the king within Thebes, this is my city"''.
Non-contemporary attestations
Turin King List
The Turin King List 11:3 mentions "''The Dual King Sekhemra S... 1 year ...''", usually identified with Sekhemre Sankhtawy Neferhotep III. In the list he is preceded by 11:2 Sekhemra
..'' 16 years and succeeded by 11:4 Se...en...ra 1 year.
Reign
In his Theban stela, Neferhotep III emphasizes his role as provider of food for his people stating that ''"he who nourishes his city, saving it from famine"''. This, together with his royal name Sekhemre Sanhktawy, ''The might of
Ra, who nourishes the Two Lands'' is a strong sign that
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...
suffered from famines during the late 16th Dynasty. Another king of the period,
Senusret IV, adopted a similar royal name.
Neferhotep III got certainly embroiled in a defensive war against the
Hyksos
The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...
15th Dynasty
The Fifteenth Dynasty was a foreign dynasty of ancient Egypt. It was founded by Salitis, a Hyksos from West Asia whose people had invaded the country and conquered Lower Egypt. The 15th, Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 16th, and Seventeenth Dynasty o ...
, which would ultimately overrun the 16th Dynasty state. Neferhotep praises himself on his stela as ''" He who raises his city, having been sunk through strife with foreigners''".
The stela is thought to contain the earliest known mention of the
Khepresh crown. Neferhotep is said to be "Adorned with the Khepresh, the living image of
Re, lord of terror". For reasons which remain difficult to understand, on the stela Neferhotep III is also referred to by the epithet ''Iykhernofret'' written inside a
cartouche
upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...
:
[Ryholt, p.155]
<-M18-T28:r-nfr-t:Z2->
After his short reign, he was succeeded by a similarly short lived king Seankhenre Mentuhotepi.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neferhotep Iii
17th-century BC pharaohs
Pharaohs of the Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt