The eighth king of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Thutmose IV, had a short reign, about 9 years (ca. 1419-1410 BC). He inherited a state in which his predecessors, his grandfather Thutmose III and his father, Amenhotep II, established a vast empire under strong control. The King would break with this warlike tradition while favoring a diplomatic alliance policy. Thus, he will marry a Mitanni princess and find a period of peace with this old enemy of Egypt with this marriage.
It seems that the king Thutmose IV was more interested than his predecessors in the issue of religion, especially the relationship between kingship and the divinity of the sun. It is also believed that it could have been a precursor to the renewal of solar theology later developed by his successors Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). This did not prevent him from being an enthusiast of Amun, for example, building the columned tiles in the Karnak Temple.
The stylistic change reveals the adjustments resulting from this new frame of mind.
Thutmose IV Mummy
Thutmose IV tomb was moved in the Twenty-first Dynasty to be moved with others to the tomb of Amenhotep II to protect it from plundering.
He was studied by Elliott Smith, and is described as a young man, 1.64 meters tall, clean-shaven and slightly effeminate. Severe wasting of the body, more than that which can be caused by mummification alone, indicates the possibility of cachexia. Indeed, the king died young, perhaps between 20 and 30 years old, without clear signs of injury.
Description of Thutmose IV Tomb
At the entrance to the Hyogeum, an inscription is carved into the limestone cliff that forms part of the Valley of the Kings. In front of the entrance there is a small natural platform where foundation deposits have been found.
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After a small series of steps, one reaches a long, sloping corridor, interspersed with stairs, that leads directly to the well room.
Wooden doors separated the different parts of the cemetery, but they disappeared in ancient times.
This large grave has been carefully excavated and appears to be finished.
This is not the case with decoration, and everything indicates the speed with which the craftsmen had to advance. Only two areas were decorated, again briefly. The scenes are almost identical from wall to wall, showing the king before various deities, all on an ochre-yellow base, the first use here in a royal burial. Thutmose IV is usually represented wearing a mongoose headdress with the uraeus attached to it, and all the gods extend to him the ankh sign of life towards his nose.
The death of a very young pharaoh, as would be the case for Tutankhamun, forced them to limit themselves to the minimum representation deemed necessary.
The Well Chamber
It is a square section and has a depth of about 8 meters. It represents one of the only two decorated rooms in the tomb.
The ceiling has a dark blue background, on which yellow gold stars are painted.
The actual wall painting was completed only on the left (east) wall, the back (south) wall originally carried decorations, of which only those on the left side of the door survive.
However, the upper eaves of the walls have been finished in all respects. At the top of this is a classical khukir frieze. This is located here on a line of colored rectangles (or Egyptian frieze).
Below this, extending here from end to end of the wall, is a thin blue sign of Hetehotep (=sky), studded with a single row of stars.
On the eastern wall, from left to right, is King Thutmose IV facing, successively, different gods, extending towards his nostrils the sign of life, with a short text identifying the divinity.
– In front of Osiris-Khentiamentyu (Osiris who rules the westerners – that is, the dead -)
– Before Osiris, the lord of Abydos.
– In front of Anubis, the great god, Lord of the Holy Land.
– In front of Hathor, Lady of the Western Desert.
– In front of Hathor, Lady of the Western Desert.
– In front of Hathor, Lady of the Western Hill.
On the back (south) wall the decoration covers only the left part of the doorway, all that remains being hasty decoration, which was completed immediately after the burial. It consists of a Hekir frieze, an unfinished “hotep” sign, and an unfinished scene including Anubis
The First Rectangular Room
Initially, his entrance from the well room was completely blocked off by a wall, carefully plastered and covered with gray paint to try and conceal this entry from would-be thieves, which was of course a wasted effort.
The room is small and low, and its ceiling is supported by two square-sectioned columns arranged in the center, along the axis of the area. It is not fully registered.
In the left part of this room, there is a steep staircase dug into the ground, leading through a corridor a few meters long to a second rectangular waiting room.
The Second Rectangular Room
This room has a fairly low ceiling and well-level walls. It is the second of the two decorated rooms in the tomb, after the well room.
The ceiling here is again decorated with yellow stars scattered on a dark blue base, simulating the night sky.
The left wall
As in the well chamber, the upper part of the wall includes the Heker frieze, the Egyptian frieze, and the long blue sign of Hetepe extending from one end to the other, on which a single row of stars is represented. Below it is a panel that includes the deities representing the sign of life, the Ankh, towards the king’s nose, which runs from left to right again, with
-Osiris Gentiamentiu
-Anubis in the temple
– Hathor, Lady of the Western Desert
– Hathor, Lady of the Western Desert
Under these scenes, the lower part of the wall consists of two yellow bands separated by a red band edged with black, and finally the usual wide black edging band down to ground level.
The rear wall
This is decorated according to the same style as the others. Under the ceiling and friezes is a rectangular panel showing symmetry from its central point, where the king stands before a figure of the goddess Hathor, who is also present at either end. This gives an alternation of the feminine deity with two male deities. Everyone extends the ankh sign toward his face.
Thus, Thutmose IV is from left to right in front of:
– Hathor, Lady of the Western Desert.
-Anubis on his hill.
– Hathor is a good lady, Lady of Heaven, Lady of the Dual Lands.
-Osiris Gentiamentiu
– Hathor, Lady Thebes, Lady of Heaven, Lady of the Dual Lands. Note that the head of the goddess was cut off and then could be put back in place.
Below the scenes is the same arrangement of colored ribbons.
The other walls of this room are not painted. However, on the right wall, two graffiti text inscriptions were found, written in large, well-designed hieratic script, with well-coordinated markings. Both relate to an examination of the tomb conducted by an official in the eighth year of Horemheb’s reign. Their presence shows that the tomb had already been violated at that time, and that it was a matter of making the place sacred again.
First graffiti
The eighth year, the third month of summer, during the reign of Thutmose IV, Gesr-Khebru-Re, the Chosen One of Ra; Son of Ra Horemheb, lover of Amun.
(2) His majesty, life, health, and strength are the command of the fan-bearer on the left of the king, the royal clerk, the treasurer, and the business agent in the place of eternity (i.e., the valley of eternity). Kings)
(3) Director of the Amun Opet Festival in Karnak, Maya, son of the doctor (?) Oy, born to the lady of the house, Orit.
(4) The funeral of King Khabru-Ra was renewed as soon as he voted in his precious residence in Western Thebes.
Second graffiti
1) His assistant to the chief of Thebes,
(2) Thutmose IV bin Hatyai,
(3) His mother, Yoh, is from the city.
At the back of this room, on the left wall, is an opening to the actual burial chamber, which is located on an axis at a 90 degree angle to the corner of this room.
The Burial Chamber of Thutmose IV
This is a vast room occupying two different levels.
The entrance was initially walled off, then on the antechamber side, plastered over which were stuck numerous tomb seals (blue in the depressions) representing the classic image of a jackal squatting over nine prisoners, their hands tied behind their backs.
The high ceiling is supported by two rows of three square columns, arranged along the axis of the room.
At the end of the first section of the room, a small staircase with five steps, arranged between the last pair of columns, leads to the second section of the room located on the lower floor. In this section, about a third of the total room, is a magnificent sarcophagus.
The room is not registered.
Outside the burial chamber are four small side annex rooms (designated A to D on the Newbery Plan). Two (A and D) are located to the left and right of the upper part of the room. The other two (B and C) are located to the left and right of the lower area.
The small mummy of the boy, spoken of by Howard Carter was deposited in Side Room B, with other human remains and the remains of a rope left by the thieves. This side chamber was blocked except for a small opening.
The Sarcophagus of Thutmose IV
It is the jewel remaining from the grave.
It is located in a cavity roughly cut into the ground and covered with stones.
It is made of red sandstone and measures 3 x 1.60 x 2 meters. It is shaped like a rectangular box with a rounded end approximately at head level, while at the feet the surface is flat. The cap is also rounded at the tip of the head and the top is curved.
The overall exterior of the main base section is decorated with hieroglyphs and engraved figures, and painted in yellow, white and black.
The head end of the sarcophagus
Here there is a horizontal pattern line and 18 vertical lines. She surrounds the central figure of Nephthys with raised arms, who wears the hieroglyph of her name on her head.
The right side of the box section
Here there is a horizontal line at the top and 25 vertical lines of text. Between the fifth and the sixth, the tenth and the eleventh, the fifteenth and the sixteenth, and between the twentieth and twenty-first, there are vertical bands containing one or several columns of hieroglyphics, which complete the text above them on the lid. In the rectangles thus marked are three representations of the king upright and walking and one of Anubis, all facing the head of the coffin.
The left side of the box section
Here there is exactly the same width as on the other side, with both sides facing the head of the coffin.
The foot end of the box section
Here there is a horizontal line of writing linked by 14 vertical lines, framing a central image of Isis, her arm raised, with the hieroglyph of her name on top.
The lid
This represents a central strip of hieroglyphs leaving 8 strips (4 on each side) towards the main box section of the sarcophagus, where they continue vertically, as the strips did around the mummy.
What was the role of King Thutmose IV in ancient Egyptian society?
Thutmose IV, a pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, is best known for his diplomatic reign and the famous Dream Stele at Giza, which he commissioned after a vision in which the Sphinx promised him kingship if he cleared away the surrounding sand.
The son of Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV continued the expansion of Egypt’s influence and laid the foundation for his successor, his son Amenhotep III. His tomb, KV43, discovered by French Egyptologist Victor Loret, is located in the Valley of the Kings.
While his tomb was initially undisturbed, his mummy was later moved to a mummy cache in KV35 to protect it from grave robbers. Scholars from around the world, including those from Imperial College London, have studied these royal burials to better understand ancient Egyptian practices. Thutmose IV’s reign, though relatively short, was pivotal in maintaining Egypt’s power and setting the stage for the prosperity of his son’s rule.
King Thutmose IV played an important role in ancient Egyptian society during the New Kingdom period (ca. 1400-1300 BC). Below are some of the key aspects of his role and contributions:
Pharaoh: Thutmose IV was the Pharaoh of Egypt, the highest political and religious authority in the kingdom. As pharaoh, he was responsible for maintaining order, dispensing justice, and supervising the administration of the state.
Military Leader: Like Egyptian pharaohs of his time, Thutmose IV was a military leader. He led campaigns to protect Egypt’s borders and expand its region. It is worth noting that he is known for his military successes in Nubia and the Levant.
Building Projects: Thutmose IV initiated many building projects during his reign. One of his most famous achievements is the restoration of the Great Sphinx in Giza, which had become buried in sand over the centuries. He installed an inscribed plaque (known as the Dream Stela) between the Sphinx’s feet, recounting a dream he had that led to the excavation of the Sphinx.
Religious role: As pharaoh, Thutmose IV also had significant religious duties. He was seen as the mediator between the gods and the people, and was responsible for maintaining the worship of the various gods and ensuring the well-being of Egypt through religious rituals.
Cultural Contributions: The reign of Thutmose IV contributed to the cultural and artistic prosperity of the New Kingdom. He commissioned sculptures, monuments and temples, reflecting the greatness of Egyptian art and architecture during this period.
Foreign Relations: Thutmose IV engaged in diplomatic relations with neighboring states, maintained alliances, and secured favorable trade agreements. This helped ensure Egypt’s prosperity and stability.
Legacy: Thutmose IV is remembered for his role in the restoration of the Sphinx, which remains an iconic symbol of ancient Egypt. His reign is also linked to the development of religious and military traditions that continued in Egypt for centuries
Conclusion: Rediscovering the Profound Impact of Thutmose IV ’s Transformative Reign
Thutmose IV rule was a pivotal moment in ancient Egyptian history, ushering in a new era of prosperity and innovation. By uncovering the mysteries of his life and legacy, we gain deeper insights into the complexities of divine kingship, the power of ambitious building projects, and the transformative impact a single pharaoh can have on the trajectory of a civilization. Thutmose IV story reminds us that even the most enigmatic figures of the past can still hold the keys to unlocking a richer understanding of our shared human experience.