11. Djedefre

Caroline Ramirez

Djedefre was the son of Khufu, a king who built large funeral monuments. His brother Kawab was supposed to become king, but he died. Many people believe Djedefre killed his brother, but there is not strong evidence to support that. Djedefre,the successor of Kheops and the third king of the 4th Dynasty, took over and was the King for eight years according to Turin-King list. He was the first king to use "Son of Ra" in his title which indicates attention towards the son god grew. Djedefre is credited with creating the Sphinx of Giza. A sphinx is creature-like head of a lion with body much like a person. He also finished a pyramid made of limestone and granite at Abu Rawash, a city eight kilometers from Giza. This was different because he did not build the pyramid on the plateau of Giza like his father. Next to this pyramid, he constructed a sphinx of his wife Hetepheres II.

Head of Djedefre

Sphinx of Giza

Sphinx of Hetepheres II

Information Sources: Manual (127), Djedefre History [[1]], Monuments and Sights of Ancient Egypt: Abu Rawash [[2]], Djedefre (Radjedef) [[3]], Djedefre Pharaoh 2566-2558 BC [[4]]

Picture Source: Djedefre Head [[5]], Sphinx [[6]], Sphinx of Hetepheres II [[7]]

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