Ramses IV

Name of Ramses IV.
Relief with Ramses IV in the Chons temple of Karnak
Horus name	Ka-nechet-anch-em-maat (-neb-hebu-sed-mi-itef-Ptah-Tatenen) K3-nḫt-ˁnḫ-m-m3ˁ.t (-nb-ḥbw-sd-mj-jt = f- Ptḥ-T3-ṯnn) Strong bull who lives on the Maat (Lord of Sedfesten like his father Ptah - Tatenen )
Sideline	Mek-kemet-waf-pedschet-9 Mk-kmt-wˁf-pḏt-9 Protector of Egypt, who subdues the Nine Arches (the enemies of Egypt)
Gold name	User-renput-wer-nechetu Wsr-rnpwt-wr-nḫtw Rich in years, with great victories
Throne name	User-maat-Re-setep-en-Amun Wsr-m3ˁ.t-Rˁ-stp.n-Jmn Rich in Maat, a Re , chosen one of Amun From the second year of reign Heqa-maat-Re-setep-en-Amun Ḥq3-m3ˁ.t-Rˁ-stp.n-Jmn ruler of the Maat, a Re, chosen one of Amun
Proper name	Ramesisuheqamaatmeriamun (Ra mesi su heqa maat meri Amun) Rˁ msj sw ḥq3 m3ˁt mrj Jmn Re it is who created him, ruler of the Maat, lover of Amun

Ramses IV. Was the 3rd ancient Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ) of the 20th Dynasty ( New Kingdom ) and ruled from about 1156 to 1150 BC. Chr.

family

Ramses IV already bore the name "Ramses" as a prince and was very likely the fifth son of Ramses III. and the " Great Royal Wife " Isettahemdjert . His older brothers include the princes Amunherchepeschef , Paraherwenemef , Chaemwaset and Sethherchepeschef . His younger brother (or half-brother) was Ramses VI. who, as a prince, also bore the name Amunherchepeschef.

He was probably married to Tentipet , his son Ramses V became heir to the throne .

Ramses IV as a prince

Ramses IV was probably born during the reign of Seti II ( 1200 BC ) and did not ascend the throne until he was around forty. Queen Tausret ruled for the first decade of his life . She is considered the outstanding ruler of the late 19th dynasty and is the only one to receive a decorated queen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings . At the accession to the throne of Ramses III. Prince Ramses is already at a young age and is therefore old enough to take part in the Battle of the Nations in the first years of his father's reign. The participation of the princes in the victorious defense against the sea peoples is shown on the north wall of the temple of Medinet Habu , on which the princes remain unnamed.

Prince procession in Medinet Habu .

The first inscription comes from his prince's grave QV53 , which may have been in the year 10 of Ramses III. can be dated. His name also appears in the first place in the prince procession in Medinet Habu, in which - parallel to the prince procession of the Ramesseum - the sons of Ramses III. displayed in descending order of precedence. Prince Ramses is the only son who has the combined titles of hereditary prince , royal scribe and general, which were only added later after his accession to the throne. The inscriptions to the depictions of princes remained empty for a long time, just like the queen's cartouche, so that the determination of the succession to the throne probably took place relatively late. Only after the death of his brother Setherchepeschef did Ramses IV rise to the official heir to the throne in 22nd at the latest . On a scene in the small temple of Ramses III. in Karnak he takes together with his younger brother Amunherchepeschef (II.), later Ramses VI. to take part in the Min-Fest .

Ramses IV. Spent at least ten years as Crown Prince and was probably busy with routine administrative work during this time . In contrast to some of his brothers, he did not have the title of a priest, but that of a military commander (generalissimo). His official residence was either Memphis or Pi-Ramesse , where Ramses III. Set up neighborhoods for various officials. A graffito in the Soleb Temple of Amenhotep III. testifies that he was sent to Upper Nubia at least once. Possibly this was an ordinary inspection , but it is also possible that the dispatch served to put down a rebellion. Over the years he became familiar with more and more tasks. B. from the grave TT148 of Amenemope some scenes in which he this in the presence of Ramses III. appointed high priest of courage in the year 27 .

Domination

Bust of Ramses IV in the British Museum

Ramses IV succeeded his father on 15th Schemu III (April 7th) 1156 BC. On the throne . The burial of Ramses III. 74 days after his death on 24th Achet I (June 20th) he had him performed in grave KV11 in the Valley of the Kings and ruled until about 17th Achet III 1150 BC. Chr .; that's a little over six years.

Immediately after taking office, Ramses IV had the harem conspirators sentenced to death or mutilation . Some of the files of a trial he initiated to punish the conspirators have been preserved. In addition, he made the Great Harris Papyrus , which was a fictitious account of the deeds of Ramses III. and should serve as a legitimation writing for Ramses IV. The accession to power itself was celebrated as a golden age in which he wished Osiris to live and reign twice as long as Ramses II.

Title

When choosing the title, Ramses IV was based heavily on the names of Ramses II. From the second year of reign, Ramses IV changed his throne name and used the unusual term Mˁ3.ty ( "legitimized" , "the lawful" ) as an epithet , which possibly indicating that his claim to the throne was not without difficulty.

Foreign policy

While the Nubian territories of Kush and Wawat (Lower Nubia ) remained firmly in Egyptian hands until the end of the 20th Dynasty, the Egyptian influence in the Levant increased after the time of Ramses III. slowly but steadily. Only a few scarabs by Ramses IV have been found in this area so far . In the Harris I papyrus it was mentioned that at the end of the reign of Ramses III. nine more cities from Canaan belonged to the Theban Temple of Amun and that the construction of an Egyptian temple in Gaza was planned. The mines in Sinai continued to be visited and the delivery routes in southern Canaan were continuously monitored.

There are no concrete references to military operations from the time of Ramses IV, but hieratic fragments of stelae were found in Amara-West , which indicate a sea ​​battle or a night military campaign that could possibly have taken place in the third year of Ramses IV.

Expeditions

Right half of the Turin deposits papyrus

Ramses IV had several expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat carried out for the huge material requirements of his building projects . These were mainly used to extract beech stone. The first took place shortly after taking office (under Usermaatrenacht ) and a second at the end of the first year (under the High Priest of the Month , Turo (Hekamaatrenacht) ). A rock stele from the second year bears witness to another expedition that Bechen-Stein was supposed to bring to the “place of eternity” (Theban necropolis). The main purpose of this venture was to transport a five-meter-long block, possibly intended for a royal statue.

The largest and most important expedition took place in the third year and served to extract material for the "Place of Truth" (Deir el-Medina), where statues were made for the royal mortuary temples in West Thebes. The expedition was led by the high priest of Amun , Ramsesnacht , and was manned by 8,368 men (including 5,000 soldiers), of whom 900 died. The company included many high officials (e.g. the treasurer Chaemtir and the mayor of Thebes Amenmose ), members of the army and a few artisans . It was the largest expedition to Wadi Hammamat since the Middle Kingdom . One final quarry expedition was perhaps in the sixth year.

The Turin deposit papyrus is also related to the expeditions . This is a geological map with the mining areas in the wadi, which was probably made especially for the activities under Ramses IV.

In the north, several expeditions to the turquoise mines of Serabit el-Chadim took place at the same time , the last of which in the fifth year - u. a. by the stele of Panunefer - is best attested. The expeditions served not only to extract turquoise, but also to build a chapel for the cult of the king in the Hathor temple there. In the sanctuary of the temple there were also some temple scenes with Ramses IV and several statues. However, the newly established royal cult only lasted until the time of Ramses VI.

Further expeditions to procure material led to the copper mines in Timna and the Nubian border fortress Buhen .

Construction activities

Ostrakon , Ramses IV slays the enemies of Egypt

As a first project, Ramses IV took on the construction of a large mortuary temple in Al-Asasif ( West Thebes ). Another smaller building was built between the mortuary temple of Amenophis (son of Hapu) and Deir el-Medina . He also built a simple colonnade temple near the valley temple of Hatshepsut .

There is also evidence of construction outside of Theben West. In Karnak he mainly continued the work of Ramses III. at the Ach-menu of Thutmose III. and decorated the sanctuary in the Chons Temple . In Heliopolis , the temple of Ramses II./III. and an obelisk from his construction activities. In Memphis he is attested by a statue. In addition , he often usurped older buildings and statues by adding lines of titles or cartouches , e.g. B. in Buhen, Gerf Hussein , Edfu , Elkab , Esna , Armant , Medinet Habu , the Ramesseum, Karnak and Luxor, Koptos , Medamud , El-Tod , Abydos and Memphis. Nubian steles exist in Aniba and Amara-West.

There are some indications that the construction work in Thebes-West is in great hurry. The number of workers in Deir el-Medina was doubled (120 men) and they even had to work on high holidays. In addition, instead of having his own blocks made, Ramses IV had blocks or even entire walls from the outbuildings of the Ramesseum or other buildings used. Despite the high workload, the temple complexes in Thebes West remained unfinished.

administration

The administration included a. the vizier Neferrenpet , the treasurer Monthemtaui , Chaemtir and Ramses Userherchepesch , the high priest of Amun Ramsesnacht, the mayor of Thebes Amenmose , the general Usermaatreseneb and the viceroy of Kush Hori III.

After death

Ramses IV died in his seventh year of reign at the age of around fifty. Under his successors, Ramses V to Ramses VIII , there were disputes over the throne, which in some cases led to civil war.

Graves

QV53 served as the first grave in the Valley of the Queens , where normally princes and kings were not buried. As heir to the throne, he might initially take over the anonymous prince's grave KV3 in the Valley of the Kings, which was previously for Ramses III. conceived as a royal tomb and abandoned due to poor rock quality. The actual grave of Ramses IV, however, is KV2 . There is an ancient plan of the tomb on the Turin Papyrus in 1885 , which is, however, partially imprecise.

Mummy and coffin

Head of the mummy of Ramses IV.

The mummy was found in a side chamber in the royal depot ( KV35 ) in 1898 , the reburial of which is attested by a graffito by Penamun. She was unwrapped and examined by Grafton Elliot Smith in 1905 . The mummy was relatively intact and showed a typical mummification of the 20th dynasty. The only innovations were onions as artificial eyes and a resin ball to seal the anus .

The coffin originally belonged to a Wab priest named Ahaaa . The original decoration was covered with mortar on which the name of Ramses IV was written in black ink. According to Nicholas Reeves , the coffin was made at the reburial in KV14 in the same workshop as the coffins of Seti II and Siptah . In the year 13 of Smendes I , the mummy and coffin were then housed in KV35.

Cult of the dead

His cult of the dead is documented in the 20th dynasty by the Wilbour papyrus and private Theban graves and perhaps took place in a building north of the mortuary temple of Amenophis, son of Hapu .

literature

• Wolfgang Helck : Ramses IV . In: Lexicon of Egyptology . tape V . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , pp. 120-123 .
• Friedrich Abitz: Ramses III. in the graves of his sons (=  Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 72 ). Universitätsverlag, Freiburg 1986, ISBN 3-525-53701-8 .
• Erik Hornung : Two Ramesside royal tombs: Ramses IV and Ramses VII . In: Jan Assmann (Ed.): Theben; 11 . von Zabern, Mainz 1990, ISBN 3-8053-1067-6 , p. 7-21 .
• Erik Hornung : The New Kingdom. In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 197-217 ( online ).
• AJ Peden: The reign of Ramesses IV . Aris & Phillips, Warminster 1994, ISBN 0-85668-622-0 .
• Julia Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Thebes-West . In: Gabriele Höber-Kamel (ed.): The 20th Dynasty, Kemet issue 2/2001 . 2001, ISSN  0943-5972 , p. 29 .
• Thomas Schneider : Ramses IV . In: Lexicon of the Pharaohs . Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , p. 236-237 .
• Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs, Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty (3300-1069 BC) . Bannerstone Press, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9 , pp. 317-321 .

Web links

Commons : Ramses IV  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Biography of Ramses IV at nefershapiland.de
• The mummy of Ramses IV at The Theban Royal Mummy Project (English)
• Images of the Mummy (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ Also a memorial stone from Abydos and a hymn to Amun-Re .
2. ↑ The first stone mining expeditions to Wadi Hammamat since the reign of Seti II.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ shorthand. Detailed variant: Horus name of Ramses IV. (EGlyphica)
2. ^ The Epigraphic Survey: Medinet Habu, Vol. I - VII. Volume II, plate 101.
3. ↑ See information on the date of Ramses III's death . in the Deir el-Medineh strike .
4. ↑ Information from Thomas Schneider. After Jürgen von Beckerath , he ruled from 1152/51 to 1145/44.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Peden: The Reign of Ramsesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 2, 7-8.
6. ↑ Hornung: Two Ramesside royal tombs. Mainz 1990, p. 7.
7. ^ Peden: The Reign of Ramsesses IV. Warminster 1994, p. 7.
8. ↑ Abitz: Ramses III. in the graves of his sons. Freiburg 1986, p. 133.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Hornung: Two Ramesside royal tombs. Mainz 1990, p. 8.
10. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 6-8.
11. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, p. 9.
12. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 3, 9.
13. ↑ In the Julian calendar system, June 20th corresponds to July 1st.
14. ↑ Ostraca Deir el-Médineh No. 40 (O.DeM 40), vs 5–6 In: J. Černý: Catalog des ostraca hiératiques non-littéraires de Deir el-Médineh (Cairo) Vol. 1; Nos. 1-113 In: Documents de fouilles de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire. (DFIFAO) No. 3, 1935.
15. ↑ Rolf Krauss: Sothis and moon data: Studies on the astronomical and technical chronology of ancient Egypt. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1985, ISBN 3-8067-8086-X , p. 131.
16. ↑ Legal Papyrus Turin , Papyrus Rollin , Papyrus Lee , Papyrus Rifaud .
17. ↑ Large Abydos stele from the 4th year of the reign, Cairo 44876.
18. ^ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, p. 35.
19. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramsesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 2, 15.
20. ↑ In Tel Aphek , Tell el-Fara'ah , Tell es-Safi and Tell Zakariya .
21. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 18-23.
22. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 24-27.
23. ↑ ^{a b c d} Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Düsseldorf 2002, pp. 236–237, → Ramses IV.
24. ↑ Peden: The Reign of Ramesses IV. Warminster 1994, pp. 28-31.
25. ↑ ^{a b} Budka: The temple complexes of Ramses IV. In Thebes-West. In: Kemet 2/2001 , p. 29.
26. ↑ Nicholas Reeves , Richard H. Wilkinson: The Valley of the Kings. Mysterious realm of the dead of the pharaohs. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0739-3 , p. 27.
27. ↑ ^{a b} Ramses IV at The Theban Royal Mummy Project
28. ↑ Egyptian Museum (Cairo) Inventory number: CG 61041.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ramses III.	Pharaoh of Egypt 20th Dynasty	Ramses V.