Mentuhotep IV

Mentuhotep IV was the final king of the Eleventh Dynasty during the Middle Kingdom. Born to Queen Imi, he succeeded Mentuhotep III and maintained royal control from Thebes over a unified country. He reigned about 1997 to 1991 BC, with dates uncertain by about 15 years.

His brief reign of approximately six years is best known for royal quarrying expeditions dispatched to the Wadi Hammamat to obtain greywacke stone for royal sarcophagi and statues. These expeditions were led by his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely considered by historians to have subsequently taken the throne as Amenemhat I, the founder of the Twelfth Dynasty. Mentuhotep IV left no identified tomb, and his name was omitted from later official king lists.

Scholars know this pharaoh almost exclusively from contemporary rock inscriptions carved into the quarry walls of the Wadi Hammamat recording these expeditions.

Monuments

• Wadi Hammamat rock inscriptions

Explore further

Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.