Ankhhaf was an Egyptian prince and served as an overseer during the reign of the Pharaoh

Khufu Khufu or Cheops (died 2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his ...

, who is thought to have been Ankhhaf's half-brother. One of Ankhaf's titles is also as a vizier, but it is unknown under which pharaoh he would have held this title. He lived during Egypt's

4th Dynasty The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to c. 2498 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with othe ...

(''c.'' 2613 to ''c.'' 2494 BC).

Family

Ankhhaf was likely a son of the pharaoh

Sneferu Sneferu or Soris (c. 2600 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch and the first pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, during the earlier half of the Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). He introduced major innovations in the design and constructio ...

and an unknown wife. Ankhhaf's tomb in

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...

(G 7510) depicts his sister-wife Princess Hetepheres. Hetepheres is thought to have been the eldest daughter of Sneferu and Queen

Hetepheres I Hetepheres I () was a queen of Egypt during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt who was a wife of one king, the mother of the next king, the grandmother of two more kings, and the figure who tied together two dynasties. Biography Hetepheres I may have ...

and thus Ankhhaf's half-sister. Hetepheres had the titles "eldest king's daughter of his body", "the one whom he loves" (''sat nswt n khtf smst mrt.f'') and "Priestess of Sneferu" (''hmt-nTr Snfrw'').Laurel Flentye, ''The Mastabas of Ankh-haf (G7510) and Akhethetep and Meretites (G7650) in the Eastern Cemetery at Giza: A Reassessment'' in Essays in Honor of David B. O'Connor, pp. 291-308 Ankhhaf and Hetepheres had a daughter, who was the mother of their grandson Ankhetef.Reisner, George A., and William Stevenson Smith. ''A History of the Giza Necropolis. Vol. 2, The Tomb of Hetep-Heres the Mother of Cheops: A Study of Egyptian Civilization in the Old Kingdom.'' Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955. pp 1-12 (The family and general background of Hetepheres I)

Career

Ankhhaf had the titles "eldest king's son of his body" ('' sa nswt n khtf smsw''), "

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

" and "the great one of Five of the house of

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

" ('' wr djw pr- Djehuti''). Ankhhaf is thought to have been involved with the building of the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...

and likely played a role in the construction of the

Sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

. In 2013 a collection of papyri fragments, the

Diary of Merer The Diary of Merer (also known as ''Papyrus Jarf'') is the name for papyrus logbooks written over 4,500 years ago by Merer, a middle-ranking official with the title ''inspector'' ( ''sḥḏ'', ''sehedj''). They are the oldest known papyri with ...

, was discovered at the ancient Harbor of Khufu at

Wadi al-Jarf Wadi al-Jarf () is an area on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, south of Suez, that is the site of the oldest known artificial harbour in the world, developed about 4500 years ago. It is located at the mouth of the Wadi Araba, a major communication co ...

. The logs from an inspector named Merer appear to date from the 27th year of Khufu's reign and record months worth of operations transporting limestone from Tura to Giza. The records refer to an administrative center named ''Ro-She Khufu'' which was under the authority of the Vizier Ankhhaf. According to Egyptologist Pierre Tallet, this would place him in charge of the construction of the pyramid towards the end of the project. Though the diary does not specify, Tallet believes the operations refer to the delivery of the Tura

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

used for the casing. In the papyrus Ankhkhaf is called ''nobleman'' (''iry-pat'') and ''overseer of Ra-shi-Khufu''. The latter place was the harbor at Giza where the stones for the pyramid building arrived.

Tomb

Ankhaf's

mastaba A mastaba ( , or ), also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...

tomb, G 7510, was one of the largest in the eastern cemetery at Giza. The tomb was dated to the reign of Khafre by Reisner. More recently a study of the architecture, iconography and titles of the occupants has led to a reassessment and the tomb likely spans the reigns of Khufu,

Djedefre Djedefre (also known as Djedefra and Radjedef; died 2558 BC) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. He is well known by the Hellenization, Hellenized form ...

and Khafre. A superb and realistic painted

portrait bust of Ankhhaf discovered in his tomb is considered the work "of a master" of ancient Egyptian art from the time of the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

, and can be seen at the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

.Berman, Lawrence, Freed, Rita E., and Doxey, Denise. Arts of Ancient Egypt. Museum of Fine Arts Boston. 2003. p.78. . Its catalog number is Museum Expedition 27.442.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ankhhaf Viziers of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Princes of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Sneferu Khufu