Who is King Khufu?
King Khufu is regarded as one of Egypt’s most powerful monarchs of the ancient Egyptian period. During the ancient kingdom of Egypt, he ruled from 2589 to 2566 B.C. (2686-2150 BC).
He was the son of King Seneferu and Queen Hetepheres, and he succeeded his father on the Egyptian throne as the fourth dynasty’s second king. He had nine sons and fifteen daughters after marrying two queens named Merities and Henutsen.
History of King Khufu
King Khufu, also known as King Cheops in Greek, is considered as one of ancient Egypt’s most significant kings since he was responsible for the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the world’s seven marvels and the real motto of ancient Egypt.
Khnum-Khufu was his full name, which meant “Khnum Protects Me.” The ancient Egyptian ram-headed god of reproduction, water, and fertility was known as As Khnum. King Khufu “Cheops” has no status other than a little 7.5 cm statue in the Egyptian museum, which was subsequently relocated to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and is made of ivory unearthed in Abydos city.
King Khufu’s Achievements
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest pyramid in the world.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, which stood 480 feet (146.7 meters) tall, was erected in 20 years between 2580 and 2560 BC. Hemiunu designed it with 2.3 million limestones weighing 25 tonnes apiece and over 100,000 workers working on shifting shifts.
For over 4,000 years, it was the highest man-made edifice on the planet. The Great Pyramid, King Khufu thought, was his ladder to paradise, where he would take his due position among the gods. The Great Pyramid was the first of its sort because the sides were smooth rather than having steps, and the sides precisely matched the cardinal points of a compass.
Because it contained his tomb in the king’s chamber, King Khufu believed the Great Pyramid was his doorway to paradise. The pyramid’s precise architectural design on both the outside and interior remains a real enigma that draws visitors from all over the world to this day.
Controversial Theory about the Great Pyramid
The theory that the Great Pyramid is older than the king and that it was there thousands of years before the Pharaohs and King Khufu reused it as a tomb for himself, is not supported by mainstream Egyptologists. The Great Pyramid of Giza is widely believed to have been built as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, around 2600 BC, for about 27 years.
Egyptologists like Mark Lehner and Ahmed Fakhry, who are experts in their respective fields, believe without hesitation that it was Khufu who commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza. Historical analysis assures, according to Lehner, that it was the ancient Egyptians who built the Giza Pyramids in a span of 85 years between 2589 and 2504 BC.
The papyri discovered at an ancient Egyptian harbor at the Red Sea coast, known as the Diary of Merer, were written over 4,500 years ago by an official with the title inspector, who documented the transport of white limestone from the Tura quarries, along the Nile River, to the Great Pyramid of Giza, the tomb of the Pharaoh Khufu.
In conclusion, the mainstream consensus among experts in the field of Egyptology is that the Great Pyramid of Giza was indeed built as the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, around 2600 BC, and there is no substantial evidence to support the theory that it predates the reign of King Khufu.
King Khufu’s Solar Boat
The solar boat of King Khufu is the most unique item in the world, not only in Egypt. It is one of history’s oldest, biggest, and best-preserved monuments, dating back over 4.500 years. It has been recognized as the world’s oldest undamaged ship, a “masterpiece of woodcraft” that could sail today if placed in water.
The boat is able to demonstrate superior navigational and craftsman abilities as well as technologies from the time period. The boat’s goal was to transport King Khufu through the afterlife across the cosmos to paradise. The boat was one of two found in 1954 with a flat bottom made up of numerous boards that were reassembled from 1,224 parts. The Grand Egyptian Museum presently houses it.
If you want to see the Great Pyramid of King Khufu or one of Egypt’s numerous ancient monuments, browse our Egypt tour packages and pick your best journey to “The Land of Pharaohs.”