17 Facts About Amenemhat IV

Amenemhat IV's reign started with a seemingly peaceful two-year coregency with Amenemhat III.

Amenemhat IV undertook expeditions in the Sinai for turquoise, in Upper Egypt for amethyst, and to the Land of Punt.

Amenemhat IV 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.

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Amenemhat IV's reign marked the end of the Twelfth Dynasty and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom's decline into the Second Intermediate Period.

Amenemhat IV was the son of Amenemhat III according to Manetho, but given the age gap of 84 years, some historians believe he was a grandson.

Manetho states that Amenemhat IV married his sister Sobekneferu, who is identified as a royal daughter of Amenemhat III, and who eventually became king in her own right upon the death of Amenemhat IV.

Egyptologist Kim Ryholt has alternatively proposed that Amenemhat IV was a son of Hetepi's earlier husband, and was adopted by Amenemhat III, thus becoming Sobekneferu's stepbrother – which could explain the Manethonian tradition.

Amenemhat IV first came to power as a junior coregent of his predecessor Amenemhat III, whose reign marks the apex of the Middle Kingdom period.

Amenemhat IV is recorded on Entry 65 of the Abydos King List and Entry 38 of the Saqqara Tablet, both of which date to the New Kingdom.

Amenemhat IV is well attested by contemporary artefacts, including a number of scarab- and cylinder-seals.

Two fragments of a stela depicting Amenemhat IV and dating to his regnal year 7 were found at Berenice on the Red Sea.

Amenemhat IV completed the temple of Renenutet and Sobek at Medinet Madi that had been started by Amenemhat III, which 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.

Amenemhat IV is responsible for the completion of a shrine at the temple of Hathor in the Sinai and may 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.

The influx of Asiatic immigrants in the Nile Delta that had started during the reigns of Amenemhat IV's predecessor accelerated under his own reign, becoming completely unchecked.

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.