Neferhotep I

Neferhotep I
Statue of Neferhotep I from the Faiyum, Archaeological Museum of Bologna.
Pharaoh
Reign	11 years and 1–4 months, 1742–1733 BC, 1741–1730 BC, c. 1740 BC, 1740–1729 BC, 1721–1710 BC, 1705–1694 BC,(13th Dynasty)
Coregency	Sihathor, then Sobekhotep IV
Predecessor	Sobekhotep III
Successor	Sihathor as coregent, then Sobekhotep IV
Royal titulary
Consort	Senebsen
Children	Haankhef, Kemi, Wahneferhotep
Father	Haankhef
Mother	Kemi
Burial	conjectural, see text

Khasekhemre Neferhotep I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the mid Thirteenth Dynasty ruling in the second half of the 18th century BC during a time referred to as the late Middle Kingdom or early Second Intermediate Period, depending on the scholar. One of the best attested rulers of the 13th Dynasty, Neferhotep I reigned for 11 years.

The grandson of a non-royal townsman from a Theban family with a military background, Neferhotep I's relation to his predecessor Sobekhotep III is unclear and he may have usurped the throne. Neferhotep I was likely contemporaneous with kings Zimri-Lim of Mari and Hammurabi of Babylon. Little is known of his activities during his decade-long reign and the most important document surviving from his rule is a stela from Abydos recounting the fashion of an image of Osiris and Neferhotep's determination that it be made "as instructed by the gods at the beginning of time".

Towards the end of his reign, Neferhotep I shared the throne with his brother Sihathor, a coregency that lasted a few months to a year. Sihathor died shortly before Neferhotep, who probably then appointed another brother, Sobekhotep IV, as coregent. In any case, Sobekhotep IV succeeded Neferhotep I soon afterwards, and reigned over Egypt for almost a decade. The reigns of the two brothers mark the apex of the 13th Dynasty.

Neferhotep I seems to have come from a non-royal family of Thebes with a military background. His grandfather, Nehy, held the title "officer of a town regiment". Nehy was married to a woman called Senebtysy. Nothing is known about her other than that she held the common title "lady of the house". Their only known son was called Haankhef.