Sobekemsaf I
Encyclopedia
Sobekemsaf I was an Egyptian
king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings (he was once thought to belong to the late Thirteenth Dynasty
). His throne name, Sekhemre Shedtawy, means "Powerful is Re; Rescuer of the Two Lands." It is now believed by Egyptologists that Sobekemsaf I was the father of both Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and Nubkheperre Intef based on an inscription carved on a door jamb discovered in the ruins of a 17th dynasty temple at Gebel Antef in the early 1990s which was built under Nubkheperre Intef. The door jamb mentions a king Sobekem[saf] as the father of Nubkheperre Intef/Antef VII--(Antef begotten of Sobekem...)
According to the Abbott Papyrus
and the Leopold-Amherst Papyrus
, which is dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IX, Sekhemre Shedway Sobekemsaf was married and buried along with to Queen Nubkhaas.
, 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. Amenpnufer confesses that they
In his trial, Amenpnufer testifies that he and his companions dug a tunnel into the king's pyramid with their copper tools:
Amenpnufer states that the treasures taken from the two royal mummies amounted to "160 deben of gold" or 32 lbs (14.5 kg). 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.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Seventeenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...
who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings (he was once thought to belong to the late Thirteenth Dynasty
Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
The thirteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Other writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period...
). His throne name, Sekhemre Shedtawy, means "Powerful is Re; Rescuer of the Two Lands." It is now believed by Egyptologists that Sobekemsaf I was the father of both Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and Nubkheperre Intef based on an inscription carved on a door jamb discovered in the ruins of a 17th dynasty temple at Gebel Antef in the early 1990s which was built under Nubkheperre Intef. The door jamb mentions a king Sobekem[saf] as the father of Nubkheperre Intef/Antef VII--(Antef begotten of Sobekem...)
According to the Abbott Papyrus
Abbott Papyrus
The Abbott Papyrus serves as an important political document concerning the tomb robberies of the twentieth dynasty of the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt. It also gives insight into the scandal between the two rivals Pewero and Paser of Thebes....
and the Leopold-Amherst Papyrus
Amherst Papyrus
The ancient Egyptian document Amherst Papyrus, now known as the Leopold II and Amherst Papyrus, is part of the original court records dealing with the tomb robberies under Ramesses IX and dates to Year 16 of Ramsesses IX. It contains the confessions of eight men who had broken into the tomb of...
, which is dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IX, Sekhemre Shedway Sobekemsaf was married and buried along with to Queen Nubkhaas.
The Robbery of Sobekemsaf's Tomb
The Abbott and Leopold-Amherst Papyruses, which are dated to Year 16 of Ramesses IXRamesses IX
Ramesses IX was the eighth king of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. He was the third longest serving king of this Dynasty after Ramesses III and Ramesses XI...
, 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. Amenpnufer confesses that they
In his trial, Amenpnufer testifies that he and his companions dug a tunnel into the king's pyramid with their copper tools:
Amenpnufer states that the treasures taken from the two royal mummies amounted to "160 deben of gold" or 32 lbs (14.5 kg). 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
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
. Amenpnufer himself would have been sentenced to death by impalement
Impalement
Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...
, a punishment which "was reserved for [only] the most heinous crimes" in Ancient Egypt.