Khufu

Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, governing the Old Kingdom from Memphis from approximately 2589 BC to 2566 BC, with modern dates uncertain by about 20 years. He succeeded his father, Sneferu, and his mother was Queen Hetepheres I. His 23-year reign represented the absolute peak of royal centralisation and bureaucratic coordination in ancient Egypt.

Khufu chose the high limestone plateau at Giza, north of Saqqara, to construct his funerary complex. The result was the Great Pyramid, originally standing over 146 metres tall and constructed from roughly 2.3 million large limestone blocks. Within the monument, his builders fashioned an intricate system of chambers and corridors, including the Grand Gallery and the granite-lined King's Chamber. Surrounding the monument were subsidiary pyramids for his queens, vast fields of stone mastaba tombs for court officials, and deep rock pits containing dismantled wooden ceremonial boats.

Expeditions were dispatched under Khufu's authority to extract turquoise and copper from Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula, as well as fine granite from Aswan. Despite the unmatched scale of his funerary monument, contemporary artistic depictions of Khufu's likeness are extraordinarily rare. Scholars know him through the Great Pyramid complex itself, quarry marks left by his labour teams on subterranean roofing blocks, rock inscriptions in Sinai, and later records.

Classical authors like Herodotus portrayed Khufu centuries later as a ruthless tyrant who closed temples and forced citizens into harsh labour. However, contemporary archaeological evidence reveals that the workforce comprised well-organised and fed Egyptian workers and conscripts. Khufu was succeeded on the throne by his son Djedefre.

Monuments

• Great Pyramid of Giza
• Giza solar boat pits
• Wadi Maghara reliefs

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Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.