Sobekhotep III
Sekhemre Sewadjtawy Sobekhotep III was an Egyptian king of the mid Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt who reigned four years.
Family
Parents and siblings
The family of the king is known from several sources. A monument from Sehel Island shows Sobekhotep with his father Mentuhotep, his mother was king's mother Iuhetibu, his brothers Seneb and Khakau, and a half-sister called Reniseneb. Reniseneb was a daughter of Iuhetibu and her second husband Dedusobek.Wife and children
Sobekhotep III had two wives, Senebhenas and Neni. A stela from Koptos, now in the Louvre, mentions the daughters of Neni: Iuhetibu Fendy and Dedetanqet. Iuhetibu Fendy wrote her name in a cartouche. 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 Sehel Island and a stela in Wadi el-Hol. The stela depicts Sobekhotep III before the god Monthu. He receives an ankh and a was-scepter from the god. Sobekhotep is followed by his father Montuhotep, his mother Iuhetibu, and his wife Senebhenas.
Early life
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. It is possible that these seals belonged to Sobekhotep III before he became king.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 at Madamud and built a chapel at El Kab. On Sehel an altar with his name was found.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.
Attestations
The main attestations of Sobekhotep III are found in Upper Egypt. Only small finds are attested in Lower Egypt and Nubia. For a full list, see Ryholt 1997:343-44 File 13/26 Sobekhotep III is also indirectly attested by monuments owned by people associated with him.Lower Egypt
- At Saqqara, a scarab-seal. The seal is said to be from Saqqara.
- At Lisht, seal-impressions and scarab-seals.
Upper Egypt
- At Abydos, a scarab-seal.
- At Koptos, a stela of two king's daughters and a scarab-seal.
- At Wadi el-Hol, a rock-inscription.
- At Medamud, architectural elements. One base of a colossal statue was later reused by Sobekemsaf II.
- At Gebelein, a stela of Iufseneb with the royal name of Sobekhotep III. The father of Iufseneb was a governor with the title string ḥꜣtj-ꜥ; ḫtmw-bjtj; smr-wꜥtj n mrwt; ḥꜣtj-ꜥ n .
Nubia
At the fortress of Mirgissa, a scarab-impression with the royal name of Sobekhotep III and the King's Mother Iuhetibu. Also a seal-impression with the name Sekhemre Sewadjtawy, a seal with two impressions.Non-contemporary attestation
Karnak King List
The Karnak King List does not mention Sobekhotep III in its preserved cartouches.Turin King List
The Turin King List 7:24 contains the entry: "The Dual King Sekhemre Wadjtawy Sobekhotep, 4 years, 2 months x days". In the list, Sekhemre Wadjtawy Sobekhotep is preceded by ib...Seth and succeeded by Khasekhemre Neferhotep, son of Haankhef.