Thutmose IV

The “Dream Stela,” erected by Thutmose IV between the paws of the Great Sphinx at Giza, tells of how, as a young prince, he fell asleep in the shade of this colossal figure while hunting in the desert nearby. The Sphinx appeared to him in his dreams and instructed him to clear away the sand that covered its body; in return, he would be made the next pharaoh. This suggests that he might not have been the legitimate crown prince, but that he usurped the throne in some way. Thutmose IV carried out at least one campaign to Nubia, which may have been more of a police action than anything else. He is known to have established peaceful relations with the Mitanni, Egypt’s greatest rivals to the northeast, marrying a Mitanni princess. He is credited with building a double portico in the court fronting the Fourth Pylon at Karnak; also at Karnak, he built a small chapel of Egyptian alabaster.

He was originally buried in KV 43, but was moved to the tomb of Amenhotep II sometime after Year 13 of Smendes.