Sneferu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sneferu, also spelled as Snefru or Snofru (in Greek known as Soris), was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt, reigning from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC. He was one of the greatest Pharaohs of all time as he built at least three Pyramids prior to the Giza ones being built, and he was well known in Ancient Egyptian times but is overlooked and forgotten in modern times, his Pyramids are not visited by as many tourists as visit the Pryramids at Giza.
FamilyHe was married to Hetepheres I who is thought to have been the daughter of his father Huni. His father-in-law may also have been his father. According to this theory, Huni fathered Hetepheres from a wife and Sneferu from a concubine. Thus the marriage was what allowed Sneferu to inherit the throne. Sneferu and Hetepheres were the parents of Egypt's most famous pyramid builder, Khufu. Sneferu's Building projectsSneferu was actually more prolific than his heir, being responsible for constructing three pyramids. First of all he completed the pyramid of Huni at Meidum, transforming it from a step pyramid to a true pyramid, the first of its kind, this pyramid later partially collapsed. Thus it was necessary for another try at making a true pyramid. So he built the famous Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, but this was inperfect as well as it was "bent", so he finally, got it right by contructing the Red Pyramid which is the 4th largest pyramid in Egypt after the Giza pyramids, its said to look "red" when the sun shines on it hence its name. A small pyramid at Seila, near Meidum, is also believed to have been built at his command. While the pyramids built under Sneferu are individually smaller than the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the total volume of stone used in Sneferu's monuments is the largest of all pharaohs.
The Red Pyramid of Sneferu
Despite the construction of such monuments, relatively little is known about his reign. From an inscription on the Palermo stone, it is evident that the Egyptians had already begun to import high-quality woods from abroad, as the inscription states that King Sneferu sent forty ships to acquire cedar from Lebanon. It is also known that he built boats used to transport goods and for military purposes to such places as the Sinai, Nubia, and Libya. Some of the court life from that time is evoked in the Westcar Papyrus, written sometime during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Tradition ascribes that Sneferu was a wise and just ruler. Indeed, his reign was regarded in later years as something of a golden age. Clearly, his lifetime marked some kind of watershed in Egyptian history, as the dramatic expansion of pyramid-building seems to imply. Notes
References
ar:سنفرو br:Sneferou bg:Снофру ca:Snefru cs:Snofru da:Sneferu de:Snofru eo:Snofru et:Snofru es:Seneferu fr:Snéfrou gl:Snefru it:Nebmaat lt:Sneferu nl:Snofroe ja:スネフェル oc:Snefro pl:Snofru pt:Seneferu ro:Sneferu ru:Снофру sk:Snofru sh:Sneferu fi:Sneferu sv:Snofru uk:Снофру | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||










