Ramesses IX (Neferkare Setepenre)

The great tomb robberies

Ramesses IX ruled for nearly two decades, but his reign is infamous for total administrative breakdown and rampant corruption. During his 16th and 17th years, an official investigation uncovered massive looting across the royal cemeteries of Western Thebes. Trial papyri record the confessions of stonemasons who brazenly broke into the tombs of past kings, such as Sobekemsaf II, to strip their mummies of gold and burn their coffins, often with the complicity of corrupt local mayors.