The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 01 : $b Prolegomena; Egypt, Mesopotamia
History
The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 01 : $b Prolegomena; Egypt, Mesopotamia
World history
The Great Pyramid was called Khut, “the Horizon,” in which Khufu had
to be swallowed up, as his father, the Sun, was engulfed every evening
in the horizon of the west. It contained only the chambers of the
deceased, without a word of inscription, and we should not know to whom
it belonged, if the masons, during its construction, had not daubed
here and there in red paint among their private marks the name of the
king and the date of his reign. Worship was rendered to this Pharaoh
in a temple constructed a little in front of the eastern side of the
pyramid, but of which nothing remains but a mass of ruins.
Pharaoh had no need to wait until he was mummified before he became a
god; religious rites in his honour were established on his ascension;
and many of the individuals who made up his court attached themselves
to his double long before his double had become disembodied. They
served him faithfully during their life, to repose finally in his
shadow in the little pyramids and mastabas which clustered around him.
Of Dadef-Ra (or Tatf-Ra), his immediate successor, we can probably say
that he reigned eight years.
[This is according to the Abydos and Saqqarah lists, but his
chronological position is still uncertain. The inscription of
Mertitefs, one of Sneferu’s queens, mentions that she was later a
favourite of Khufu, and even in her old age, of Khaf-Ra. This, if
true, would leave no space for Dadef-Ra between these reigns, so he
was either a co-regent or successor. In the XXVIth Dynasty his priests
give, in several instances, the succession as Khufu, Khaf-Ra, Dadef-Ra.
Professor Petrie identifies him with the Rhatoises of Manetho, and so
makes him the third successor of Khufu, but Professor Maspero, in his
reading “Dadef-Ra,” distinctly dissents from any such recognition. It
is possible that this king is the same person as the Prince Hortotef,
son of Khufu, who, as the hero of a famous tale, is one of the
best-known characters of early Egyptian literature.]
[Sidenote: [_ca._ 3666-3600 B.C.]]
But Khaf-Ra (or Khephren), the next son, who succeeded to the throne,
erected temples and a gigantic pyramid, like his father. He placed it
some 394 feet to the southwest of that of Cheops (Khufu); and called
it Ur, “the Great.” It is, however, smaller than its neighbour, and
attains a height of only 443 feet, but at a distance the difference in
height disappears, and many travellers have thus been led to attribute
the same elevation to the two.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account