A less well known king to end the dynasty - very little is known about Mentuhotep IV, his name does not appear in the Turin Canon (no ruler is entered there for the 7 years after the death of Mentuhotep III), evidence for his reign comes from inscriptions found in quarries. An inscription at Wadi Hammamat records how the vizier Amenemhet, with an army of 10,000 men, was at the quarry to find a fine block of stone to serve as the king's sarcophagus. As neither the tomb nor the sarcophagus of Mentuhotep IV has been found it is not known if the king was buried inside this fine stone.

The end of the dynasty.

Mentuhotep IV's vizier had a further role to play - it is thought that it was this vizier, Amenemhet, that usurped his king and proclaimed himself king (and founder of the 12th dynasty).

Conditions at this time have been described in 'The Prophecy of Neferti', a period of decline, famine and chaos - something only the leadership of a strong king (Amenemhet I rather than Mentuhotep IV) could reverse.