Sonbef

Mehibtawy Sekhemkare Amenemhat Sonbef (also Amenemhat Senbef) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Jürgen von Beckerath and Darell Baker, he was the 2nd king of the dynasty, reigning from 1800 BC until 1796 BC.

Identity

There is a debate between egyptologists as whether or not Sekhemkare Sonbef is the same king as Sekhemkare Amenemhat V, 4th ruler of the 13th dynasty. Indeed, Sonbef called himself "Amenemhat Sonbef", this can be a double name, but can also be a filiation Son of Amenemhat Sonbef, which both Ryholt and Baker see as evidence that Sonbef was a son of Amenemhat IV and a brother of Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, the founder of the 13th dynasty. Thus, they see Sonbef and Amenemhat V as two different rulers, an opinion also shared by Jürgen von Beckerath. Ryholt and Baker further posit that Sonbef's and Amenemhat's rules were separated by the ephemeral reign of Nerikare, while von Beckerath believes it was Sekhemre Khutawy Pantjeny who reigned between the two. At the opposite Detlef Franke and Stephen Quirke believe that Amenemhat V and Sonbef are one and the same person. Franke and others regard "Amenemhat Sonbef" as a double name. Indeed double naming was common in Egypt and especially in the late 12th and 13th Dynasty.