Ramesses X

Khepermaatre Ramesses X (also written Ramses and Rameses) (ruled c. 1111 BC – 1107 BC) was the ninth pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His birth name was Amonhirkhepeshef. His prenomen or throne name, Khepermaatre, means "The Justice of Re Abides."

Reign
His accession day fell on 1 prt 27 (first month of the Winter season, day 27). His highest attested regnal year is year 3; the highest attested date in his reign is either "year 3, second month of the Inundation season, day 2" or possibly "year 3, month 4 (no day given)". However, a later 20th Dynasty papyrus fragment from Deir el-Medina published in 2023 by Egyptologist Robert Demarée refers to a partial date of Year 4, third month of Inundation [or Akhet] together with a change to Year 1, month 4 of Inundation. Although both kings are unnamed, it is strongly suggested by Demarée to refer to the reigns of Ramesses X and his successor Ramesses XI. If confirmed, this would mean that Ramesses X ruled for 3 years and 10 months or nearly 4 years before he died.

The only other 20th Dynasty king who died in his regnal Year 4 was Ramesses V but this ruler died around the time interval between the first and second month of Peret So, the papyrus document above cannot refer to Ramesses V.

The older theory put forward on astronomical grounds by Richard Parker that Ramesses X may have reigned for 9 years, has since been abandoned. Likewise, the suggested ascription of Theban graffito 1860a to a hypothetical year 8 of Ramesses X is no longer supported.

Family
The English Egyptologists Aidan Dodson and Dylan Hilton wrote in a 2004 book: "No evidence is known to indicate the relationship between the final kings Ramesses IX, X and XI. If they were a father-son succession, Tyti, who bears the titles of King's Daughter, King's Wife and King's Mother, would seem [to be] a good candidate for the wife of Ramesses X, but little else can be discerned."

However, Dodson's hypothesis here on Tyti's position must now be discarded since it has been proven in 2010 that Tyti was rather a queen of a previous 20th dynasty pharaoh instead. She is mentioned in the partly fragmented Harris papyrus to be Ramesses III's wife as Dodson himself acknowledges.

Attestations
Ramesses X is a poorly documented king. His year 2 is attested by Papyrus Turin 1932+1939 while his third year is documented in the Necropolis Journal of the Workmen of Deir El Medina. This diary mentions the general idleness of the necropolis workmen, at least partly due to the threat posed by Libyan marauders in the Valley of the Kings. It records that the Deir El-Medina workmen were absent from work in Year 3 IIIrd Month of Peret (i.e., Winter) days 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 21 and 24 for fear of the "desert-dwellers" (i.e., the Libyans or Meshwesh) who evidently roamed through Upper Egypt and Thebes at will. This is partly a reflection of the massive Libyan influx into the Western Delta region of Lower Egypt during this time. Ramesses X is also the last New Kingdom king whose rule over Nubia is attested from an inscription at Aniba.

Tomb
His KV18 tomb in the Valley of the Kings was left unfinished. It is uncertain if he was ever buried there, since no remains or fragments of funerary objects were discovered within it.