Was the Pharaoh Khufu a cruel and egotistical ruler?
This is the king who had built the Great pyramid as his tomb which must be one of the greatest statements of personal ego ever. Bearing in mind the basic technology available this can only have been built with masses of labour which must of involved some coercion and cruelty. Admittedly I still cling to the idea of masses of slaves toiling under under harsh Egyptian sun which is I know owes more to old books and Hollywood than ancient Egypt.
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I doubt the ruler had much to do with the actual building and treatment of the workers. He probably just visited once in awhile, and spent most of his time in his palace with his friends. It is very hot and dusty in that country, so the rich tend to stay indoors.
@basstrom188 Great Question. Unfortunately, I wasn’t around in 2850 BCE to meet him. Yeah, I am old, but not THAT old. :-)
But while I can’t say what sort of fellow he was from personal experience, I wouldn’t put much stock in the comments made by historians of antiquity such as Herodotus, Manetho and Diodorus as they would have faced many of the same difficulties in lack of original source material faced by archeologists and historians of today. They did not write their screeds on what a prick he was till about 2,500 years after he died. Nonetheless, the criticisms stuck, and their ill treatment of him has colored opinion of him ever since.
As a rule, you don’t get to be a Pharoah in a pre-industrial society without being pretty damned powerful. And in those days, power usually meant kill your enemies to secure your throne.
So while I don’t have personal familiarity with the guy, it’s a pretty good assumption.
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