| Djedefhor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Djedefhor |
| Died | c. 2530 BC |
| Burial place | Giza, Egypt |
| Title | overseer of all works of the king |
| Spouse | unknown woman |
| Children | Prince Auibra |
| Parent(s) | Khufu Meritites I |
| Relatives | Sneferu and Hetepheres I (grandparents) several brothers and sisters |
Djedefhor or Hordjedef (died c. 2530 BC) was a noble Egyptian of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of King Khufu and his name means "Enduring Like Horus".
Biography
| |||||
| Djedefhor in hieroglyphs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Era: Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC) | |||||
Djedefhor was a son of Khufu and half-brother of kings Djedefre and Khafre. Queen Meritites I is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother.
He is mentioned on an inscription in Wadi Hammamat, his name appears in a cartouche, written after the names of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafre, preceding the name of another of his brothers, Baufra. There is no evidence that either Djedefhor or Baufra ruled as a king, even though only kings' names were written in cartouches during the 4th dynasty.
The Teachings of Djedefhor, a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor seems to have been deified after his death. The wisdom text by Djedefhor was written as advice to his son, Prince Auibra.
Titles
Djedefhor's titles were:
| Title | Translation | Jones Index |
|---|---|---|
| imy-rȝ kȝt nbt (nt) nzwt | overseer of all works of the king | 950 |
| imy iz | he who is in the iz-bureau, councillor | 247 |
| ˁḏ-mr wḥˁw (ȝpdw) | overseer of fishers/fowlers | 1323 |
| mniw nḫn | protector/guardian of Hierakonpolis | 1597 |
| ḥȝty-ˁ | count | 1858 |
| zȝ nswt n ẖt.f | King's son of his body | 2912 |
| smr wˁty | sole companion | 3268 |
Translation and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.
Burial
He was still alive during the reign of Menkaure, Khufu's grandson. Hence he must have been buried towards the end of the Fourth Dynasty. Djedefhor was buried in mastaba G 7210–7220 in the east field which is part of the Giza pyramid complex. His sarcophagus is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Appearance in ancient Egyptian fiction
He is one of the main characters in a story included in the Papyrus Westcar. In the text of that papyrus, Djedefhor is mentioned as one who brought the soothsayer and magician called Djedi to the court of Khufu. This Djedi was inspired by real Prince Djedi, who was a son of Prince Rahotep and nephew to Khufu.
Sources
- ^ Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition (revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org
- ^ Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dyan (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05128-3., p.58
- gizapyramids.org G 7220
- Dodson & Hilton, pp.54-55
- Strudwick, Nigel, The Administration of Egypt in the Old Kingdom Routledge, 1985, ISBN 0-7103-0107-3 - PDF from Digital Giza, 20 MB
- Jones, Dilwyn, An Index Of Ancient Egyptian Titles Epithets And Phrases Of The Old Kingdom 1 & 2 BAR, 2000, ISBN 1-84171-069-5.
- "Tales of magic in Ancient Egypt". Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-05-08.