King Khufu: The Pharaoh Who Built the Great Pyramid (Complete Biography)

The Great Pyramid (The Project)

Khufu did not just want a tomb. He wanted a mountain. His father, Sneferu, had built pyramids at Dahshur. However, King Khufu moved his project north to a limestone plateau known as Giza. He named his monument Akhet-Khufu, which means “The Horizon of Khufu.”

Why Giza? Location is Everything

The move to Giza was a masterstroke of engineering.

• The Foundation: The plateau provided a solid bedrock capable of supporting 6 million tons of stone.
• The Materials: The site itself was a quarry. They probably cut the bulk of the pyramid right from the ground next to the construction site.
• The View: Located high above the Nile valley, the white limestone casing would have reflected the sun, making King Khufu‘s monument visible from miles away.

The Architect: Hemiunu

Behind every great king is a great genius. For King Khufu, that man was Hemiunu. Hemiunu was the Vizier and the “Overseer of All Royal Works.” His statue, found at Giza, shows a man of significant weight. In Ancient Egypt, being  a higher-weight was a sign of prosperity and high status. It meant you did not have to do manual labor.

Hemiunu faced a logistical nightmare. He had to organize the delivery of roughly 800 tons of stone every single day for 20 years to finish on time.

The Workforce: Slaves vs. Citizens

This is the biggest myth in Egyptian history. King Khufu did not use slave labor. Hollywood movies often show slaves being whipped while dragging stones. However, archaeology proves otherwise. Excavations at the “Lost City of the Pyramid Builders” (discovered by Mark Lehner) reveal a different story.

The Evidence:

• Diet: The workers ate prime cuts of beef, sheep, and goat. Slaves would never be fed such expensive protein.
• Medical Care: Skeletons show signs of set bones and successful surgeries (like amputations that healed). This indicates King Khufu provided state-sponsored healthcare.
• The System: The workers were organized into teams or “gangs” with names like “The Drunkards of Menkaure” or “The Friends of Khufu.”

These were peasants fulfilling their tax obligations (Corvée labor) during the flood season when they could not farm. They were paid in beer, bread, and cloth. They were building for their god, not a tyrant.

Logistics of a Mountain

To build the pyramid, King Khufu required materials from across the known world.

The core was made of local limestone. However, the outer casing was made of high-quality white limestone from Tura, located across the river.

• The Transport: When the Nile flooded, boats carried these massive stones almost to the base of the pyramid.
• The Granite: The King’s Chamber required massive granite beams. These were quarried in Aswan, over 500 miles (800 km) south, and floated down the river on barges.

The organization required to coordinate mining, shipping, feeding, and cutting suggests that King Khufu‘s administration was more efficient than many modern governments.