Sneferu
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| Snefru | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sneferu, Snofru, Soris | |||
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| Statue of Sneferu, on display at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. | |||
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |||
| Reign | 2613–2589 BC, 29 years in Manetho, 4th Dynasty | ||
| Predecessor | Huni | ||
| Successor | Khufu | ||
| Consort(s) | Hetepheres I | ||
| Children | Khufu | ||
| Father | Huni | ||
| Mother | Meresankh I | ||
| Died | 2589 BC | ||
| Monuments | Bent Pyramid, Red Pyramid | ||
Sneferu, also spelled as Snefru or Snofru (in Greek known as Soris), was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt, reigning from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC. He built at least three pyramids prior to the Giza pyramids, and he was well known in Ancient Egyptian times though in modern times, his pyramids are not visited by as many tourists as the Pyramids at Giza.
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[edit] Family
He was married to Hetepheres I who is thought to have been the daughter of his father Huni. His father-in-law may also have been his father. According to this theory, Huni fathered Hetepheres from a wife and Sneferu from a concubine. Thus the marriage was what allowed Sneferu to inherit the throne.
Sneferu and Hetepheres were the parents of Egypt's most famous pyramid builder, Khufu.
[edit] Sneferu's Building projects
Sneferu was actually more prolific than his heir, being responsible for constructing three pyramids. First of all he completed the Huni Pyramid at Meidum, transforming it from a step pyramid to a true pyramid, the first of its kind, this pyramid later partially collapsed. Thus it was necessary for another try at making a true pyramid. So he built the famous Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, but this was imperfect as well as it was "bent", so he finally got it right by constructing the Red Pyramid which is the third largest pyramid in Egypt after the two larger Giza pyramids. It is said to look "red" when the sun shines on it hence its name. A small pyramid at Seila, near Meidum, is also believed to have been built at his command. While the pyramids built under Sneferu are individually smaller than the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the total volume of stone used in Sneferu's monuments is the largest of all pharaohs.
Despite the construction of such monuments, relatively little is known about his reign. From an inscription on the Palermo stone, it is evident that the Egyptians had already begun to import high-quality woods from abroad, as the inscription states that King Sneferu sent forty ships to acquire cedar from Lebanon. It is also known that he built boats used to transport goods and for military purposes to such places as the Sinai, Nubia, and Libya. Some of the court life from that time is evoked in the Westcar Papyrus, written sometime during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Tradition ascribes that Sneferu was a wise and just ruler. Indeed, his reign was regarded in later years as something of a golden age. Clearly, his lifetime marked some kind of watershed in Egyptian history, as the dramatic expansion of pyramid-building seems to imply.
[edit] Notes
- '^ Clayton, Peter A. Chronicle of the Pharaohs. p42. Thames and Hudson, London, 2006. ISBN 9-78-0500-286289
- ^ a b c Snefru accessed November 18, 2006
[edit] References
- Anderson, Julie. 1999. "Furniture of the Old Kingdom". in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Leclant, Jean. 1999. "A Brief History of the Old Kingdom". in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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