that ended the Old Kingdom. Amenemhat IV ruled for 9 or 10 years. There is little information regarding his reign. It is to this backdrop that Sobekneferu acquired the throne. She reigned for around 4 years, but as with her predecessor, there are few surviving records. Her death brought a close to the Twelfth Dynasty and began the Second Intermediate Period spanning the following two centuries. This period is poorly understood owing to the paucity of references to the rulers of the time. She was succeeded by either Sobekhotep I or Wegaf, who inaugurated the Thirteenth Dynasty. Stephen Quirke proposed, based on the numerosity of kingships and brevity of their rule, that a rotating succession of kings from Egypt's most powerful families took the throne. They retained Itj-tawy as their capital through the Thirteenth Dynasty. Their role, however, was relegated to a much lesser status than earlier and power rested within the administration. It is generally accepted that Egypt remained unified until late into the dynasty. Kim Ryholt contends that the Fourteenth Dynasty instead arose in the Nile Delta at the end of Sobekneferu's reign as a rival to the Thirteenth. Thomas Schneider argues that the evidence for this hypothesis is weak. Attestations Contemporary evidence Only a small collection of sources attest to Sobekneferu's rule as pharaoh of Egypt. A graffito in Kumma, a Nubian fortress, records the height of the Nile inundation at during her third regnal year. Another inscription discovered in the Eastern Desert records "year 4, second month of the Season of the Emergence". The British Museum has a fine cylinder seal bearing her name and royal titulary in its collection. The seal is made of glazed steatite and is long with a diameter of . A handful of headless statues of Sobekneferu have been identified. In one quartzite image, she blends feminine and masculine dress with an inscription reading 'daughter of Re(?), of his body, Sobekneferu, may she live like Re forever'. On her torso rests a pendant modelled on that worn by Senusret III. Three basalt statues of the female king were found in Tell ed-Dab'a; two depict her in a seated posture, another shows her kneeling. In one, she is depicted trampling the Nine Bows, representing the subjugation of Egypt's enemies. The three statues appear to be life-sized. One statue with her head is known. The bust was held in the Egyptian Museum of