Sobekneferu (or Nefrusobek) was another one of ancient Egypt’s small number of female Pharaohs, taking over from her brother and husband Amenemhat IV during the 18th century BC. Her reign, which lasted no more than four years, marked the end of Egypt’s twelfth dynasty and the period of their history called the Middle Kingdom, after which the northern part of the country came under the dominion of Semitic-speaking immigrants from Palestine that would be remembered as the Hyksos (“shepherd kings”).