Sobekneferu, the first queen of Egypt

Sobekneferu, also known as Neferusobek or “the beauties of Sobek”, is the first queen of Egypt that official research has reliably classified as ruler of the ancient empire.

The conventionally accepted term for an Egyptian queen is pharaoh-woman either queen-pharoah. Therefore, the word “pharaona”, so widespread and rooted in the popular heritage, turns out curiously not to be a correct linguistic permutation.

Like every person who leads and opens the way and, especially, like every woman who assumes a role otherwise attributable only to manSobekneferu’s life story is full of surprising and powerful events that serve as a source of inspiration.

Also, a strong personality, determination and a robust intellect and tactical ability They were necessary so that this woman could govern an empire, as prosperous as it was complicated; since it had classically been in the hands of pharaohs.

Brief history of the first queen of Egypt

Sobekneferu was the last ruler of the twelfth dynastytemporally framed towards the end of the Middle Kingdom.

She was the youngest of Amenemhat III’s daughters. Her older sister, Neferuptah, seemed to show interest in power before Sobekneferu and although she was destined to occupy the throne, she died before her father without inheriting it.

Egyptologists attribute a reign of three years and ten months to this empress. At that time, the queen achieved relatively important achievements related to the architecture of his nation: He greatly extended the funerary complex of Amenemhat III (known today as the Labyrinth of Herodotus) and promoted relevant constructions in Herakleopolis Magna.

From the surviving records of his reign, it appears that it was a woman of firm disposition and unbreakable attitude. Her strong character, her bravery and, above all, her intelligence and care of the reign allowed her to go down in history as one of the most outstanding leaders of the Egyptian Empire.

What was so special about this queen?

Some of Sobekneferu’s most characteristic features were her courage and dedication to stand out as an honorable and respected leader in a universe of male regents. Now, also He highlighted his great nonconformity with the gender canons of the moment.

In this sense, and no matter how much speculation the representations of Sobekneferu dressed in male clothing have generated, the first queen of Egypt He never stopped using feminine suffixes in his titles. Something that not all Egyptian leaders agreed with.

In an effort to normalize the role of women in the highest power and to equate in power the symbols of femininity and those of masculinitythere are several portraits and statues that show her with highly unusual clothing and tools of power (crowns and scepters).

At a time when, as many experts claim, the female gender was sometimes considered a source of shame, there is no reason to think that Sobekneferu would want to pass herself off as a man.

During Ancient Egypt, the aspiration of any king was go down in history as a pharaoh in the most traditional of senses; something that necessarily – due to cultural roots – implied the use of certain markers of masculinity.

Thus, the combination in his public representations of feminine and masculine markers could be explained as a mechanism to establish himself as a classic and venerable pharaoh, but with the peculiarity of having been a woman.

While the tomb of the first officially confirmed queen of Egypt is yet to be discovered, what we can recognize is that it was a example of strength and improvement and of the fight for gender equality.

We can all be first kings, rulers of our lives, leaders of our destiny. Like Sobekneferu, An unbreakable will and the ability to fight is all we need to build our place in world history.

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