Ramesses IV (Heqamaatre)

The treason trials

Ramesses IV survived the assassination plot that killed his father. He immediately established a special tribunal of 12 judges to prosecute the conspirators. The court documents, known as the Judicial Papyrus of Turin, record that the guilty parties, including Prince Pentawere, were forced to commit suicide, and their names were permanently hacked out of monuments.

Massive quarrying expeditions

He initiated enormous building programs and sent massive expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat to acquire stone. One expedition involved over 9,000 men, with records casually noting that roughly 900 laborers died from the brutal working conditions. He prayed to Osiris for a reign double the length of Ramesses II's, but he died after only six years on the throne.