The First Female Pharaoh

Sobekneferu, Goddess of the Seven Stars

De: Andrew Collins

Narrado por: Micah Hanks

• Reveals the achievements of Sobekneferu, the political and religious issues of her age, the temples and ruins associated with her, and her continuing impact on ancient Egypt after her reign

• Discusses Sobekneferu’s magical beliefs and practices centered on the crocodile god Sobek, the hippo goddess Neith, and their representation as constellations

• Examines the modern-day resurrection of Sobekneferu among mystics and occultists of Victorian London, including her role in Bram Stoker’s shocking gothic novel, The Jewel of the Seven Stars

Cleopatra. Nefertiti. Hatshepsut. All of them are ancient Egyptian female rulers who rose above their predominantly patriarchal societies to become controllers of a great empire. Missing from this list, however, is Sobekneferu, ancient Egypt’s first female ruler. Why was the reign of this powerful woman all but forgotten?

Piecing together the lost history of the first female pharaoh, Andrew Collins presents the first comprehensive biography of Sobekneferu. Using every text and monument that concerns Sobekneferu and her time in power, he examines her achievements as ruler, the political and religious issues of her age, the temples and ruins associated with her, and her continuing impact on ancient Egypt after her reign. He explores her relationship with her brother Amenemhat IV, her sister Neferuptah, and their father Amenemhat III, regarded as one of the most beloved pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom. He examines Sobekneferu’s untimely end, the fate of her body, and the cult that developed in her name.

Discussing Sobekneferu’s magical beliefs and practices, Collins shows how they centered on the crocodile god Sobek, the hippopotamus goddess Neith, and Sekhmet, the goddess presiding over divine power. He reveals also how Sobekneferu’s suspected pyramid was positioned to align with the setting of Eltanin, the brightest star in the constellation of Draco, seen in ancient Egypt as the celestial form of Sobek. Examining the modern-day resurrection of Sobekneferu among the occultists and mystics of Victorian London, Collins shows how she is the true inspiration behind every ancient Egyptian female queen who comes back to life after her tomb is found—as featured first in Bram Stoker’s shocking 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars and later in several modern blockbuster movies.
Revealing how Sobekneferu has left a lasting impact on culture and occulture through the ages despite being nearly erased from history, Collins shows how her continuing legacy is perhaps, ultimately, her true resurrection.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Founded on robust academic rigor, in The First Female Pharaoh Andrew Collins has woven an impeccable tapestry that reveals the importance of women in leadership in millennia past, today, and in the future.”

“With his customary flair for unearthing the secrets of the ancient world, Andrew Collins’s study of the little-known female Egyptian pharaoh Sobekneferu is destined to become a classic. Her life and place in Egyptian history is presented engagingly and forensically, while the author’s own passion for the subject is clear on every page. This is an important book.”

“This new book by Andrew Collins, who I’ve known for more than forty years, deals with the story of the first female ruler in history. Sobekneferu was the last ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty in Egyptian history. More than two centuries later Hatshepsut became the second Egyptian queen. As always, Andrew Collins uses his historical knowledge, along with his deep imagination, to bring the story of Sobekneferu to life.”

“Finally, a long-overdue opus honoring one of history’s most enigmatic women—Sobekneferu. Andrew Collins has scoured historical records, archaeological discoveries, and scattered images of this mysterious yet powerful female ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt to piece together this first major overview of her Twelfth Dynasty reign as a queen and pharaoh.”

"This is the first ever biography that has been written about this historical Egyptian figure. Collins meticulously pieces together the nearly lost history of Sobekneferu. He describes how under her ruler-ship Egypt survived a very dark period in its history known as the Second Intermediate Period and how it managed to become one of the most powerful and influential empires of the ancient world."

"Absolutely fascinating, impressively informative, expertly written, nicely illustrated, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, The First Female Pharaoh: Sobekneferu, Goddess of the Seven Stars by Andrew Collins will prove to be a prized and endearingly appreciated addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Egyptology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the cult, magic, reign, and resurrection of the first female ruler in Egypt that The First Female Pharaoh is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99)."

Darkness or greatness, you decide.

I watch a lot of work around ancient Egyptian history. This book was eye opening for its connections with commonalities, core historical tellings, and honest line drawing in areas that lack evidence. This book was clear cut yet inspirational with the knowledge and connections to her life and the landscape of the times. The PDF is also well worth the read as it was a nice companion for the more complex elements and was easy to find with the point references within the reading.

So many great points were made from pop culture, built monuments and texts from her rule, and cross referenced with academics to provide evidence for the exploration of her life.

One of the most interesting items, was the dates on the discoveries of Hatshepsut’s tomb Vs the contributions to Egyptology available in the British library and Bram stokers copyright date for his fictional work.

Such a solid read worth more than one visit.

Across time

A marvellous feat by the author to pull all the strings into a continuous story line revealing the different landscapes of politics, culture, environment, and ultimately beliefs and rituals.

A great listen but polytheist thinking required

This tome presents a great assemblage of facts about the Queen that became King Sobekneferu. There is plenty in here for those that love detail, examination of known facts and artifacts, with speculation that is (mostly) neither outlandish nor unreasonable.

The accompanying PDF is helpful with but does not dominate the story or require having to reference it every 5 minutes, which I appreciate. Also, the PDF has some great images including photos of long-lost artifacts relating to and depicting the monarch.

I am critical however of the author's viewpoint as a non polytheist. Unless we move forward with our ideas about the religion of the Ancient Egyptians, we will not understand them properly or their understanding of the divine; I challenge the serpent god Nehebukau being ever equated with the chaos serpent Apep. Far too much of our understanding of this netjer as a friend to humanity exists in the archaeological record for us to think of Him as conflated with Apep.

Similarly, we can not think of the priesthoods and cults of the various netjeru as "rivals". This is a monotheistic concept. Set is not the Egyptian devil - this is a Christian projection; and Osirian cults "dismantling" other cults is again, more thinking from a non-polytheist.

The gods were not different football teams to be disparaged in favor of "our one true football team" that we personally barrack for. These ideas are antiquated and in line with Victorian-era Egyptology that was still emerging from Bible-based archaeology.

Mr. Collins has made some interesting connections with this work, and frankly, I found it enjoyable. This work can be considered as a decent reference book on the life of King Sobekneferu, as we currently understand it.