Minkhaf I

For Minkhaf I's great-nephew, see Minkhaf II.
Minkhaf I in hieroglyphs
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[1]
Minkhaf
Mn.w ḫˁ=f
He appears, the god Min

Minkhaf I
Vizier
Dynasty 4th Dynasty
Pharaoh Khufu
Father Khufu
Mother possibly Henutsen
Children Son

Minkhaf I was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. Minkhaf was a son of Pharaoh Khufu, half-brother of Pharaoh Djedefre and elder brother of Pharaoh Khafra.[2] His mother may have been Queen Henutsen.[3] Minkhaf had a wife and at least one son, but their names are not known.[4]

Minkhaf held the titles Eldest king’s son of his body, Chief Justice and Vizier.[3] He served as vizier during his father Khufu's reign.

Tomb

Minkhaf was buried in the double mastaba numbered G 7430-7440 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis. The construction of the mastaba started during the reign of his father Khufu.[5] The mastaba contained an interior chapel and an exterior chapel consisting of four rooms. One of the rooms was built to house at least four statues. The niches were large enough to hold standing statues and the niches were inscribed with Minkhaf's name and titles.[6]

Two burial shafts were found, labeled G 7430 A and G 7430 B. Shaft G 7430 A contained Minkhaf's sarcophagus which was found in a coffin pit located on the western side of the burial chamber. A canopic pit where the Canopic jars would have been stored was located in the south-east corner of the burial chamber. Shaft G 7430 B belonged to Minkhaf's wife, but the structure was unfinished and appears to not have been used.[6] Minkhaf's sarcophagus is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[2]

Sources

  1. ↑ Hermann Ranke: Die ägyptische Persönennamen. Verlag von J. J. Augustin in Glückstadt, 1935., p. 265
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (2004) ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p. 60
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
  4. ↑ Nefertkau, the eldest daughter of Sneferu
  5. ↑ George A. Reisner, A History of the Giza Necropolis I, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1942, pp. 70–74, Retrieved from Giza Digital Library: History of the Giza Necropolis Series
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 George A. Reisner and William Stevenson Smith, A History of the Giza Necropolis II, Appendix B: Cemetery 7000 by George Reisner, Harvard University Press, 1955, pp. 45-50 Appendix B: Cemetery 7000 by George Reisner