Sneferu
Sneferu, also spelt 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. His name, Snefer, means "To make beautiful" in
Egyptian.
He was married to
Hetepheres who is thought to have been the daughter of his predecessor
Huni. His father-in-law may also have been his father according to some theorists. According to this theory, Huni fathered Hetepheres from a
Great Royal 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. Sneferu was actually more prolific than his heir, being responsible first for completing the pyramid of Huni at
Meidum, transforming it from a
step pyramid to a true pyramid, the first of its kind. He then went on to build his own step pyramid there. These were followed by the famous
Bent Pyramid at
Dahshur, and finally, the
Red Pyramid. 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.
*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
*
Snefru: First king of Egypt's 4th Dynasty
