See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.
Amenemhat IV (also known as Amenemhet IV) was the seventh and penultimateJürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Münchner ägyptologische Studien, Heft 49, Mainz : Philip von Zabern, 1999, , see pp. 86–87, king No 7. and p. 283 for the dates of Amenemhat IV's reign. king of the late Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt during the late Middle Kingdom period. He arguably ruled around 1786–1777 BC for about nine regnal years.Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I – Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC, Stacey International, , 2008, p. 30–32K.S.B. Ryholt: The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800–1550 BC, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997, excerpts available online here.
Amenemhat IV may have been the son, grandson, son-in-law, or stepson of his predecessor, the powerful Amenemhat III. His reign started with a seemingly peaceful two-year coregency with Amenemhat III. He undertook expeditions in the Sinai for turquoise, in Upper Egypt for amethyst, and to the Land of Punt. He also maintained trade relations with Byblos as well as continuing the Egyptian presence in Nubia.
Amenemhat IV built some parts of the temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai, and constructed the well-preserved temple of Renenutet in Medinet Madi. The tomb of Amenemhat IV has not been identified, although the Southern Mazghuna pyramid is a possibility.
Amenemhat IV was succeeded by Sobekneferu, who may have been his sister or stepsister; she was a daughter of Amenemhat III. Her reign marked the end of the Twelfth Dynasty and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom's decline into the Second Intermediate Period.
Family
Amenemhat IV's mother was a woman named Hetepti. Hetepti's only known attestation is an inscription on the wall of the temple of Renenutet at Medinet Madi, where she is given the title of "King's Mother", but not the titles of "King's Wife", "King's Daughter", or "King's Sister". She may or may not have been a wife of Amenemhat III, as her titles in relation to Amenemhat III might have been omitted in an inscription from her son's reign.Ryholt 1997: 210. In addition to Amenemhat IV, Hetepti appears to have had a daughter, Merestekhi, attested with the title of "King's Sister" after the accession of Amenemhat IV; her son Ankhew was overseer of the fields in the reign of his uncle Amenemhat IV.Ryholt 1997: 210-212.
The relationship of Amenemhat IV to Amenemhat III is debated. Amenemhat IV was the son of Amenemhat III according to Manetho, but as he isn't called a "King's Son" in any known reference to him, some historians believe that he was a grandson. However, there is no record of another son of Amenemhat III and as stated above, Hetepti is not known to have been called a "King's Daughter". The absence of queenly titles for Hetepti has led to doubt that Amenemhat IV could have been a son of Amenemhat III.Ryholt 1997: 209-210.
Africanus' epitome of Manetho indicates that Amenemhat IV (Ammenemēs) was succeeded by his sister Sobekneferu (Skemiophris), who indeed ruled in her own right upon the death of Amenemhat IV and is attested as a daughter of Amenemhat III.Waddell 1940: 68-69. Sobekneferu is not known to have borne the title of "King's Wife" or "King's Sister" among her other titles. Egyptologist Kim Ryholt has alternatively proposed that before marrying Amenemhat III, Hetepti had been previously married to another man and that Amenemhat IV came from this marriage, thus becoming Sobekneferu's stepbrother – which could explain the Manethonian tradition.
Although a possible son, the "Son of Re of his body Ameny" is attested (British Museum plaquette no. 22879, but here Ameny might still be a reference to Amenemhat IV himself, if one does not correct "Son of Re" to "King's Son"Siesse 2019: 62.), Amenemhat IV may have died without a surviving male heir, which could explain why he was succeeded by Sobekneferu. Kim Ryholt, followed by Aidan Dodson, views the first two rulers of the Thirteenth Dynasty, Sobekhotep I and Sonbef, as the sons of Amenemhat IV, based on what they consider the filiative nomen Amenemhat in their fuller names, Amenemhat Sobekhotep and Amenemhat Sonbef.Ryholt 1997: 209; , p. 102 However, Julien Siesse has argued that such an interpretation of the royal names is not supported by the evidence and that the multiple names all refer to the same individual.Siesse 2019: 55.
Reign The Turin Canon, a king list redacted during the early Ramesside period, records Amenemhat IV on Column 6, Row 1, and credits him with a reign of 9 years, 3 months and 27 days. Amenemhat IV is also recorded on Entry 65 of the Abydos King List and Entry 38 of the Saqqara Tablet, both of which date to the New Kingdom.
In spite of the Turin canon, the duration of Amenemhat IV's reign is uncertain. It was given as eight years under the name Ammenemēs in Africanus' epitome of Manetho's Aegyptiaca. In any case, Amenemhat IV's rule seems to have been peaceful and uneventful. Amenemhat IV is well attested by contemporary artefacts, including a number of scarab- and cylinder-seals.See for example seals 22 and 38 pp. 113 and 121 and pl. VI and IX in: Percy Newberry: Scarabs: An introduction to the study of Egyptian seals and signet rings, with forty-four plates and one hundred and sixteen illustrations in the text, 1906, available online copyright-free
Coregency
Amenemhat IV first came to power as a junior coregentWilliam J. Murnane: Ancient Egyptian Coregencies, Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization (SAOC) 40, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1977, available online, direct access to pdf of his predecessor Amenemhat III, whose reign marks the apex of the Middle Kingdom period. The coregency is well attested by numerous monuments and artefacts where the names of the two kings parallel each other. The length of this coregency is uncertain; it could have lasted from one to seven years, although most scholars believe it was only two years long.
Expeditions
The Sinai Four expeditions to the turquoise mines of Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai are dated to his reign by in-situ inscriptions. The latest took place in his ninth year on the throne and could be the last expedition of the Middle Kingdom, since the next inscription dates to Ahmose I's reign, some 200 years later.
Wadi el-Hudi In Year 2 of Amenemhat IV an expedition was sent to mine amethyst in the Wadi el-Hudi in southern Egypt. The leader of the expedition was the assistant treasurer Sahathor.Ashraf I. Sadek: The Amethyst Mining Inscriptions of Wadi el-Hudi, Part I: Text, Warminster 1980, , 44-45, no. 21
Byblos During his reign, important trade relations must have existed with the city of Byblos on the coast of modern-day Lebanon, where an obsidian and gold chest as well as a jar lid bearing Amenemhat IV's name have been found. A gold plaque showing Amenemhat IV offering to a deity may also originate there.Gold openwork plaque showing Amenemhat IV, on the British Museum website
Mersa Gawasis Two fragments of a stela depicting Amenemhat IV and dating to his regnal year 7 were found at Berenice on the Red Sea.Astonishing archaeological discoveries help rewriting the history of the Ancient Egyptian harbour In 2010, a report on continuing excavations at Wadi Gawasis on the Red Sea coast notes the finding of two wooden chests and an ostracon inscribed with a hieratic text mentioning an expedition to the fabled Land of Punt in Regnal year 8 of Amenemhat IV, under the direction of the royal scribe Djedy.El-Sayed Mahfouz: Amenemhat IV au ouadi Gaouasis, BIFAO 110, 2010, pp.165-173, , see also
Nilometer In Nubia, three nilometer records are known from Kumna that are explicitly dated to regnal years 5, 6, and 7, showing that Egyptian presence in the region was maintained during his lifetime.
Building activities
Amenemhat IV completed the temple of Renenutet and Sobek at Medinet Madi that had been started by Amenemhat III.Dieter Arnold, Nigel Strudwick (editor), Helen M. Strudwick (editor, translator): The Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egyptian Architecture, I.B. Tauris 2001, , p. 145Edda Bresciani, Antonio Giammarusti: Sobek's double temple on the hill of Medinet Madî, Les Dossiers d'archéologie (Dijon) A. 2001, n° 265, pp. 132–140, see also The temple of Renenutet at Medinet Madi or Narmuthis . It is "the only intact temple still existing from the Middle Kingdom" according to Zahi Hawass, former Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA).Middle East Times: Egypt finds clue to ancient temple's secret 7 April 2006 The foundations of the temple, administrative buildings, granaries, and residences were uncovered by an Egyptian archaeological expedition in early 2006. It is possible that Amenemhat IV built a temple in the northeastern Fayum at Qasr el-Sagha.Ian Shaw: Ancient Egypt: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press (2004), , excerpt available online, see p.
Amenemhat IV is responsible for the completion of a shrine at the temple of Hathor in the SinaiFlinders Petrie: Researches in Sinai, Dutton, New York (1906), see p. 63, 92, 93 & 98, available online copyright-free and may also have undertaken works in Karnak where a pedestal for a sacred barque inscribed with the names of Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV was found in 1924.Maurice Pillet: Rapport sur les travaux de Karnak (1923–1924), ASAE 24, 1924, p. 53–88, available online H. Gauthier: À propos de certains monuments décrits dans le dernier rapport de M. Pillet, ASAE 24, 1924, p. 196–197, available online Photos of the pedestalLabib Habachi: New Light on Objects of Unknown Provenance (I): A Strange Monument of Amenemhet IV and a Similar Uninscribed One, Göttinger Miszellen (GM) Vol. 26, Göttingen (1977), pp. 27–36.
Royal Court
Sahathor (assistant treasurer) led an expedition to the amethyst mine in the Wadi el-Hudi in Year 2 of Amenemhat IV.Ashraf I. Sadek: The Amethyst Mining Inscriptions of Wadi el-Hudi, Part I: Text, Warminster 1980, ISBN 0-85668-162-8, 44-45, no. 21 Djedy (royal scribe) led an expedition to the Land of Punt in Year 8 of Amenemhat IV.El-Sayed Mahfouz: Amenemhat IV au ouadi Gaouasis, BIFAO 110, 2010, pp.165-173, , see also Kemeni (royal butler) known from a cosmetic box.Met Musem 26.7.1438 Ptahhotep (expedition leader) known from stela at Berenice.
Death Pyramid
The tomb of Amenemhat IV has not been identified. It is likely he built his pyramid near those of his predecessors. Some pyramid remains have been connected to Amenemhat IV.
He often is associated with the ruined Southern Mazghuna pyramid. No inscriptions have been found within the pyramid to determine the identity of its owner, but its architectural similarityFlinders Petrie, G. A. Wainwright, E. Mackay: The Labyrinth, Gerzeh and Mazghuneh, London 1912, available online. with the second pyramid of Amenemhat III at Hawara has led Egyptologists to date the pyramid to the late Twelfth Dynasty or early Thirteenth Dynasty.William C. Hayes: The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom, MetPublications, 1978, pp. 136–138, available online Less likely, Amenemhat IV could have been interred in Amenemhat III's first pyramid in Dahshur, since his name has been found on an inscription in the mortuary temple.