Senusret IV Seneferibre was an ancient Egyptian Theban king during the late Second Intermediate Period that is attested only through finds from Upper Egypt. The chronological position of Senusret IV is unclear and even the dynasty to which he belongs is debated.
Attestations The most important contemporary attestation of the king is a 2m 75 cm tall colossal statue of him, sculpted in pink granite and discovered in Karnak in 1901 by Georges Legrain.Statue Cairo CG 42026, description in G. Legrain, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Egypte 2 (1901), 272; and Legrain 1906, I, 15–16, pl.16. Other attestations include a block from El-Tod and the upper-right corner of a stela discovered in 1907 by Legrain in Karnak and which is inscribed with the date II Shemu 1 of the first regnal year of Senusret IV. Finally, a lintel from Edfu.
An axe-blade bearing the nomen Senusret have also been attributed to Senusret IV based on stylistic considerations. However, some have attributed it to Senusret I.Axe-blade: Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology 16324, visible online here. Flinders Petrie: Tools and Weapons, 9, pl. 5
Non-Contemporary Attestations During the reign of Thutmose III, the Karnak king list #56(60) mentions "Senefer[...]re" which may be restored as Seneferibre, the prenomen of Senusret IV.
Theories According to Jürgen von Beckerath Senusret IV belonged to the late 13th Dynasty,J. von Beckerath: Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten, Glückstadt, 1964.J. von Beckerath: Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägyptens, Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 46. Mainz am Rhein, 1997. while Kim Ryholt classifies him as a king of the 16th Dynasty with an uncertain position in the dynasty.K.S.B. Ryholt: The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800-1550 B.C, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications 20., Copenhagen, 1997, . Alternatively, Norbert Dautzenberg proposed that Senusret IV is part of the 17th Dynasty. Dautzenberg bases this hypothesis on his reading of entry 11.4 of the Turin canon as referring to Senusret IV. He also attributes graffiti on a gate of the Medamud temple mentioning a king "Senusret" to Senusret IV since the gate was decorated by Sobekemsaf I, who lived during the early 17th Dynasty.Norbert Dautzenberg: SeneferibRe Sesostris IV. – ein König der 17. Dynastie?, (Göttinger Miszellen 129), Göttingen 1992, p. 43–48 Both arguments are rejected by Ryholt: first, Ryholt notes that the Turin canon entry 11.4 is not compatible with Senusret IV's prenomen and second, he observes that the gate of the temple of Medamud was built by Senusret III so the graffiti is likely to refer to this king rather than Senusret IV. In the new arrangementOn Digital Egypt for Universities the dynasty of Senusret IV is left partially undetermined, being simply categorized as late 13th to early 17th.
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