Pharaohs of Egypt - Djoser

Djoser

Djoser was an ancient Egyptian King, who is known to belong to the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom in Egypt. As per the English pronunciation, his name is also spelled as Djeser or Zoser. But his Hellenized names were stated as Tosorthros and Sesorthos, as per the records of the Greek and Roman historians Manetho and Eusebius respectively. The main proof of the existence of Djoser is his life size painted statue of limestone, which was discovered during the excavations in Saqqara in 1925 and it is now preserved in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. According to the information found from some inscriptions of that time, Djoser was also named as ‘Netjerikhet’, which meant “divine of body” and some modern Egyptologists hold the idea that he was the actual founder ruler of the Third Dynasty of Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, though it is not totally confirmed yet.

The Family Life of Djoser

It is believed by many historians that Djoser was the son of King Khasekhemwy and his wife, Queen Nimaethap, though it is not sure whether he directly succeeded his father to the throne. The fact that Nimaethap was the mother of Djoser is supported by the discovery of the inscriptions of two jar sealings, where Nimaethap is mentioned with the title of “Mother of the King’s Children” and “Mother of the King of the Two Lands”.

Hetephernebti has been proved as the name of one of the queens of Djoser, which is established from the numbers of boundary stelae, found in his Step Pyramid site and also from a broken piece of a relic, which was discovered from an old building that is located in Hermopolis, an ancient Egyptian city.

Though it is unknown about the exact number of the children of Djoser, Inetkawes was known to be one of his daughters, as per the inscriptions made during his rule. He was succeeded by Sekhemkhet, who was assumed to be either his younger brother or his son, as any proof of the exact relationship between them is not yet found

The features of the reign of Djoser

According to the record of Manetho, Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty nine years, but the Turin King List states that his reign lasted for nineteen years only, though the exact period of his reign is nowhere mentioned. As per the ancient inscriptions, his reign was marked by several war expeditions to Sinai Peninsula, for overpowering the people of that land and also to extract precious minerals from the mines there. But he is most famous for the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, which he built to be his tomb and it is the precursor of the later pyramids of Egypt.

This pyramid was built as a series of mastabas, arranged one above another in a conical shape. Djoser is also known to build several buildings in Heliopolis and Gebelein, the ancient Egyptian towns of that era. An inscription discovered from the First Cataract states that Djoser reconstructed a temple of Khnum on the island of Elephantine, in this southern border area of Egypt, to bring an end to the seven year long terrible famine in the country. He relied completely on his faithful minister Imhotep, who carried all the responsibilities of planning and completing all these structures

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Pharaohs of Egypt - Djedefre

Pharaohs of Egypt

Djedefre

Djedefre was a notable Pharaoh of Egypt, who belonged to the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. He succeeded his father Khufu probably around 2575 B.C and ruled the Upper and Lower Egypt for probably 10 – 14 years only, as he died an early death and was succeeded by his brother Khafre. Djedefre was also known as Djedefra and Radjedef, as per the Egyptian inscriptions. But he adopted the title of “Sa-Re”, which meant “the Son of Ra, the Sun-God” and he was the first Pharaoh to choose such a cartouche name. As per Manetho’s records, the Hellenized name of Djedefre was Ratoises.

The Family Tree of Djedefre

It is confirmed that the father of Djedefre was Khufu, the great maker of the Pyramid of Giza. But his mother’s name is nowhere mentioned and hence, remains in the dark till date. His chief queen was his half-sister Hetepheres II, who was earlier the widow of his elder brother Kawab. He also married Queen Khentetenka, from whom he had three sons, namely Setka, Baka and Hernet; along with a daughter, named Neferhetepes; all of whose names are mentioned in the fragments of the statues, found in the mortuary temple of the Pyramid of Djedefre, in Abu Rawash.

The Pyramid of Djedefre

Djedefre moved 8 Km north from Giza and established a new necropolis on a higher leveled ground in Abu Rawash. It is situated at the northern side of the Memphite necropolis and was discovered in a ruined condition towards the end of the 19th century. The total necropolis complex was enclosed by a thick boundary wall, much of which is now broken down. The mortuary temple of this pyramid is completely ruined now and connected to the entrance, by a long causeway that runs from north to south; instead of east to west, as seen in the earlier pyramids of his predecessors. Even the stone paving of this causeway is also completely destroyed now. Only there are the fragments of some statues standing in the open courtyard, whose names has been deciphered from their bases and found to be of the children of Djedefre. But from the remnants of a row of pillars, recently excavated from the northeast side of this pyramid, it can be made out that there were some inscriptions written on them, probably about the deceased Pharaoh Djedefre. A partly damaged sphinx is also found in this pyramid complex, the face of which is believed to resemble that of Queen Hetepheres II, the wife of Djedefre. Hence, now scientists believe that the Great Sphinx of Giza was also built by Djedefre, as the face of that sphinx highly resembled his father Khufu.

Earlier, it was assumed that this pyramid might have been left incomplete; but the recent discoveries have made it clear that this pyramid complex was intentionally destroyed, around 2nd century A.D, when the statues of Djedefre and his children were deliberately damaged. But as per several evidences found from this site, this pyramid probably was built as the highest of its kind, with the height of 722 ft, which was higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are also much architectural differences between this pyramid and those of the earlier Pharaohs, as here the burial chambers were built under the pyramid, instead of within the pyramid. It is believed that firstly the inner chambers were constructed and then the pyramid structure was built over them.

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