Sobekneferu

Sobekneferu was the first attested female pharaoh of Egypt, the last ruler of the 12th dynasty. She was the daughter of Amenemhat III and the sister of Neferuptah, who died before her father. She extended the funerary complex of Amenemhat III and built works at Herakleopolis Magna. She used male clothing and regalia in her statuary, but may have been trying to represent herself as a traditional pharaoh. She adopted the full royal titulary, including the epithet “beloved of Sobek”, the crocodile god. She reigned for about four years, according to the Turin King List, and was succeeded by a short-lived 13th dynasty. Her legacy is mostly obscure, but she paved the way for later female rulers such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra.