SEBEKNEFRU

also spelled Sobekneferu, queen who ruled as king of Egypt (1760??1756 BC); she was the last ruler of the 12th dynasty. The end of the long reign of Sebeknefru's father, Amenemhet III, brought her half brother to the throne late in life. When her brother died, the absence of a male heir made Sebeknefru the closest in line of succession; she thus took the royal titles and ruled as king. Hers was not a precedent-setting reign, however, for a similar succession had occurred at the end of the 6th dynasty, and tradition records that officials in the 2nd dynasty decided that a woman could hold the royal title. Sebeknefru reigned as a full pharaoh; her statues from the northeastern Nile River delta show her with full royal (king's) regalia and in traditional royal poses. Nonetheless, she made no attempt to depict herself as a man, as did Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th dynasty. Sebeknefru continued normal 12th-dynasty policies. Her highest regnal year datethreeis indicated at the Second Nile Cataract, where the annual inundation level was recorded.