Khafre - part 2
Jan 25th, 2007 by Lee (admin)
Modern Egyptologists believe Khafre may have ruled Egypt for a relatively long period, of around the 24 years ascribed to him by the Turin Royal Cannon papyrus, which was also confirmed by an inscription in the mastaba tomb of his son, Prince Nekure. He is thought to have ruled Egypt from approxiamately 2520 to 2496 BC.It is clearly evident from the fine mastaba tombs of the nobles in his court that Egypt was prosperous while Khafre was the Pharaoh. Carved on the walls of the tomb of Prince Nekure, was a will to his heirs. It is the only one of its kind known from this period, and in it he leaves 14 towns to his heirs, of which at least eleven are named after his father, Khafre.
We do know that Khafre participated in some foreign trade, or at least diplomacy, for objects dating from his reign have been found at Byblos, north of Beirut, as well as at Tell Mardikh in Syria. He apparently also had diorite quarried at Tashka in Nubia and probably sent expeditions into the Sinai as well.Â
Though there are few inscriptions left to shed light on the era of Khafre’s rule, he did leave behind some of the most important treasures found in ancient Egypt. Besides his pyramid complex at Giza, most Egyptologists believe he also built the Great Sphinx and that it is his visage on this huge statue, which sits just beside his valley temple. In addition, the life-size diorite statue of Khafre found in his valley temple, and now located in the Egyptian Antiquities Museum is one of the most magnificent artifacts ever discovered.
Like his father Khufu, Khafre was at times in Egyptian history depicted as a harsh, despotic ruler. As late as the New Kingdom, Ramesses II seems to have had no problem with taking some of the casing from his pyramid at Giza for use in a temple at Heliopolis. However, by Egypt’s Late Period, the cults of the fourth dynasty kings had been revived, and Giza became a focus of pilgrimage.