Sneferu - part 2
Jan 21st, 2007 by admin
It is believed that the Red Pyramid project was begun whilst the Bent Pyramid was still under construction. Just consider the amount of resources this would have required and the logistics, administration and planning behind two simultaneous projects!
Sneferu married Hetepheres I, who was either his half-sister, or full sister, in order to legitimise his rule. His mother, Meresankh, was not a royal. Tradition dictated that the power / divinity of the pharaoh was passed on by a woman - whilst the king was the ultimate authority, he had to be either the son of a royal woman, or married to one.
This may go some way to explain the abundance of incestuous marriages, in order to keep the royal power associated with a single male line. Manetho justifies the break between the third and fourth dynasties by noting that Sneferu came from another line of the royal family. While he was directly related to the kings of Dynasty III , his claim is by marriage.
Sneferu was very interested in maintaining the “royal family” and most of his court and officials were family members. He rearranged the ownership of land among his nobles to ensure that no single one gained enough power to challenge him.
Sneferu had a number of children from his wives. Other than Hetepheres, he had at least two other minor wives, who gave him six children, including Khufu who would build the Great pyramid at Gaza. The evidence suggests that the sons of his first wife were buried in Maidum , before he moved to the newer burial grounds in Dashur. No one knows why he didn’t move back to Saqqara , like everyone else.
His military campaigns against the Nubians and Libyans are recorded on the Palermo stone, and he began to trade with the Mediterranean nations. To supply Egypt with the cedar wood they needed for building the royal barges and doors of palaces, he sent a fleet to Lebanon to trade for it. Like previous pharaohs, he led expeditions to the Sinai, and was later revered as a god in that area. Sneferu was well-remembered as a good and wise king, and his cult survived well into the Middle Kingdom