Sobekemhat was an Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ian vizier

Vizier (Ancient Egypt)

The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king, or pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc, among Egyptologists...

 under the king Senusret III

Senusret III

Khakhaure Senusret III was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Among his achievements was the building of the Sisostris Canal...

 in the Twelfth Dynasty. Sobekemhat is only known from his mastaba

Mastaba

A mastaba, or "pr-djt" , is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with outward sloping sides that marked the burial site of many eminent Egyptians of Egypt's ancient period...

 excavated in 1894 next to the pyramid of Senusret III at Dahshur

Dahshur

Dahshur , is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo...

. The mastaba was decorated on the outside with reliefs. These were only found in small fragments, but the fragments record the name and the titles of Sobekemhat. On an offering table he bears the title of the treasurer

Treasurer (Ancient Egypt)

The Treasurer in Ancient Egypt is the modern translation of the title imi-r ḫtmt . The office is known since the end of the Old Kingdom, where people with this title appear sporadically in the organisation of private estates...

, an office he most likely had before being appointed vizier. The mastaba is in a chain of three north of the king's pyramid. It is closest to the pyramid. The next mastaba also belongs to a vizier (Nebit

Nebit

Nebit was an Ancient Egyptian official during the reign of king Senusret III. He held the position of vizier. Thus he was the most important official at the royal court. Nebit is only known from his large mastaba which was excavated next to the pyramid of the king at Dahshur. The mastaba was built...

) and the third to another high official, perhaps again a vizier. Therefore, it can be argued that Sobekemhat's tomb was the earliest of the three and he was the first vizier under that king.

Literature

• Wolfram Grajetzki: Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, London 2009 p. 31-33 ISBN 9780715637456