Sobekhotep IV c. 1730–1720 BC
Brother of Neferhotep I, he reigned for about ten years and is one of the best attested kings of the 13th Dynasty. A seated statue of him is in the Louvre, and stelae from Karnak record gifts to the temple of Amun, including cedar doors. A large tomb at Abydos, found by Josef Wegner, may be his, though this is not certain.
Throne name: Khaneferre
ḫꜥ-nfr-rꜥ: “The beauty of Ra appears”
Sign by sign
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
- Sun rising over a hill N28ḫꜥ To appear in glory, to rise (of the sun and of kings).
- Forearm D36ꜥ The sound ꜥ (ayin).
- Heart and windpipe F35nfr Good, beautiful, perfect.
Birth name: Sobekhotep
sbk-ḥtp: “Sobek is content”
Sign by sign
- Crocodile on a shrine I4sbk The crocodile god Sobek, lord of the Faiyum. Writes his name in names like Sobekhotep and Sobekneferu.
- Bread on an offering mat R4ḥtp Offering. Peace, to be content.
- Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
- Stool Q3p The sound p.
Where to see Sobekhotep IV's name today
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square holds some of the most important inscribed objects in Egypt, from the Narmer Palette, with one of the first royal names, to the Merneptah Stela, with the first mention of Israel. You can follow the script here from its beginnings to long New Kingdom texts.
MuseumLouvre, Paris
The Louvre's Department of Egyptian Antiquities, mostly in the Sully wing, holds a whole Old Kingdom tomb chapel, the cartouches of several kings on one sphinx and a painted stela you can read sign by sign. Champollion himself was its first curator.
Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).