Neithhotep

Neithhotep or Neith-hotep (fl. c. 3050 BC) was an ancient Egyptian queen consort who lived and ruled during the early First Dynasty. Archeological evidence may indicate that she may have ruled as pharaoh in her own right, and as such would have been the earliest known female monarch in history. She was subsequently considered to be the wife of unified Egypt's first pharaoh, Narmer, and the mother of Hor-Aha. She was once wrongfully thought to be a male ruler: her outstandingly large mastaba and the royal serekh surrounding her name on several seal impressions previously led Egyptologists and historians to the erroneous belief that she might have been an unknown king. As the understanding of early Egyptian writings developed, scholars learned that Neithhotep was in fact a woman of extraordinary rank.