Khufu- Builder of the Great Pyramid

Khufu (2589-2566 BC) was the 4th Dynasty (2613-2498) pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. Originally, the Great Pyramid stood 481 feet (146.6 m) tall. Although commonly called Cheops (and also Suphis) because of the late Greek influence on Egypt, the name Khufu is the original ancient Egyptian name for this king as demonstrated by his own cartouche. He reigned for approximately 24 years.

Although the Great pyramid has such fame, little is actually known about its builder, Khufu. Ironically, only a very small statue of 9 cm has been found depicting this historic ruler. This statue, pictured above and below, was not found in Giza near the pyramid, but was found to the south at the Temple of Osiris at Abydos, the ancient necropolis.

According to various inscriptions, Khufu probably did lead military into the Sinai, and raids into Nubia and Libya.

Khufu was the son of another great pyramid builder, King Sneferu. Khufu’s mother’s name was Hetepheres.

Although King Sneferu was remembered as a benevolent and beneficent ruler, Khufu is believed by some to have been a more ruthless and cruel despot. He was rumored in later times to have been prone to enjoying the fantastic stories of the reigns of his predecessors, as well as tales of magic and the mystical. His fame lasted throughout Egyptian history and he still had a funerary cult as late as the Saite Dynasty (26th Dynasty). Of course, whether or not he was a cruel ruler, he did command a tremendous ability to organize and mobilize worker. There was an extremely large amount of manpower necessary to build the Great pyramid and its surrounding complex and tombs. Certainly Khufu would have had the benefit of witnessing the previous pyramid projects of his father, Sneferu.

The Great Pyramid stands witness to the ability of Khufu to lead and coordinate his people. Current theories espouse that the building of the Great Pyramid was not achieved by slave labor. Instead, the project defrayed taxes, which were paid in the form of goods and services as there was no monetary system. Also, due to the annual inundation of the Nile there was always a yearly segment of the population that had some time that they could not spend in their homes.

Curiously, although his father was probably buried in Dahshur, Khufu chose the Giza plateau to situate his pyramid, temples, and perhaps, his tomb. Also curiously, he did not choose the highest spot on the plateau, which was later used by his son and successor, Khafre. This gave Khafre's pyramid the illusion of being taller, when in fact the Great Pyramid is the actually the taller pyramid.

In addition to the splendor of the Great Pyramid, an exciting ancient wooden boat was found sealed in a pit at the base of the Great pyramid.

This boat was interred in pieces and has since been reassembled, restored and housed in a climate controlled museum over the site of the original pit.

Khufu had several sons and his immediate successor was his son Djedefre (Radjedef). Curiously, Djedefre also chose to build his pyramid at a location other than that of his fathers. Instead Djedefre was buried to the north at a site now known as Abu Roash. A remaining son of Khufu - Khafre, was to join his father building his pyramid at the higher spot in on the Giza plateau. Although Khufu's pyramid is actually bigger than Khafre's, the higher ground provides the illusion that Khafre's pyramid is taller. After the death of Khafre, his son Menkaure built his smaller pyramid at Giza, eventually completing the last of the famous pyramids at Giza.

Reputation

Khufu is often described as a cruel leader. Contemporary documents suggest that unlike his father he was not seen as a beneficent ruler and by the Middle Kingdom he is generally described as heartless ruler. In the Westcar Papyrus he is depicted as being keen to increase his own power and ensure the continued rule of his family, but is not as a particularly cruel monarch although he does offer the life of a criminal to test the skills in resurrection of a magician (which is often quoted as evidence that he was evil).

Khufu

Manetho states that Khufu was contemptuous of the Gods in the early years of his rule, but later repented and composed a series of sacred books. Although there is no mention of these books in later works on the pharaohs of the pyramid age, the idea that Khufu was not a kind ruler is repeated by a number of sources. It is sometimes suggested that so few representations of the king remain because they were destroyed after his death.

The allegation that Khufu used slaves to build the Great Pyramid first appears in Herodotus and is often repeated despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary. It is clear that the pyramid was built by skilled craftsmen and that the heavy manual work was undertaken by farmers who provided seasonal labour when the fields were submerged during the inundation. These manual labourers were well recompensed for their work and seem to have been well looked after. Herodotus also claims that Khufu closed all of the temples (there is no evidence at all of this) the daughter of Khufu was prostituted in order to help pay for the construction of the Great Pyramid (again this rather unlikely claim is not supported by any evidence).

It is worth noting that there is no indication left by any of the workers, artisans or nobles during his lifetime that Khufu was despised. Herodotus states that the Egyptians could not even bear to speak his name, yet he was worshipped as a god after his death and his cult continued well into the Late Period and was very popular in the Roman Period. The "Ring of Khufu" (pictured) was originally thought to have belonged to him but it is now agreed that it belonged to a priest in his mortuary cult.

Family

He was probably the son of Snefru and Queen Hetepheres I. He had a large family including at least nine sons (including his successor Djedefre and the successor of Djedefre, Khafre) and fifteen daughters!

Sons of Khufu

Crown Prince Kawab

Djedefre (successor of Khufu)

Khafre (successor of Djedefre)

Djedefhor

Baufra

Babaef

Khufukhaef I

Minkhaf

Horbaef

Daughters of Khufu

Nefertiabet

Hetepheres II

Meresankh II

Meritites

Khamerernebty I

Monuments and Artifacts

Khufu is best known as the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza. There was an empty sarcophagus in the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid and no evidence that the pyramid was ever used for an actual burial. However, no other burial site has been discovered and his mummy has never been found.

There are a number of satellite burials around the Great Pyramid, including that of his mother, Hetepheres, and two of his wives. There are also a series of mastabas belonging to some of his sons and their wives in the vicinity. Beside the Greta Pyramid, two large "boat pits" containing huge cedar ships were discovered.

Despite the size of the pyramid built by Khufu, only one tiny ivory sculpture has been definitively confirmed as depicting him. His master builder, Hemon, left a larger statue behind! A large granite head has also been found, but although its features resemble those of Khufu some experts argue that it may represent Huni of the third dynasty instead. There is also a fragment of a small limestone head which may represent Khufu wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt.

The "Ring of Khufu" (pictured) was originally thought to have belonged to him but it is now agreed that it belonged to a priest in his mortuary cult.