Egyptian Female Pharaohs

    Neithikret � Egypt�s First Female Pharaoh

Egypt�s first female Pharaoh was Neithikret (Nitocris). According to historian, Manetho, Nitocris became Pharaoh circa 2148-2144 B.C. upon the death of her brother, who was executed for blasphemy and defiling a temple of Osiris. Nitocris avenged her brother�s death by inviting all those responsible to a banquet into a sealed chamber which she had flooded with water from the Nile, thereby drowning all of them. Before anyone could seek revenge on her, she committed suicide. Manetho writes that she was the last ruler of the 6th dynasty and describes her as the �bravest and most beautiful woman of her time�.   According to Manetho's list: during the 6th dynasty; of the 6 Memphite Kings, the sixth sovereign was Nitocris (Neithikret), the first female sovereign. Unfortunately Nitocris is not mentioned in any native Egyptian inscriptions as she may not have existed, or her name erased, as many Egyptian records have been altered.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitocris

Sobeknefru - Egypt's Second Female Pharaoh

Egypt�s second female Pharaoh was Sobeknefru. She is possibly the first confirmed female pharaoh of Egypt. She is mentioned in Manetho's text, in the Turin Canon, the Karnak, Turin and Sakkara king lists. Her name means �Beautiful of the God Sobek�. She was married to Amenemhet IV, who was possibly also her brother, and she became ruler upon his death. She ruled for four years circa 1787-1783. There is very little records of her reign remaining. It�s debated whether she was Amenemhet III�s wife, a rival or a regent for an infant son.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobeknefru



    

Edited by morticia - 26-May-2006 at 00:01