Khufu

Khufu, also known by the Greek name Cheops, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is conventionally dated to the late 26th century BCE, roughly 2589–2566 BCE.

Khufu is best known for commissioning the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest pyramid in the Giza complex and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Construction is believed to have taken place in the mid- to late-26th century BCE, with the pyramid completed around 2560 BCE. It originally stood about 146.6 meters tall, with a base of 230 meters on each side, and was sheathed in white limestone; most of the outer casing has been removed. The pyramid forms the central element of a larger mortuary complex that included a temple, a causeway, and subsidiary pyramids for Khufu's queens.

Details of Khufu's life are sparse. His successor is generally considered to be his son Djedefre, though the exact order of Khufu's heirs is uncertain in the surviving records.

In later antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus described Khufu as a cruel ruler, but modern scholarship treats such accounts with caution due to limited evidence.

The pyramid and its complex remain a symbol of ancient Egyptian engineering and are part of the Giza Necropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.