Senusret IV Seneferibre was an ancient Egyptian Theban king during the late Second Intermediate Period that is attested only through finds from Upper Egypt. The chronological position of Senusret IV is unclear and even the dynasty to which he belongs is debated.
Chronological position
According to Jürgen von Beckerath Senusret IV belonged to the late 13th Dynasty,[4][5] while Kim Ryholt classifies him as a king of the 16th Dynasty with an uncertain position in the dynasty.[6] Alternatively, Norbert Dautzenberg proposed that Senusret IV is part of the 17th Dynasty. Dautzenberg bases this hypothesis on his reading of entry 11.4 of the Turin canon as referring to Senusret IV. He also attributes graffiti on a gate of the Medamud temple mentioning a king "Senusret" to Senusret IV since the gate was decorated by Sobekemsaf I, who lived during the early 17th Dynasty.[7] Both arguments are rejected by Ryholt: first, Ryholt notes that the Turin canon entry 11.4 is not compatible with Senusret IV's prenomen and second, he observes that the gate of the temple of Medamud was built by Senusret III so the graffiti is likely to refer to this king rather than Senusret IV. In the new arrangement[8] the dynasty of Senusret IV is left partially undetermined, being simply categorized as late 13th to early 17th.
Attestations
Senusret IV is attested on the Karnak king list under his prenomen "Senefer[...]re". The most important contemporary attestation of the king is a 2m 75 cm tall colossal statue of him, sculpted in pink granite and discovered in Karnak in 1901 by Georges Legrain.[9] Other attestations include a block from El-Tod and the upper-right corner of a stela discovered in 1907 by Legrain in Karnak and which is inscribed with the date II Shemu 1 of the first regnal year of Senusret IV.[2][6] Finally, a lintel from Edfu and an axe-blade bearing the nomen Senusret have also been attributed to Senusret IV based on stylistic considerations.[6] In the case of the axe blade, however, some have attributed it to Senusret I.[10]
References
^Georges Legrain: Statues et statuettes de rois et de particuliers, in Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Le Caire, 1906. I, 171 pp., 79 pls, available copyright-free online, published in 1906, see p. 18 and p. 109
^ abcdefGeorges Legrain: Sur une stèle de Senousrit IV, in: "Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale; Mission Archéologique Française; Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes: pour servir de bulletin à la Mission Française du Caire", (1908), available online
^ abcG. Legrain, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Egypte 2 (1901), 272
^J. von Beckerath: Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten, Glückstadt, 1964.
^J. von Beckerath: Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägyptens, Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 46. Mainz am Rhein, 1997.
^ abcK.S.B. Ryholt: The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800-1550 B.C, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications 20., Copenhagen, 1997, ISBN8772894210.
^Norbert Dautzenberg: SeneferibRe Sesostris IV. – ein König der 17. Dynastie?, (Göttinger Miszellen 129), Göttingen 1992, p. 43–48
![Colossal statue CG 42026 of Senusret IV, discovered in 1901 by Georges Legrain in Karnak.[1]](File:Senusret_IV.png)
