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The Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV, who ruled during Egypt famous 18th Dynasty, is
probably most famous for his "Dream Stele, that can still today be found
between the paws of the great Sphinx at
Giza. Dreams
were important in ancient Egypt and were considered to be divine predictions
of the future. In Tuthmosis IV's "Dream Stele", he tells us
that, while out on a hunting trip, he fell asleep in the shadow of the Sphinx
(or apparently, the shadow of the Sphinx's head, for the monument was apparently
buried in sand at the time). In the young prince's sleep, Re-Harakhte, the
sun god embodied in the Sphinx, came to him in a dream and promised that if he
would clear away the sand that engulfed the monument, Tuthmosis would become
king of Egypt.
Tuthmosis IV's Dream Stele
In part, the stele reads:
"Now the statue of the very great Khepri (the Great Sphix) restin
in this place, great of fame, sacred of respect, the shade of Ra resting on
him. Memphis and every city on its two sides came to him, their arms in
adoration to his face, bearing great offerings for his ka. One of these
days it happened that price Tuthmosis came travelling at the time of
midday. He rested in the shadow of the great god. (Sleep and)
dream (took possession of me) at the moment the sun was at zenith. Then
he found the majesty of this noble god speaking from his own mouth like a
father speaks to his son, and saying, 'Look at me, observe me, my son
Tuthmosis. I am your father, Horemakhet-Khepri-Ra-Atum. I shall
give to you the kingship (upon the land before the living)...(Behold, my
condition is like one in illness), all (my limbs being ruined). The sand
of the desert, upon which I used to be, (now) confronts me; and it is in order
to cause that you do what is in my heart that I have waited."
 Obviously, the prince carried out these instructions, and thus became the
eighth ruler of the 18th Dynasty.
Right: Tuthmosis IV and His Mother, Tiaa
Tuthmosis IV's name means, "Born of the God Thoth". His
throne name was Men-kheperu-re, meaning "Everlasting are the Manifestations
of Re". We can also find references to him under the names of
Thuthmose IV, Thutmosis IV, and Djehutymes IV. He ruled Egypt between 1419
and 1386 BC. He was apparently the son of Amenhotep II by his wife, Tiaa, but
Egyptologists speculate whether, because of the wording of the "Dream
Stele", his claim on the Egyptian throne was legitimate. In fact, other
evidence supports this contention. His father, Amenhotep II, never
recognized Tuthmosis as a co-regent, or announced any intent for Thutmosis to
succeed him.
We know that Tuthmosis IV was probably married to Mutemwiya, who produced his
heir to the throne, Amenhotep
III, though he never acknowledged her as either a
major or minor queen. It is possible, though now doubted by some, that she
was the daughter of he Mitannian king, Artatama, who sent his daughter to the
Egyptian court as part of a diplomatic exchange. Other of his wives
included Merytra, who we believe later changed her name to Tiaa (same as his
mother's name) and a non-royal wife, Nefertiry. He probably also married one of
his sisters named Iaret.
Tuthmosis IV is not the best documented of Egyptian pharaohs. We
actually know very little about him in comparison to others of this
dynasty. Little military action appears to have occurred during his reign,
although our knowledge may be marred by the lack of texts. We do know that
there was a Nubian campaign in Year 8 of his rule, and that apparently there
were also campaigns in Syria. However, even though the king is referred to
twice as the "conqueror of Syria", these may have actually been little
more then policing actions, rather than full scale battles.
 Little is also known of his building work. Tuthmosis IV did finish a
giant obelisk that was originally quarried at Aswan under Tuthmosis
III, his
grandfather. At 32 meters (105 feet) it was the tallest Egyptian obelisk that we
know of, and was uniquely intended to stand as a single obelisk at the Temple of
Karnak. Most of the obelisks were usually erected in pairs. However,
Tuthmosis III originally intended for there to be a pair of these
Obelisks. Its counterpart developed a fault during the quarry process, and
remains today joined to the bed-rock at Aswan. Today, the finished obelisk
stands outside St. John Leteran in Rome, rather then in Egypt.
He also began work work at most of Egypt's major temple sites and four sites
in Nubia, but almost all of this was simply adding to existing monuments. Most
of his work was adding to the temples of his father and grandfather, and perhaps
suggesting new sites and monuments to his son.
We know of his minor building projects in the following locations:
 In
Nubia at the following locations:
He also provided some decorations in the Hathor temple at the
Serabit
el-Khadim turquoise mines in the Sinai.
His best attested building project we have available today is his own
tomb,
KV 43, located in the Valley of the Kings and discovered by
Howard Carter.
However, his mummy was missing from his tomb, having been found five years
earlier in a cache of mummies located in the tomb of Amenhotep II. Perhaps
better known are the fine private tombs built by his nobles on the West Bank at
Luxor (ancient Thebes) in an area commonly referred to as the Tombs of the
Nobles. These include such notable tombs as that of Nakht
(TT 52) and
Menna (TT 69).
From his tomb, the Deceased Tuthmosis IV Receiving
the Gift of Life from the Goddess, Hathor
References:
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
Reference Number |
|
Chronicle of the Pharaohs (The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt) |
Clayton, Peter A. |
1994 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
ISBN 0-500-05074-0 |
|
Complete Valley of the Kings, The (Tombs and Treasures of Egypt's Greatest Pharaohs) |
Reeves, Nicholas; Wilkinson, Richard H. |
1966 |
Thames and Hudson Ltd |
IBSN 0-500-05080-5 |
|
Monarchs of the Nile |
Dodson, Aidan |
1995 |
Rubicon Press |
ISBN 0-948695-20-x |
|
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, The |
Shaw, Ian |
2000 |
Oxford University Press |
ISBN 0-19-815034-2 |
|
Who Were the Phraohs? (A history of their names with a list of cartouches) |
Quirke, Stephen |
1990 |
Dover Publications |
ISBN 0-486-26586-2 |
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