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Ancient Egypt > Egyptian Dynasties > Fourth Dynasty of Egypt

Fourth Dynasty of Egypt

Staruette of Khufu: The second king of the dynasty, is also the builder of the largest and most debated pyramid at Giza. Menkaure and Khasekhemwy I: Khasekhemwy was the wife and royal queen of Menkaure and may have been the mother of Shepseskaf, first king of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Statue of Djedefra: One of the many exhibits in the Louvre Museum in Paris, was found near his funerary monument at Abu Rawash.

The 4th Dynasty is mostly known for its enormous building projects. Indeed, Sneferu, the first king of the Dynasty, at least converted the Step Pyramid of Meidum into a 'real' pyramid, in addition to which he also built the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid at Dashur. The pyramid at Meidum has long time been credited to Huni, the last king of the 3rd Dynasty, but as Huni's name has never been found near that monument, it seems likely that it was built by Snofru as well. In any case, the largest mass of pyramids was built during the reign of Sneferu.

Khufu, the second king of the 4th Dynasty, built the largest pyramid, at the plateau of Giza, to the north of the Memphite necropolis. A grafitto left behind by the workmen in one of the relief chambers above the burial chamber defintely links Khufu to this pyramid. The two other pyramids at Giza were built by Khafra and Menkaure, a son and grandson of Khufu respectively. The pyramid of Djedefra, the oldest surviving son and successor of Khufu, does not appear to have been completed, hinting at a short reign.

Except for two kings, the chronology of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt is fairly well known. The first problematic king is listed between Khafra and Menkaure as Bakare in several kinglists. The Turin King-list is damaged at this point, but it does insert a king, whose name is lost, between Khafra and Menkaure. It is possible that a hieratic inscription found in or near the unfinished pyramid of Zawiyet el-Aryan is to be read as Baka. If this is the case, then not only do we appear to have evidence of the existence of this ephemeral king, we also have a monument that was constructed by him. It is also possible for this Baka(re) to have been a son of Djedefra's.

The second problematic king is the last of the dynasty. He is only known through Manetho by the name of Thamphthis. The Turin King-list is again damaged at this point, but it does have sufficient place between Shepseskaf and Userkaf for one king. No inscriptions or monuments from the end of the 4th Dynasty can be linked with this name.

Another problem surrounding the chronology of this dynasty is the discrepancy between the king-lists and the list provided by Manetho. The king-lists place the kings in the order that is now generally accepted by Egyptologists, whereas Manetho apparently first lists the kings that have been attested by great monuments, resulting in the following order: Soris (Sneferu), Suphis (Khufu), Suphis (Khafra), Menkheres (Menkaure), Ratoises (Djedefra), Bikheris (Bakare), Sebercheres (Shepseskaf) and Thamphthis.

Archaeological evidence, however, appears to support the order in the king-lists rather than Manetho's version.

The fact that Djedefra was succeeded by Khafra, his brother, and not by his son and the fact that Djedefra built his pyramid at Abu Rawash instead of Giza, has often been interpreted as evidence of dynastic struggle between Khufu many descendants. Romantic as it may be, this interpretation is not supported by any hard evidence.

The apparently bizare succession order that gave rise to this theory, becomes even more incomprehensive if the king Bakare listed by the king-lists was a son of Djedefra, as has often been suggested. It would be quite strange for Khafra to have eliminated Djedefra, but leave Djedefra's heirs alive and with the opportunity to claim the throne. Khafra's marriage to Meresankh III, an adoptive daughter of Djedefra, too does not support the theory of a Egypt dynastic fued.

But perhaps we simply do not know enough of the complex family structure of the 4th Dynasty or of its succession rules at this time, to be able to understand its chronology.

Rulers of Fourth Dynasty

The pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty include rulers who are best known for constructing pyramids, perhaps the hallmark which distinguishes the ancient culture of Egypt. All of the rulers of this dynasty commissioned at least one pyramid to serve as a tomb or cenotaph. A number of them (eg. Sneferu, Djedefra, Khafra) took their own sisters to wife.

Sneferu

Sneferu, the founder of 4th Dynasty, was believed to have commissioned three pyramids, and some believe he was responsible for a fourth. Although Khufu, his successor and son by Hetepheres I, erected the Great Pyramid of Giza. Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh.

Surviving from this era are the earliest-known records of Egyptian contact with her neighbors. They are recorded on the Palermo stone. Information carved on the stone predates and antedates this dynasty. Although some portions of the stone are lost, one remaining portion contains notations about the arrival of forty ships laden with timber from an unnamed foreign land purchased during the reign of Sneferu.

Khufu, Djedefra, Khafra, and Menkaure

The names of Khufu and Djedefra were inscribed in gneiss quarries in the Western Desert 65 km. to the northwest of Abu Simbel; objects dated to the reigns of Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaure have been uncovered at Byblos. Objects dating to the reign of Khafra have been found even farther away, at Ebla, where there is evidence of diplomatic gifts or trade also.

Khufu is the ruler who is known in Greek as Cheops. His son is, Khafra (Greek Chephren), and his grandson, Menkaura (Greek Mycerinus). All of these rulers achieved lasting fame in the construction of their pyramids at Giza.

Organizing and feeding the workforce needed to create these pyramids required a centralized government with extensive powers, and Egyptologists believe that at this time the Old Kingdom demonstrated this level of sophistication and the long period of prosperity required to accomplish such projects. In fact, recent excavations outside the Wall of the Crow by Dr. Mark Lehner have uncovered a large city which seems to have housed, fed, and supplied the pyramid workers.

Although it was once believed that slaves built these monuments, a bias based on the biblical Exodus story, study of the tombs of the workers who oversaw construction on the pyramids, has shown that they were built by a corvée of peasants drawn from across Egypt. Apparently, they worked during idle periods, while the annual Nile flood covered their fields, along with a very large crew of specialists including stone cutters, painters, mathematicians, and priests. Some records indicate that each household was responsible for providing a worker for civic projects and the wealthy could hire others to take their places. Civic duties were not necessarily building projects, there were duties for the temples, libraries, and festivals as well, and both men and women filled some of the positions.

These pyramids suggest that Egypt enjoyed unparalleled prosperity during the 4th Dynasty. The later bias of Herodotus (Histories, 2.124-133) has helped instill the idea that the pyramids survived as a reminder to the inhabitants of the forced labor that created them, however, although there was a tradition of the negative memory of Khufu presented in Papyrus Westcar, these kings were not tyrannized. In fact, the very same Papyrus Westcar presents Sneferu in a very benevolent light, even though he moved more stone to construct his pyramids than Khufu. This demonstrates that these pharaohs may have been remembered for their own individual reigns and personalities, rather than the sheer size of the monuments they built-monuments which in all probability, were built by a "willing" public.

Khasekhemwy I

Perhaps most intriguing is the status of Khasekhemwy I, whose tomb was built along the Menkaure causeway. Khasekhemwy was the wife and royal queen of Menkaure and may have been the mother of Shepseskaf, first king of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. She also may have ruled as pharaoh.

Her tomb is a large mastaba tomb, with another off-center mastaba placed above it. The second mastaba could not be centered because of the free, unsupported, space in the rooms below, in her primary mastaba.

On a granite doorway leading into her tomb, Khasekhemwy is given titles which may be read either as mother of two kings of upper Egypt and lower Egypt or, as mother of the king of upper Egypt and lower Egypt and, king of upper Egypt and lower Egypt.

Furthermore, her depiction on this doorway also gives the her the full trappings of royalty, including the false beard of the pharaoh. This depiction and the title given have led some Egyptologists to suggest that she reigned as pharaoh near the end of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt.

Her tomb was finished by her son, Shepseskaf, in the characteristic niche architecture for which he is known. However, the niches were later filled in with a smooth casing of limestone.

Shepseskaf and Djedefptah

The next recorded pharaoh is Shepseskaf, son to Khasekhemwy I and Menkaure. His reign was short, but he completed the projects of his father and mother and established an architectural style of his own.

Djedefptah is a shadowy figure ascribed a reign of varying years, whose existence is questionable. Shepseskaf is usually considered to be the last pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt. The ancient Egyptian historian, Manetho, however, lists a Tamphthis (which may be a corrupted form of Ptah-djedef) in this position, and the Turin Royal Canon, another resource about rulers, has an unnamed pharaoh listed who ruled for about two years after Shepseskaf. This ruler may be Djedefptah.

To date, it is unclear how this dynasty came to an end. Our only clue is that a number of Fourth Dynasty administrators are attested as remaining in office in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt under Userkaf.