Khety IV

Khety IV, also known by the throne name Meryhathor, was the final pharaoh of the Tenth Dynasty during the close of the First Intermediate Period. Based at Herakleopolis Magna, he presided over a rapidly disintegrating northern realm as civil conflict with the southern Eleventh Dynasty reached its climax. He reigned about 2041 to 2040 BC, with dates uncertain by about 25 years.

Very little is recorded about his brief reign, which lasted barely a year. He succeeded Merikare at a time when military pressure from the south was intense. With his fall, northern rule collapsed, paving the way for the reunification of Egypt under Theban control. No royal tomb or monuments from his reign have survived.

Scholars know this king through scant surviving mentions on contemporary fragments and later king lists, with virtually no detailed historical records surviving from his time.

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