The first king of the Fourth Dynasty, Snefru, probably built the step pyramid of Maydum and later modified it to form the first true pyramid.
History | Egypt | Old Kingdom | First Intermediate Period
Old Kingdom (2575-2130 BC)
Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 BC)
To the west of Maydūm was the small step pyramid of Saylah, at Al-Fayyūm, on which Snefru also worked. He built two pyramids at Dahshūr; the southern of the two is known as the Blunt Pyramid because its upper part has a shallower tilt angle than its lower part. This difference may be due to structural problems or may have been planned from the beginning, in which case the resulting profile may reproduce a solar symbol of creation. The northern pyramid of Dahshūr, the latter of the two, has the same angle of inclination as the upper part of the Avocado Pyramid and a base area surpassed only by that of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
All three Snefru pyramids had mortuary complexes attached to them. Snefru's building achievements were therefore at least as great as those of any later king and ushered in an unprecedented century of construction.
In long perspective, the Fourth Dynasty was an isolated phenomenon, a period in which the potential for centralization was realized to its fullest and a disproportionate amount of state resources was used in the mortuary provisions of kings, almost certainly at the expense of general living standards. No significant Fourth Dynasty sites have been found outside the Memphite area. Tomb inscriptions show that high-ranking officials received properties spread across many nomos, especially in the delta. This pattern of land ownership may have prevented the formation of local centers of influence while encouraging intensive land exploitation.
People who worked on these estates were not free to move and paid a high proportion of their earnings in fees and taxes. The construction companies must have relied on recruiting large numbers of men, probably after the harvest in early summer and during part of the flood.
Snefru was the king's first name that was regularly written inside the cartouche, an elongated oval that is one of the most characteristic Egyptian symbols. The cartouche itself is older and was shown as a gift given by the gods to the king, meaning long duration on the throne. It soon acquired associations with the sun, so that its first use by the builder of the first true pyramid, which is probably also a solar symbol, is no coincidence.
Snefru's successor, Khufu (Cheops), built the Great Pyramid of Giza (Al-Jizah), to which was added the second, slightly smaller pyramid of one of Khufu's sons, Khafre (more correctly Rekhaef, the Khafre of Greek sources) , and of Menkaure (Mycerinus). Khufu's successor, his son Redjedef, began a pyramid at Abu Ruwaysh, and a king of uncertain name began one at Zawyat al-'Aryan.
The last known king of the dynasty (there was probably one more), Shepseskaf, built a monumental mastaba in southern Saqqarah and was the only ruler of the Old Kingdom not to start a pyramid. These works, especially the Great Pyramid, show a great mastery of monumental stonework: individual blocks were large or colossal and were fitted together with extreme precision. Surveying and planning were also carried out with remarkable precision.
In addition to the colossal design of the pyramids themselves, the temple complexes linked to them show great mastery of architectural forms. Khufu's temple or approach path was decorated with impressive reliefs, fragments of which were incorporated into the Twelfth Dynasty pyramid of Amenemhet I at Al-Lisht. The best-known of all Egyptian sculptures, the Great Sphinx of Khafre at Giza and its extraordinary, seated statue of Nubian gneiss, date to the middle of the Fourth Dynasty.
The Giza pyramids form a set of more or less complete monuments surrounded by many tombs of the royal family and elite, hierarchically organized and arranged in precise patterns. This arrangement contrasts with that of Snefru's reign, when important tombs were built at Maydūm and Saqqarah, while the king was probably buried at Dahshūr. Of the tombs at Giza, only those of the highest-ranking officials were decorated; Except among the kings' immediate entourage, the freedom of expression of officials was greatly restricted. Most senior officials were members of the large royal family, so power was concentrated through kinship as well as other means. This did not prevent factional conflict: the Redjedef complex was deliberately and completely destroyed, probably at the instigation of his successor, Khafre.
The Palermo Stone records a campaign to Lower Nubia in the reign of Snefru that may be associated with graffiti in the area itself. The Egyptians founded a settlement at Buhen, at the northern end of the Second Cataract, which lasted 200 years; others may have been founded between there and Elephantina. The purposes of this penetration were probably to establish trade further south and to create a buffer zone. No archaeological remains of a settled population in Lower Nubia have been found for the Old Kingdom period; Egypt's oppressive presence appears to have robbed the inhabitants of their resources, as the provinces were exploited in favor of the king and elite.
Snefru and the builders of the Giza pyramids represented a classical era for later times. Snefru was the prototype of a good king, while Khufu and Khafre had tyrannical reputations, perhaps just because of the size of their monuments. Little direct evidence of political or other attitudes survives from the dynasty, in part because writing was just beginning to be used to record continuous texts. Many great works of art were, however, produced for kings and members of the elite, and these set a standard for later work. Kings of the Fourth Dynasty have identified themselves, at least since the time of Redjedef, as Son of Ra (the sun god); Worship of the sun god reached a peak in the Fifth Dynasty.
Fifth Dynasty (2465-2325 BC)
Sixth Dynasty (2325–2150 BC)
Seventh and Eighth Dynasties (2150–2130 BC)
First Intermediate Period
Ninth Dynasty (2130-2080 BC)
After the end of the Eighth Dynasty, the throne passed to the kings of Heracleopolis, who made their hometown the capital, although Memphis continued to be important. They were recognized throughout the country, but inscriptions from nomarchs (chiefs of nome) in the south show that the rule of the kings was nominal. In Dara, north of Asyūt, for example, a local ruler named Khety styled himself in a regal manner and built a pyramid with a “courtly” cemetery around it.
At Al-Mi'alla, south of Luxor, Ankhtify, the nomarch of the al-Jabalayn region, recorded his annexation of the Idfū nome and extensive raids into the Thebes area. Ankhtify recognized an unidentifiable king Neferkare but campaigned with his own troops. The main themes of inscriptions from the period are the nomarch's provision of food to his people in times of famine and his success in promoting irrigation works.
Artificial irrigation had probably been practiced for a long time, but exceptional poverty and crop failures made concern about it worth recording. Inscriptions from Nubian mercenaries employed by local rulers in the south indicate how entrenched military action was.
Tenth and Eleventh Dynasties (2080-1938 BC)
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Author: Vanessa Chamma
Graduated in Arabic Literature and bachelor's in international relations
Researcher and Author
Lines of Research: History, Middle East, Geopolitics.
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