Amenemhat IV

Amenemhat IV
Ammenemes
Small gneiss sphinx inscribed with the name of Amenemhat IV and reworked in Ptolemaic times on display at the British Museum.
Pharaoh
Reign	9 years 3 months and 27 days (Turin canon) but possibly longer, 1822–1812 BC, 1815–1806 BC, 1808–1799 BC, 1807–1798 BC, 1786–1777 BC, 1772–1764 BC(12th Dynasty)
Coregency	most likely 2 years with Amenemhat III
Predecessor	Amenemhat III
Successor	Sobekneferu
Royal titulary
Children	uncertain, possibly Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep and Sonbef
Father	uncertain, possibly Amenemhat III (perhaps as adoptive father)
Mother	Hetepi
Burial	uncertain Southern Mazghuna pyramid ?

Amenemhat IV (also Amenemhet IV) was the seventh and penultimatepharaoh of the 12th Dynasty of Egypt (c. 1990–1800 BC) during the late Middle Kingdom period (c. 2050–1710 BC), ruling for over nine years in the late 19th century BC or the early 18th century BC.

Amenemhat IV may have been the son, grandson or step-son of his predecessor, the powerful Amenemhat III. His reign started with a two-year coregency with Amenemhat III and was seemingly peaceful. 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 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.

Amenemhat IV's tomb has not been identified, although the Southern Mazghuna pyramid is a possibility. He was succeeded by Sobekneferu, possibly his sister or step-sister, whose short reign marked the end of the 12th Dynasty and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom's decline into the Second Intermediate Period.

Amenemhat IV was the son of a woman named Hetepi. Hetepi'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 those of "King's Wife", "King's Daughter" or "King's Sister". Consequently, her relation to Amenemhat III is unknown and she may have been non-royal. The relation of Amenemhat IV to Amenemhat III is similarly uncertain; the former could have been the son or grandson of the latter. Similarly, while Manetho states that he married his half-sister Sobekneferu, this claim is not yet supported by archaeological evidence. In particular, Sobekneferu is not known to have borne the title of "King's Wife". Instead, the egyptologist Kim Ryholt proposes that Amenemhat IV was adopted by Amenemhat III and thus became Sobekneferu's step-brother, thereby explaining the Manethonian tradition.