Khufu
From ArchaeoWiki
Khufu (Egyptian: Khnum-Khufu "the god Khnum protects me"; Greek: Χέωψ Cheops, Kheops /ˈkiɑps/, Manetho: Σοῦφις Souphis) was the son of Sneferu and second ruler of the Fourth Dynasty in the Old Kingdom period of ancient Egypt. Khufu is undoubtedly best known as the builder of a grand funerary monument for himself: the Pyramid of Khufu, commonly referred to as the Great Pyramid. Little else is known of his life or events of his reign. Khufu was succeeded as ruler by his sons Djedefre and Khafre.
Life and Reign
Khufu probably ascended the throne as a middle-aged man after the long reign of his father, and seems to have ruled for some 23-24 years (the lower number being ascribed to Khufu by the Turin King List.
The director of Khufu's successful building project at Giza was the vizier Hemiunu, subsequently buried in a large mastaba-tomb in the Western Cemetery at Giza.
Like his father, Khufu appears to have sent expeditions to the Sinai region: rock inscriptions in the Wadi Maghara attest to the presence of his troops there, almost certainly both to exploit the turquoise deposits found there, as well as to maintain a close watch on local nomadic tribal groups.
Khufu also had some interest in quarrying the red granite of Aswan, as revealed by a faint inscription seen on a large boulder on the island of Elephantine.
Greek Accounts of Khufu's Life and Reign
The traces that remain of the Egyptian-Greek historian Manetho's writings agree in naming the third king of the Fourth Dynasty as "Souphis, builder of the Great Pyramid, which Herodotos says was built by Cheops. Souphis conceived a contempt for the gods, but repenting of this, he composed the Sacred Books, which the Egyptians hold in high esteem". Manetho's account placing Khufu-Cheops-Souphis at third place in the dynasty remains inexplicable, as there have appeared no indications of any other ruler between Khufu and his father Sneferu.
