The Theban Queens of the 16th Dynasty

The 16th Dynasty was an insignificant series of 15 minor Theban rulers contemporary with, and dominated by, the northern Hyksos kings. Then a change of ruling family heralded the start of the 17th Dynasty. The new kings were made of sterner stuff. Initially forced to coexist with the Hyksos, they had determined to reunite their country. Unfortunately the chronology, and the sequence of kings, is extremely confused at this time. Intef VII is generally acknowledged as the first of the strong Theban kings. He would eventually be buried in a large and impressive tomb with two bows and six arrows included in his coffin. A second powerful king Sobekemsaf (either Sobekemsaf I or Sobekemsaf II; experts are divided) was buried with his consort (either Nubkhaes wife of Sobekemsaf I, or Nubemhat wife of Sobekemsaf II) beneath a small-scale pyramid, which was to be thoroughly looted during the turbulent 20th Dynasty reign of Ramesses IX. Details of this most heinous crime are preserved in the Leopold II-Amherst Papyrus, one of a group of documents known collectively as the “Tomb Robbery Papyri”. Here the stronemason Amun-Panufer, made loquacious by torture, confesses all:

We went to rob the tombs as is our usual habit, and we found the pyramid tomb of King Sobekemsaf, this tomb being unlike the pyramids and tombs of the nobles that we usually rob. We took our copper tools and forced a way into the pyramid of this king through its innermost part. We located the underground chambers and, taking lighted candles in our hands, went down... Found the god lying at the back of his burial place. And we found the burial place of Queen Nubkhaes, his consort, beside him, it being protected and guarded by plaster and covered with rubble... We opened their sarcophagi and their coffins, and found the noble mummy of the king equipped with a sword. There was a large number of amulets and jewels of god on his neck, and he wore a headpiece of gold. The noble mummy of the king was completely covered in gold and his coffins were decorated with gold and with silver inside out, and inlaid with various precious stones. We collected the gold that we found on the mummy of the god including the amulets and jewels that were on his neck... We set fire to their coffins...”

The 17th Dynasty warrior kings were happy to allow their consorts a more prominent role in state affairs. Even though the queen's status was still, and always would be, directly derived from her relationship with her husband, increasing emphsis was now placed on both the individuality of each queen and on the divinity of her role. In consequence, we suddenly find ourselves facing a line of strong, politically active women reminiscent of the powerful queens of the Early Dynasty Period. It is perhaps no coincidence that 17th Dynasty Egypt was once again a chaotic land, suffering from the almost unbearable indignity of foreign rule. The new kings, their lives dedicated to the struggle against the Hyksos needed a reliable partner to rule while they campaigned. And who would make a more reliable partner than a loyal sister-wife?