| Thutmose IV the Peacemaker | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 17 March 1420 - 19 June 1389 |
| Predecessor | Amenhotep II |
| Successor | Amenhotep III |
| Born | August 12, 1438 Waset, Egypt |
| Died | June 19, 1389 (aged 48) |
| Spouse | Nefertari, Iaret, Mutemwiya, Ahmose III, Tenettepihu |
| Issue | Amenhotep III, Siatum, Amenemhat, Tiaa, Amenemopet, Petepihu, Tentamun |
| Full name | |
| Horus Name: Kanakht Tutkhau Nebty Name: Djednesyt Miatum Golden Horus Name: Userkhepesh Derpedjut 9 Praenomen: Menkheperura Nomen: Thutmose | |
| House | Thutmose |
| Dynasty | Ahmosid - Thutmosid |
| Father | Amenhotep II |
| Mother | Tiaa I |
| Religion | Kemetism |
Thutmose IV (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis IV, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: ḏḥwti.msi(.w) "Thoth is born") was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century BC. His prenomen or royal name, Menkheperura, means "Established in forms is Ra." He was the son of Amenhotep II and Tiaa. Thutmose IV was the grandfather of Akhenaten.
Reign[]
His father, Amenhotep II, appointed him as successor to the throne, although he was not the firstborn. Two older brothers had died before his father, and so he was able to reign. To confirm his reign, the Theban priests of the god Amun drew up a series of oracle predictions, through which he was legitimized as pharaoh.
Legend[]
According to legend, Thutmose IV owed his throne to the Sphinx of Akhetnesu. The legend said that one day, while hunting, Thutmose sat in the shadow of the Sphinx, which at that time was covered with sand. The young man fell asleep and had a dream in which the Sphinx said to him: I will give you kingship over the Earth as head of all living beings; you will wear the white crown and the red crown on the throne of Geb, prince of the gods. It is here, now, that the sand of the desert torments me, the sand on which I once stood. Take care of me, so that you may accomplish all that I desire. I know that you are my son and my protector. Thutmose ordered the sand to be removed and the Sphinx to be restored. Between its paws, he ordered a stele to be erected, on which he narrates his dream. In return, the Sphinx, as a representation of the god Harmachis, converted him into Pharaoh Thutmose IV.
Domestic and Foreign Policy[]
As recorded on the Sphinx of Akhetnesu, Thutmose favored the cult of Heliopolis. He dismissed the high priest of Amun from his post as vizier and Minister of Finance, and in order to prevent the growing power of this figure, the Pharaoh appointed himself high priest of Amun.
Regarding foreign policy, he suppressed a rebellion in Nubia with the, let's say, help of Amon, with whom he spoke at Konosso. His military campaigns in Asia are not known, but it is known that one of his feats was to conquer a Syrian fortress, intended to play the role of policing the region.
It was possible to learn about the tense relations with their Asian neighbors thanks to the correspondence, in cuneiform writing, with the kingdom of Mitanni. The situation in the East became very dangerous, because another very powerful power appeared, the Hittites. Being neighbors, of a warlike nature, of the kingdom of Mitanni, they were willing to conquer the region. Thus, Egypt and Mitanni allied themselves to fight the Hittite nation. Although they were bitter enemies, for a long time, Egypt and Mitanni were forced to ally themselves in the fight against the Hittites. Thanks to this alliance, the Egyptians enjoyed a long period of peace. In turn, Mitanni promoted uprisings and revolts, with the purpose of destabilizing the Hittite kingdom. And, to further consolidate this alliance, a marriage was arranged, when Thutmose was still prince, with Mutemwia, a daughter of Artatama I, monarch of Mitanni. From this union, his heir, Amenhotep III, was born.
The need to construct a legend to legitimize his right to succession to the throne indicates that Thutmose IV was not the theoretical (and preferred) successor of Amenhotep II. Furthermore, while the pharaoh normally receives the support of the clergy of Amun, Thutmose opted for the favors of the Heliopolitan clergy, and sought his legitimacy through the sun god Ra, of which the Sphinx was one of his manifestations.
Pharaoh and the Queen Mother[]
Thutmose IV, son of Queen Tiaa, was a peaceful king. Although the names of several of his officials are known from their tombs, the one who played an important political role during his reign was his mother, Queen Tiaa. An example of this is the existence of some sculptures in Ipetisut, where Thutmose and his mother appear, carved.
The Resurgence of Aton[]
During the reign of Thutmose IV, solar mythology centered on Ra once again occupied the prestigious position it had been losing since at least the Middle Kingdom, when the Theban dynasties ended up elevating to the top of the national pantheon gods such as Montu, Amun, Mut, Min and Khonsu. The restoration of the Sphinx at Akhetnesu is symptomatic: not only is Akhetnesu the burial place of the kings of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties (known devotees of the solar cult), but the Sphinx itself is a solar symbol, a manifestation of the god Harmakhis. Thutmose also erected an obelisk, the largest in Egypt, which now stands in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano in Italy. The obelisk was also a solar symbol par excellence. In addition to Ra, Khepri, Atum and Horakht, during the reign of Thutmose we see the emergence of the previously obscure and secondary deity called Aton, which apparently would only be the deification of the sun as a visible celestial body. It was with this deity that, about 40 years later, Thutmose's grandson, Akhenaten, would promote the Amarnian revolution.
Monuments[]
Like most of the Thutmoside kings, he built on a grand scale. Thutmose IV completed the eastern obelisk at the Temple of Ipetisut started by Thutmose III, which, at 32 m (105 ft), was the tallest obelisk ever erected in Egypt. Thutmose IV called it the tekhen waty or 'unique obelisk.' It was transported to the grounds of the Circus Maximus in Rome by Emperor Constantius II in 357 AD and, later, "re-erected by Pope Sixtus V in 1588 at the Piazza San Giovanni" where it is today known as the Lateran Obelisk.
Thutmose IV also built a unique chapel and peristyle hall against the back or eastern walls of the main Ipetisut temple building. The chapel was intended for people "who had no right of access to the main [Ipetisut] temple. It was a 'place of the ear' for the god Amun where the god could hear the prayers of the townspeople." This small alabaster chapel and peristyle hall of Thutmose IV has today been carefully restored by French scholars from the Centre Franco-Egyptien D'Étude des Temple de Ipetisut (CFEETK) mission in Ipetisut.