Sobekemsaf II

Last updated

Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf II was an Egyptian king who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was fragmented and ruled by multiple kings. He was once thought to belong to the late Thirteenth Dynasty, but is today believed to be placed as a king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt.

Contents

Attestation

His throne name, Sekhemre Shedtawy, means "Powerful is Re; Rescuer of the Two Lands." [3] It is now believed by Egyptologists that Sobekemsaf II was the father of both Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and Nubkheperre Intef based on an inscription carved on a doorjamb discovered in the ruins of a 17th Dynasty temple at Gebel Antef in the early 1990s which was built under Nubkheperre Intef. The doorjamb mentions a king Sobekem[saf] as the father of Nubkheperre Intef/Antef VII--(Antef begotten of Sobekem...) [4] He was in all likelihood the Prince Sobekemsaf who is attested as the son and designated successor of king Sobekemsaf I on Cairo Statue CG 386. [5]

According to the Abbott Papyrus and the Leopold-Amherst Papyrus, which is dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IX, Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf was buried along with his chief Queen Nubkhaes (II) in his royal tomb.

Placement in the 17th Dynasty

The German Egyptologist Daniel Polz, who rediscovered Nubkheperre Intef's tomb at Dra Abu el Naga', strongly maintains that Nubkheperre Intef ruled very late in the 17th Dynasty, which means that Sekhemre Wadjkhau Sobekemsaf (I) cannot have intervened between the Intef line of kings and the Ahmoside family of kings: Senakhtenre, Seqenenre and Kamose. Polz's hypothesis that Nubkheperre Intef ruled late in the 17th Dynasty is supported "by the evidence of the box of Minemhat, who was governor of Coptos" in Year 3 of Nubkheperre Intef [6] "which was part of the funerary equipment of an Aqher who lived under Seqenenre [Tao]." [7] This discovery strongly suggests that the reigns of Nubkheperre Intef and Seqenenre Tao were separated by only a few years in time rather than 15 to 20 years at a time when few pharaohs enjoyed long reigns in the 17th Dynasty. The late Middle Kingdom German Egyptologist Detlef Franke (1952–2007) also supported this view in an article which was published in 2008—a year after his death—where he wrote:

Contrary to Ryholt, I see no place for a king Sobekemsaf who ruled [Egypt] after Nubkheperra Antef. [8]

Ryholt believed that Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf intervened between the line of Intef kings and the accession of Senakhtenre—the first 17th Dynasty kings from the Ahmoside family line. Polz argues that Sekemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf was instead the father of Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf (II) and the grandfather of the Intef kings since a statue of Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf shows that his eldest son was also named Sobekemsaf as Anthony Spalinger notes. [9] This means that Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf ruled on the throne before the Intef kings took power early in the 17th Dynasty—and that he would be Sobekemsaf I instead and the father of Sobekemsaf II. Since Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf (II) himself is known to be the father of Nubkheperre Intef, this means that both he and Sobekemsaf I ruled Egypt before Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and Nubkheperre Intef assumed the throne. Sobekemsaf II would, therefore, be the son of Sobekemsaf I and the father of his two immediate successors: Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and Nubkheperre Intef.

The robbery of Sobekemsaf's tomb

The Abbott and Leopold-Amherst Papyruses, which are dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IX, state that this king's royal pyramid tomb was violated and destroyed by tomb robbers. The confessions and tomb robbery trials of the men responsible for the looting of Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf's tomb are detailed in the latter papyrus which is dated to Year 16, III Peret day 22 of Ramesses IX. This document relates that a certain Amenpnufer, son of Anhernakhte, a stonemason from the Temple of Amun Re "fell into the habit of robbing the tombs [of noblemen in West Thebes] in company with the stonemason Hapiwer" and mentions that they robbed Sobekemsaf's tomb along with six other accomplices in Year 13 of Ramesses IX. [10] Amenpnufer confesses that they

...went to rob the tombs...and we found the pyramid of [king] Sekhemre Shedtaui, the son of Re Sebekemsaf, this being not at all like the pyramids and tombs of the nobles which we habitually went to rob. [10]

In his trial, Amenpnufer testifies that he and his companions dug a tunnel into the king's pyramid with their copper tools:

Then we broke through the rubble...and we found this god (king) lying at the back of his burial-place. And we found that the burial-place of Nubkhaes, his queen, situated beside him...We opened their sarcophagi and their coffins in which they were, and found the noble mummy of this King equipped with a falcon; a large number of amulets and jewels of gold were upon his neck, and his head-piece of gold was upon him. The noble mummy of this King was completely bedecked with gold, and his coffins were adorned with gold and silver inside and out and inlaid with all kinds of precious stones. We collected the gold on the noble mummy of this god...and we collected all that we found on her (the Queen) likewise; and we set fire to their coffins. We took their furniture...consisting of articles of gold, silver and bronze, and divided them amongst ourselves...Then we crossed over to Thebes. And after some days the District Superintendent of Thebes heard that we had been stealing in the west, and they seized me and imprisoned me in the office of the Mayor of Thebes. And I took the twenty deben of gold which had fallen to me as my portion and gave them to Khaemope, the scribe of the quarter attached to the landing place of Thebes. He released me, and I rejoined my companions, and they compensated me with a portion once again. Thus I, together, with other thieves who are with me, have continued to this day in the practice of robbing the tombs of the nobles and the [deceased] people of the land who rest in the west of Thebes. [11]

Amenpnufer states that the treasures taken from the two royal mummies amounted to "160 deben of gold" or 32 lbs (14.5 kg). [12] The document ends with the conviction of the thieves—with a probable death sentence—and notes that a copy of the official trial transcripts was dispatched to Ramesses IX in Lower Egypt. Amenpnufer himself would have been sentenced to death by impalement, a punishment which "was reserved for [only] the most heinous crimes" in Ancient Egypt. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmose I</span> Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ahmose I was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. His reign is usually dated to the mid-16th century BC at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Egypt-related articles</span>

Articles related to Egypt include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramesses IX</span> Egyptian pharaoh of the 20th dynasty

Neferkare Setepenre Ramesses IX was the eighth pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the third longest serving king of this Dynasty after Ramesses III and Ramesses XI. He is now believed to have assumed the throne on I Akhet day 21 based on evidence presented by Jürgen von Beckerath in a 1984 GM article. According to the latest archaeological information, Ramesses IX died in Regnal Year 19 I Peret day 27 of his reign. Therefore, he enjoyed a reign of 18 years, 4 months and 6 days. His throne name, Neferkare Setepenre, means "Beautiful Is The Soul of Re, Chosen of Re." Ramesses IX is believed to be the son of Mentuherkhepeshef, a son of Ramesses III, since Mentuherkhopshef's wife, the lady Takhat bears the prominent title of King's Mother on the walls of tomb KV10, which she usurped and reused in the late 20th Dynasty; no other 20th Dynasty king is known to have had a mother with this name. Ramesses IX was, therefore, probably a grandson of Ramesses III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamose</span> Final Pharaoh of Theban seventeenth dynasty of Egypt

Kamose was the last Pharaoh of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. He was possibly the son of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I and the brother of Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reign fell at the very end of the Second Intermediate Period. Kamose is usually ascribed a reign of three years, although some scholars now favor giving him a longer reign of approximately five years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intef II</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Wahankh Intef II was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes. In his time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. He was buried in a saff tomb at El-Tarif.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dra' Abu el-Naga'</span> Village and archaeological site in Egypt

The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga' is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The necropolis is located near the Valley of the Kings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senakhtenre Ahmose</span> 7th king of the 17th dynasty of Egypt

Senakhtenre Ahmose, was a king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. Senakhtenre reigned for a short period over the Theban region in Upper Egypt at a time where the Hyksos 15th Dynasty ruled Lower Egypt. Senakhtenre died c.1560 or 1558 BC at the latest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imyremeshaw</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Smenkhkare Imyremeshaw was a minor king of the early 13th Dynasty during the late Middle Kingdom. He apparently had a short reign and is mainly attested in the Memphis-Faiyum region in Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nubkheperre Intef</span> Egyptian king

Nubkheperre Intef was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt at Thebes during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided by rival dynasties including the Hyksos in Lower Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobekemsaf I</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf I was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th Dynasty in the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley of the Kings</span> Necropolis in ancient Egypt

The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and powerful nobles under the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef</span> Egyptian king

Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef was an ancient Egyptian king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided between the Theban-based 17th Dynasty in Upper Egypt and the Hyksos 15th Dynasty who controlled Lower and part of Middle Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef</span> Egyptian pharaoh (1600–1600)

Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef-Aa was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 17th Dynasty of Egypt, who lived late during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided in two by Hyksos-controlled Lower Egypt and Theban-ruled Upper Egypt.

Kim Steven Bardrum Ryholt is a Danish Egyptologist. He is a professor of Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen and a specialist on Egyptian history and literature. He is director of the research center Canon and Identity Formation in the Earliest Literate Societies under the University of Copenhagen Programme of Excellence and director of The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection & Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbott Papyrus</span>

The Abbott Papyrus serves as an important political document concerning the tomb robberies of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom. It also gives insight into the scandal between the two rivals Pawero and Paser of Thebes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisse Papyrus</span> Ancient Egyptian papyrus

The Prisse Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian papyrus datable to the Middle Kingdom which was discovered by the inhabitants of Kurna and given to French orientalist Émile Prisse d'Avennes at Thebes and published in 1847 and is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.
Inhabitants of Kurna originally found the papyrus inside the rishi coffin of pharaoh Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef of the 17th Dynasty, whose tomb was probably located in Dra' Abu el-Naga' near Thebes.

This page list topics related to ancient Egypt.

Sekhemre Shedwaset was a native ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 16th Theban Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobekemsaf (queen)</span> Great Royal Wife

Sobekemsaf(sbk-m-z3=f) was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 17th Dynasty. She was the wife of pharaoh Nubkheperre Intef and sister of an unidentified pharaoh, probably Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef, Sobekemsaf II or Senakhtenre Ahmose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre</span>

The Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre is a department of the Louvre that is responsible for artifacts from the Nile civilizations which date from 4,000 BC to the 4th century. The collection, comprising over 50,000 pieces, is among the world's largest, overviews Egyptian life spanning Ancient Egypt, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, Coptic art, and the Roman, Ptolemaic, and Byzantine periods.

References

  1. Petrie, Flinders; A History of Egypt, vol. I, p. 223.
  2. Petrie, Flinders; A History of Egypt, vol. I, p. 223.
  3. Clayton, Peter A., Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames and Hudson Ltd, paperback 2006. p. 94.
  4. mentioned by Kim Ryholt: The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800–1550 B.C, pp. 266-270 394 File 17/4.6 & p. 270. ISBN   8772894210. LCCN   98-198517. OL   474149M .
  5. Polz, Daniel; Der Beginn des Neuen Reiches. Zur Vorgeschichte einer Zeitenwende. Sonderschriften des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 31. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2007. pp. 49-50.
  6. see the Coptos Decree.
  7. Winlock, Herbert: Journal of Egyptian Archaeology10 (1924) 258 with n.1 & Thomas Schneider, "The Relative Chronology of the Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos Period (Dyns. 12-17)" in Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss & David Warburton (editors), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Handbook of Oriental Studies), Brill, (2006). p. 187.
  8. Franke, Detlef: The Late Middle Kingdom (Thirteenth to Seveenth Dynasties): The Chronological Framework, Journal of Egyptian History, 1(2) (2008) Koninklijke Brill, p. 279.
  9. Spalinger, Anthony: LÄ, V, 1032.
  10. 1 2 Cottrell, Leonard: The Lost Pharaohs, Pan Books, London and Sydney, 8th printing: (1977), p. 135.
  11. Cottrell, pp. 135-136.
  12. Clayton, Peter A., Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd, (1994). p. 171.
  13. Gill, Anton. "Ancient Egyptians: The Kingdom of the Pharaohs Brought to Life" Harper Collins Entertainment, (2003). pp. 176-77. ISBN   0007143990.

Bibliography

Further reading

Preceded by Pharaoh of Egypt
Seventeenth Dynasty
Succeeded by