King Khufu (Cheops) (2551-2528)

Cartouche of Khufu

King Khufu ruled from 2551 B.C.E. until his death. He was the builder of the great pyramid at Giza. His name is a short  version  of  Khnum-khuefui, Khnum  Protects  Me. The Greeks listed him as Cheops. The son of Snefru and Queen  Hetepheres (1), Khufu  ruled  a  tied  country and  used  vulnerable  relatives  as  administrators.  His  Essential Wife was Meritites (1), who established birth to Prince Kewab and  probably  Hetepheres (2). Another  wife,  Queen Henutsen, put up  Prince  Khufukhaf  and  likely  Khafre (Chephren). There was another undiscovered queen, possibly Neferkau, who established birth to Radjedef.

Khufus  offspring  took  as  well  Djedefhor, Khumbaef, Merysankh (2), Minkhaf, Nefermaat, Khamerernebti (1), Djedef Aha,  and  others.  The  gentle  family was actually shared into two political and clan groups, with rivalries and disputes that subject the dynasty after Khufus demise. The reputation of Khufu was not good, as a effect. Greek historians claimed they were informed of  the  points  by  Egyptian  records  and  wrote  ill  of  him. The  raising  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  which  used  corvee labor, not slaves, was an almost overwhelming task. The Greeks linked that Khufus daughter had to sell herself in order to raise the essential money to total the project. The accusation is void, as Egypt did not have a currency until centuries later.

Khufu  also  covered  in  magic, reported  to  the  legends,  using  a  magician  from  Meidum,  Djedi, who  navigated on the Nile in a barge full of women coated only in fishnets. The  Tale of Khufu and the Magicians, a  Middle  Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.) papyrus, relates this fantastic tale. The  real  Khufu  was  vigorous  and  active.  He  used  the diorite targets near Abu Simbel, advertised campaigns in the Sinai, and originated building projects around Memphis. His name was found on stamps of jars and vases in Beit Khallaf, north of Abydos, and the Westcar Papyrus details his reign.  Only  a  small  figurine  was  discovered  as  his  portrait, nowadays in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

His Great Pyramid in Giza was earlier 753 square feet,  rising  478  feet,  and  it  is  the  only  subsister  of  the Seven Wonders of the World. It took two decades of continuous labor, using corve levies of workers in the land. Five boat scores were taken in the complex on the south and  east.  The  mortuary  cult  of  Khufu  was  modern  in Egypt,  still  observed  in  the  country  during  the  Twenty-sixth Dynasty (6645-25 B.C.E.) and straight into the Roman
Period in some fields.