Five other pharaohs vying for the status of the ‘greatest’
THE FATHER OF THE PYRAMID AGE
Djoser (reigned c2650–2620 BC) Succeeding to the throne after a period of instability, Djoser was the first king of the third dynasty. Presiding over a peaceful and prosperous kingdom, he surrounded himself with a glittering court whose members included the architect and sage Imhotep, later venerated as a god of wisdom and healing.
Djoser was the first great builder in pharaonic history, and commissioned Egypt’s first large-scale stone monument, the Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara. Later historians regarded Djoser’s reign as marking the start of a new era. In art, architecture and administration, he inaugurated the first flowering of Egyptian civilisation, the Pyramid Age.
THE METICULOUS DESPOT
Khufu (reigned c2545–2525 BC) Famous as the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza, Khufu reigned over Egypt at the height of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid itself represents an unprecedented feat of architecture and engineering. The administrative apparatus that underpinned pyramid building was equally impressive in scale, and meticulous in planning and execution. It included copper mining in Sinai to supply bronze tools, the construction of a new city to house the workers, and the development of new agricultural estates to feed them.
But such an ambitious project did little for Khufu’s reputation: he was vilified by later generations as a tyrant.
THE SUPREME UNIFIER
Mentuhotep II
(reigned c2010–1960 BC)
Mentuhotep II was regarded by the ancient Egyptians themselves as one of their greatest kings. He reunified the country after a protracted civil war (leading his Theban troops to a
decisive victory), reorganised the administration and established his home town of Thebes as a royal and religious capital.
Mentuhotep built the earliest temple at Karnak and the first memorial temple in western Thebes, but also patronised cults throughout Egypt. He conquered Lower Nubia to secure access to the regio
