Ramesses IV
Encyclopedia
Heqamaatre Ramesses IV was the third pharaoh
of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom
of Ancient Egypt
. His name prior to assuming the crown was Amonhirkhopshef. He was the fifth son of Ramesses III
and was appointed to the position of crown prince by the twenty-second year of his father's reign when all four of his elder brothers predeceased him. His promotion to crown prince:
As his father's chosen successor the Prince employed three distinctive titles: "Hereditary Prince", "Royal scribe" and "Generalissimo"; the latter two of his titles are mentioned in a text at Amenhotep III's temple at Soleb and all three royal titles appear on a lintel now in Florence, Italy. As heir-apparent he took on increasing responsibilities; for instance, in Year 27 of his father's reign, he is depicted appointing a certain Amenemopet to the important position of Third Prophet of Amun in the latter's TT 148 tomb. Amenemope's Theban tomb also accords prince Ramesses all three of his aforementioned sets of royal titles. Due to the three decade long rule of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV is believed to have been a man in his forties when he took the throne. His rule has been dated to either 1151 to 1145 BC or 1155 to 1149 BC.
from recently discovered notes published in the 2010 issue of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
. They reveal that Tyti--who was both a king's daughter, a king's wife and a king's mother in her own right--was identified in Papyrus BM EA 10052 (ie. the tomb-robbery papyri) to be a queen of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV's father. The 2010 JEA authors write that since Ramesses VI's mother is known to be a certain lady named Iset Ta-Hemdjert
or Isis:
Thus the identity of Ramesses IV's mother has been resolved in favour of Queen Tyti who was once erroneously thought to be the mother of another king in the mid-1980's: Ramesses XI. Ramesses IV was succeeded to the throne by his son Ramesses V.
by doubling the size of the work gangs at Deir el-Medina to a total of 120 men and dispatching numerous expeditions to the stone quarries of Wadi Hammamat
and the turquoise mines of the Sinai
. The Great Rock stela
of Ramesses IV at Wadi Hammamat records that the largest expedition—dated to his Year 3, third month of Shemu day 27—consisted of 8,368 men alone including 5,000 soldiers, 2,000 personnel of the Amun temples, 800 Apiru and 130 stonemasons and quarrymen under the personal command of the High Priest of Amun, Ramessesnakht
. The scribes who composed the text conscientiously noted that this figure excluded 900 men "who are dead and omitted from this list." Consequently, once this omitted figure is added to the tally of 8,368 men who survived the Year 3 quarry expedition, a total of 900 men out of an original expedition of 9,268 men perished during this massive endeavour for a mortality rate of almost 10%. This gives an indication of the harshness of life in Egypt's stone quarries. Some of the stones which were dragged 60 miles to the Nile from Wadi Hammamat weighed 40 tons or more. Other Egyptian quarries including Aswan
were located much closer to the Nile which enabled them to use barges to transport stones long distances.
Part of the king's program included the extensive enlargement of his father's Temple of Khonsu at Karnak
and the construction of a large mortuary temple near the Temple of Hatshepsut. Ramesses IV also sent several expeditions to the turquoise mines the Sinai; a total of four expeditions are known prior to his fourth year. The Serabit el-Khadim stela of the Royal Butler Sobekhotep states: "Year 3, third month of Shomu. His Majesty sent his favoured and beloved one, the confident of his lord, the Overseer of the Treasury of Silver and Gold, Chief of the Secrets of the august Palace, Sobekhotep, justified, to bring for him all that his heart desired of turquoise (on) his fourth expedition." This expedition dates to either Ramesses III or IV's reign since Sobekhotep is attested in office until at least the reign of Ramesses V. Ramesses IV's final venture to the turquoise mines of the Sinai is documented by the stela of a senior army scribe named Panufer. Panufer states that this expedition's mission was both to procure turquoise and to establish a cult chapel of king Ramesses IV at the Hathor temple of Serabit el-Khadim
. The stela reads:
While little is known regarding the route that the mining missions took from Egypt to Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai, AJ Peden who wrote a biography of Ramesses IV's reign in 1994 states that there were "two obvious routes" to reach this site:
Ramesses IV is attested by his aforementioned building activity at Wadi Hammamat and Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai as well as several papyri and even one obelisk. The creation of a royal cult in the Temple of Hathor is known under his reign at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai while Papyrus Mallet (or P. Louvre 1050) dates to Years 3 and 4 of his reign. Papyrus Mallet is a six column text dealing partly with agricultural affairs; its first column lists the prices for various commodities between Year 31 of Ramesses III until Year 3 of Ramesses IV. The final four columns contain a memorandum of 2 letters composed by the Superintendent of Cattle of the Estate of Amen-Re, Bakenkhons, to several mid-level administrators and their subordinates. Meanwhile, surviving monuments of Ramesses IV in the Delta consists of an obelisk recovered in Cairo and a pair of his cartouches found on a pylon gateway both originally from Heliopolis
.
The most important document to survive from this pharaoh's rule is Papyrus Harris I
, which honours the life of his father, Ramesses III, by listing the latter's many accomplishments and gifts to the temples of Egypt
, and the Turin papyrus
, the earliest known geologic map
. Ramesses IV was perhaps the last New Kingdom king to engage in large-scale monumental building after his father as "there was a marked decline in temple building even during the longer reigns of Ramesses IX and VI. The only apparent exception was the attempt of Ramesses V and VI to continue the vast and uncompleted mortuary temple of Ramesses IV at the Assasif."
—preserved on a Year 4 stela at Abydos
—that "thou shalt give me the great age with a long reign [as my predecessor]", the king did not live long enough to accomplish his ambitious goals.
After a short reign of about six and a half years, Ramesses IV died and was buried in tomb KV2
in the Valley of the Kings
. His mummy was found in the royal cache of Amenhotep II's tomb KV35
in 1898. His chief wife is Queen Duatentopet
or Tentopet who was buried in QV74. His son, Ramesses V
, would succeed him to the throne.
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. His name prior to assuming the crown was Amonhirkhopshef. He was the fifth son of Ramesses III
Ramesses III
Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BCE...
and was appointed to the position of crown prince by the twenty-second year of his father's reign when all four of his elder brothers predeceased him. His promotion to crown prince:
- 'is suggested by his appearance (suitably entitled) in a scene of the festival of Min at the Ramesses III temple at Karnak, which may have been completed by Year 22 [of his father's reign]. (the date is mentioned in the poem inscribed there)'
As his father's chosen successor the Prince employed three distinctive titles: "Hereditary Prince", "Royal scribe" and "Generalissimo"; the latter two of his titles are mentioned in a text at Amenhotep III's temple at Soleb and all three royal titles appear on a lintel now in Florence, Italy. As heir-apparent he took on increasing responsibilities; for instance, in Year 27 of his father's reign, he is depicted appointing a certain Amenemopet to the important position of Third Prophet of Amun in the latter's TT 148 tomb. Amenemope's Theban tomb also accords prince Ramesses all three of his aforementioned sets of royal titles. Due to the three decade long rule of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV is believed to have been a man in his forties when he took the throne. His rule has been dated to either 1151 to 1145 BC or 1155 to 1149 BC.
Family
Ramesses IV's mother is today most likely Queen TytiTyti
Tyti was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 20th dynasty. It was uncertain which pharaoh was her husband, but he can now only be Ramesses III based on new evidence published in the 2010 issue of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology . Her titles shown that she was the daughter, sister, wife and mother...
from recently discovered notes published in the 2010 issue of the Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology or JEA is a scientific journal containing scholarly articles and reviews of recent books of importance to Egyptology....
. They reveal that Tyti--who was both a king's daughter, a king's wife and a king's mother in her own right--was identified in Papyrus BM EA 10052 (ie. the tomb-robbery papyri) to be a queen of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV's father. The 2010 JEA authors write that since Ramesses VI's mother is known to be a certain lady named Iset Ta-Hemdjert
Iset Ta-Hemdjert
Iset Ta-Hemdjert or Isis Ta-Hemdjert, simply called Isis in her tomb, was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the twentieth dynasty; the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses III and the Royal Mother of Ramesses VI....
or Isis:
- "only Ramesses IV and VIIIRamesses VIIIUsermare Akhenamun Ramesses VIII or Ramesses Sethherkhepshef Meryamun , was the seventh Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and was one of the last surviving sons of Ramesses...
remain as candidates [for the mother of Ramesses IV]. Given that Ramesses VIII only reigned briefly some 25 years after his father’s death, it is hardly likely that the decoration of QV 52, with the mwt-nsw title intimately mixed with Tyti’s other titles, could have been delayed this late to refer to him. This leaves Ramesses IV as the only credible primary 'subject' of the mwt-nsw title in the tomb. As for which — if any — of the other sons of Ramesses III were borne to Tyti, no unequivocal data is available, other than the fact that Amenhirkhopeshef B, buried in QV 55,24 was ms n Hmt-nTr mwt-nTr Hmt-nsw-wrt, paralleling Tyti’s titles so closely that he may with some confidence be proposed as her son."
Thus the identity of Ramesses IV's mother has been resolved in favour of Queen Tyti who was once erroneously thought to be the mother of another king in the mid-1980's: Ramesses XI. Ramesses IV was succeeded to the throne by his son Ramesses V.
Projects
At the start of his reign, the pharaoh initiated a substantial building campaign program on the scale of Ramesses IIRamesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
by doubling the size of the work gangs at Deir el-Medina to a total of 120 men and dispatching numerous expeditions to the stone quarries of Wadi Hammamat
Wadi Hammamat
' is a dry river bed in Egypt's Eastern Desert, about halfway between Qusier and Qena. It was a major mining region and trade route east from the Nile Valley in ancient times, and three thousand years of rock carvings and graffiti make it a major scientific and tourist site today.-Trade...
and the turquoise mines of the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
. The Great Rock stela
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
of Ramesses IV at Wadi Hammamat records that the largest expedition—dated to his Year 3, third month of Shemu day 27—consisted of 8,368 men alone including 5,000 soldiers, 2,000 personnel of the Amun temples, 800 Apiru and 130 stonemasons and quarrymen under the personal command of the High Priest of Amun, Ramessesnakht
Ramessesnakht
Ramessesnakht was High Priest of Amun during many years in the 20th Dynasty. He was appointed as the High Priest at Thebes under Ramesses IV. He served in office until the reign of Ramesses IX...
. The scribes who composed the text conscientiously noted that this figure excluded 900 men "who are dead and omitted from this list." Consequently, once this omitted figure is added to the tally of 8,368 men who survived the Year 3 quarry expedition, a total of 900 men out of an original expedition of 9,268 men perished during this massive endeavour for a mortality rate of almost 10%. This gives an indication of the harshness of life in Egypt's stone quarries. Some of the stones which were dragged 60 miles to the Nile from Wadi Hammamat weighed 40 tons or more. Other Egyptian quarries including Aswan
Aswan
Aswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
were located much closer to the Nile which enabled them to use barges to transport stones long distances.
Part of the king's program included the extensive enlargement of his father's Temple of Khonsu at Karnak
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...
and the construction of a large mortuary temple near the Temple of Hatshepsut. Ramesses IV also sent several expeditions to the turquoise mines the Sinai; a total of four expeditions are known prior to his fourth year. The Serabit el-Khadim stela of the Royal Butler Sobekhotep states: "Year 3, third month of Shomu. His Majesty sent his favoured and beloved one, the confident of his lord, the Overseer of the Treasury of Silver and Gold, Chief of the Secrets of the august Palace, Sobekhotep, justified, to bring for him all that his heart desired of turquoise (on) his fourth expedition." This expedition dates to either Ramesses III or IV's reign since Sobekhotep is attested in office until at least the reign of Ramesses V. Ramesses IV's final venture to the turquoise mines of the Sinai is documented by the stela of a senior army scribe named Panufer. Panufer states that this expedition's mission was both to procure turquoise and to establish a cult chapel of king Ramesses IV at the Hathor temple of Serabit el-Khadim
Serabit el-Khadim
Serabit el-Khadim is a locality in the south-west Sinai Peninsula where turquoise was mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians...
. The stela reads:
- Year 5, second month of Shomu [ie: summer]. The sending by His Majesty
build the Mansion of Millions of Years of Ramesses IV in the temple of Hathor, Lady of Turquoise, by Panefer, the Scribe of the Commands of the Army, son of Pairy, justified.
While little is known regarding the route that the mining missions took from Egypt to Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai, AJ Peden who wrote a biography of Ramesses IV's reign in 1994 states that there were "two obvious routes" to reach this site:
- "The first was a straightforward march from a Delta base, such as Memphis, east south-east and then south into Sinai. Surviving a march in this inhospitable land would have presented formidable logistical obstacles, perhaps forcing an alternative route to be adopted. This would involve a departure from the Delta to a site near the modern port of Suez. From here they could have proceeded by boat to the ports of Abu Zenima or El-Markha on the west coast of the Sinai peninsula and from there it is a short journey inland of only a day or two to the actual site of Serabit el-Khadim."
Attestations
Heliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
.
The most important document to survive from this pharaoh's rule is Papyrus Harris I
Papyrus Harris I
Papyrus Harris I is also known as the Great Harris Papyrus and simply the Harris Papyrus . Its technical designation is Papyrus British Museum 9999...
, which honours the life of his father, Ramesses III, by listing the latter's many accomplishments and gifts to the temples of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and the Turin papyrus
Turin Papyrus
Turin Papyrus refers to any papyrus manuscript in the collection of the Museo Egizio at Turin, Italy. The best known of these manuscripts include:* Turin Papyrus Map* Turin King List* Judicial Papyrus of Turin* Turin Erotic Papyrus...
, the earliest known geologic map
Geologic map
A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols to indicate where they are exposed at the surface...
. Ramesses IV was perhaps the last New Kingdom king to engage in large-scale monumental building after his father as "there was a marked decline in temple building even during the longer reigns of Ramesses IX and VI. The only apparent exception was the attempt of Ramesses V and VI to continue the vast and uncompleted mortuary temple of Ramesses IV at the Assasif."
Death
Despite Ramesses IV's many endeavours for the gods and his prayer to OsirisOsiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
—preserved on a Year 4 stela at Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
—that "thou shalt give me the great age with a long reign [as my predecessor]", the king did not live long enough to accomplish his ambitious goals.
After a short reign of about six and a half years, Ramesses IV died and was buried in tomb KV2
KV2
Tomb KV2, found in the Valley of the Kings, is the tomb of Ramesses IV, and is located low down in the main valley, between KV7 and KV1. It has been open since antiquity and contains a large amount of graffiti.-Contemporary plans of the tomb:...
in the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
. His mummy was found in the royal cache of Amenhotep II's tomb KV35
KV35
Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Amenhotep II.It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898.-Layout and history:...
in 1898. His chief wife is Queen Duatentopet
Duatentopet
Duatentopet or Tentopet was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the 20th dynasty and the wife of Pharaoh Ramesses IV and mother of Ramesses V. Even though the identity of Ramesses IV's wife is nowhere stated, judging from her titles mentioned in her tomb she is the most likely candidate for this king's...
or Tentopet who was buried in QV74. His son, Ramesses V
Ramesses V
Usermare Sekhepenre Ramesses V was the fourth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and was the son of Ramesses IV and Queen Duatentopet.- Reign :...
, would succeed him to the throne.