Huni
| Huni | |
|---|---|
| Ny-Suteh, Nisut-Hu, Hu-en-nisut, Qahedjet(?), Kerpheris, Aches | |
Pink granite head attributed to Huni, Brooklyn Museum
|
|
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 24 years(3rd Dynasty) |
| Predecessor | Khaba(?) |
| Successor | Sneferu |
| Consort | Djefatnebti(?) |
| Children | Hetepheres I(?), Meresankh I(?) , Sneferu(?) |
| Monuments | Cultic step pyramid and palace at Elephantine |
Huni (original reading unknown) was an ancient Egyptian king and the last pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. Following the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2600 BC.
Huni's chronological position as the last king of the third dynasty is seen as fairly certain, but there is still some uncertainty on the succession order of rulers at the end of 3rd dynasty. It is also unclear under which Hellenized name the ancient historian Manetho could have listed him in his historical writing Aegyptiacae. Most possibly he is to be identified with the Hellenized name Aches, as Winfried Barta proposes. Many Egyptologists believe that Huni was the father and direct predecessor of king Sneferu, but this is questioned by other scholars. Huni is seen by scholars as a confusing figure in Egyptian history, because he was long remembered in Egyptian traditions, but only very few documents, objects or monuments have endured.
Huni is not a well attested pharaoh; most of the attestations only point indirectly to him. There are only two contemporary objects with his name.
The first one is a conical stele made of red granite, discovered in 1909 on the island of Elephantine. The object is 62.99 inches (160.0 cm) long, 27.16 inches (69.0 cm) thick and 19.69 inches (50.0 cm) broad. Its shape resembles a typical Benben stele, as known from mastaba tombs of early dynastic kings. At the front, the cone presents a rectangular niche with an incarved inscription inside. The inscription mentions a royal palace named Palace of the headband of Huni and writes Huni's name above inside a royal cartouche. The decorated niche is interpreted by scholars as a so-called "apparition window". The lower part of the window frame is flattened and elongated and shows traces of a second inscription, apparently the same as inside the window. It is not fully clarified, where exactly the object was once on display. Because it was found very close to a stepped pyramid, Egyptologists such as Rainer Stadelmann propose a position on the very front of the monument, or even visibly embedded in one of the steps. Today Huni's dedication cone is on display in the Cairo Museum as object JE 41556.
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Wikipedia