The raising of the Great Pyramid, which used CORVÉE
labor, not slaves, was an almost overwhelming task. The
Greeks related that Khufu’s daughter had to sell herself in
order to raise the necessary money to complete the pro-
ject. The accusation is false, as Egypt did not have a cur-
rency until centuries later.
Khufu also dabbled in MAGIC, according to the leg-
ends, using a magician from MEIDUM, DJEDI, who sailed
on the Nile in a barge full of women clad only in fishnets.
The TALE OF KHUFU AND THE MAGICIANS,a Middle King-
dom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) papyrus, relates this exotic tale.
The real Khufu was vigorous and active. He used the
diorite quarries near ABU SIMBEL, fought campaigns in the
SINAI, and initiated building projects around MEMPHIS. His
name was found on seals of jars and vases in BEIT KHAL-
LAF, north of ABYDOS, and the WESTCAR PAPYRUSdetails his
reign. Only a small statuette was discovered as his por-
trait, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
His Great Pyramid in Giza was originally 753 square
feet, rising 478 feet, and it is the only survivor of the
Seven Wonders of the World. It took two decades of con-
tinuous labor, using corvéelevies of workers in the land.
Five boat pits were included in the complex on the south
and east. The mortuary cult of Khufu was popular in
Egypt, still observed in the nation during the Twenty-
sixth Dynasty (664–525 B.C.E.) and even into the Roman
Period in some areas.
Khunianupu (fl. c. 2100 B.C.E.)“Eloquent Peasant,” the
famed sage of the First Intermediate Period
Khunianupu lived in the reign of KHETY II(r. 2100 B.C.E.).
Having endured harsh treatment at the hands of an offi-
cial’s son, Khunianupu petitioned the Egyptian court sys-
tem for redress, eventually coming to the attention of
Khety II. “The ELOQUENT PEASANT,” as he was called, was
invited to the court and honored as a sage. Khunianupu
received a generous judgment and was asked to address
his fellow Egyptians. His admonitions about honor and
justice were discovered in four New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.) papyri.
Khusebek(fl. 19th century B.C.E.)Military official of
the Twelfth Dynasty
He served SENWOSRET III(r. 1878–1841 B.C.E.) as a com-
mander of troops. Khusebek accompanied Senwosret III
on punitive campaigns in Syria and in NUBIA(modern
Sudan). His mortuary STELAannounces his career and
honors, detailing the military efforts of his time. The stela
was discovered at ABYDOS.
Khuy(fl. 23rd century B.C.E.) Father-in-law of Pepi I
(2289–2255 B.C.E.)
Khuy was a NOMARCHand the father of ANKHNESMERY-RÉ
(1) and (2), who became PEPI I’s consorts and the moth-
ers of the heirs. His son, Djau, served as counselor and
adviser for PEPI Iand PEPI II.King Lists These are the historical monuments or doc-
uments that provide accounts of the rulers of Egypt in
chronological order, some providing traditions of the car-
touches of the pharaohs. These king lists include
Abydos Tableta list discovered in the corridors of
the Hall of the Ancestors in the mortuary temple of SETI I
(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.) in ABYDOS. This list contains the
names of the rulers from AHA(Menes) c. 2920 B.C.E.to
Seti I, a total of 76 rulers. There are reportedly intentional
omissions in the Abydos Tablet, including the Second
Intermediate Period rulers, AKHENATEN, and other
’AMARNArulers. RAMESSES IIcopied the list for his own
temple. The Abydos Tablet is in the British Museum in
London.
Karnak Tabletinscribed on the festival hall of TUTH-
MOSIS IIIat Karnak and using the nesuor royal names of
pharaohs from AHA(Menes) (c. 2920 B.C.E.) to Tuthmosis
III (1479–1425 B.C.E.). Based on earlier traditions, the list
is not as accurate as SETI I’s at ABYDOS. Of particular inter-
est, however, are the details of the Second Intermediate
Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.) rulers. The Karnak Tablet is in
the Louvre in Paris.
Manetho’s King Listthe assembled record of Egyp-
tian rulers compiled by MANETHO, a historian of SEBENNY-
TOSwho wrote during the reign of PTOLEMY I SOTER
(304–284 B.C.E.) and PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS(285–246
B.C.E.). This King List can be found in the Chronography
of George Monk and the Syncellusof Tarassus, patriarch
of Constantinople, who lived in the eighth century C.E.
The oldest version is in the Chronicle of Julius Africanus,a
Libyan of the third century C.E. This work, in turn,
became part of the Chronicle of Eusebius,the bishop of
Caesarea, 264–340 C.E.
Palermo Stonea great stone slab, originally seven
feet long and two feet high, now in five fragments. The
largest fragment is in the Palermo Museum in Italy. The
stone is made of black diorite and is inscribed with
annals of the various reigns. It dates to the Fifth Dynasty
(2465–2323 B.C.E.). A secondary piece is in the Egyptian
Museum in Cairo, and another is in the Petrie Collection
at University College in London. Smaller versions of the
Palermo Stone have been discovered in private tombs,
mines, and quarries.
Saqqara Tableta monument found in the tomb of
the royal scribe Thunery (Tenroy), and probably dating to
the reign of RAMESSES II(1290–1224 B.C.E.). The table
uses the nesunames (one of the ROYAL NAMES) of 47
rulers, starting in the Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.).
It is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Turin Canona document sometimes called the Turin
Royal Papyrus, compiled in the reign of RAMESSES II
(1290–1224 B.C.E.). Done in the hieratic script, the Turin204 Khunianupu