Huni I (Pharaonic Survival)

Huni I the Strong
Huni I the Strong
	Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	8 January 2663 - 3 March 2639
Predecessor	Teti II
Successor	Sneferu I
Born	February 27, 2705 B.C. ; Mennefer, Egypt
Died	March 3, 2639 B.C. (aged 66)
Spouse	Djefanebti, Meresankh I
Issue	Hetepheres I, Sneferu I
Full name
	Horus Name: Qahedjet; Nebty Name: Huennisut; Golden Horus Name: Hwj; Praenomen: Huennisut; Nomen: Huni
House	Khasekhemwy
Dynasty	Djoserian Dynasty
Father	Djoserteti
Mother	Djoseretnebti
Religion	Kemetism

Huni was an ancient Egyptian king, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period. Based on the Turin king list, he is credited with a reign of 24 years, ending in march 3, 2639 BC.

Huni's chronological position as the last king of the third dynasty is fairly certain, but there is uncertainty about the succession order of rulers at the end of the third dynasty. It is also unclear under which Hellenized name the ancient historian Manetho listed him in his Aegyptiacae: mostly likely Aches, as Winfried Barta proposes. Huni was the father and predecessor of King Sneferu I, 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 very few documents, objects or monuments from his reign have survived.

Reign[]

Next to nothing is known of Huni's time on the throne. His date of birth, accession and birth as well as his family are some of the only details known about him. Religious or military activities are not known from his reign.

The only contemporary documents, which allow some evaluation of any political and social developments during Huni's time, are the tomb inscriptions of high officials such as Metjen, Khabausokar, A'a-akhty and Pehernefer. These are dated to the time span from the end of the 3rd dynasty up to the beginning of the 4th dynasty. They show that the reign of Huni must have been the beginning of the heyday of the Old Kingdom. For the first time inscriptions give explicit insights into the power structure of the state, with nomarchs and viziers exercising important powers. The tomb inscriptions of Metjen also mention, for the first time in Egyptian history, that titles of high-ranked officials and priests were only passed down by inheritance from father to son.

It seems though, that Huni undertook some building projects. The Turin Canon, which is rather modest about additional information concerning the listed kings, credits Huni with the erection of a certain building, for which Huni must have been honoured in later times. Unfortunately, the papyrus is damaged at the relevant column and the complete name of the building is lost today. Egyptologists Günter Dreyer and Werner Kaiser propose a reading as "he who built Sekhem...". They believe that it could be possible, that the building was part of a building project through the entire land, including the erection of several, small cultic pyramids.

Another hint of possible building projects and city foundations under Huni might be hidden in the name of the historical city of Ehnas (today better known as Heracleopolis Magna). Wolfgang Helck points out that the Old Kingdom name of this city was Nenj-niswt and that this name was written with exactly the same hieroglyphs as the cartouche name of Huni. Thus, he proposes Huni as the founder of Ehnas. Additionally, the tomb inscription of Metjen mentions a mortuary domain in the nome of Letopolis. This building hasn't been found by archaeologists yet.

After his death, Huni seems to have enjoyed a long lasting mortuary cult. The Palermo stone, which was made over a hundred years after Huni's death, mentions donations made to a funerary complex temple of Huni. Huni's name is also mentioned in the Prisse Papyrus, further evidence that Huni was remembered long after his death since the papyrus was written during the 12th dynasty.

Monuments connected to Huni[]

Cultic step pyramids[]

Several small step pyramids along the Nile river are credited to Huni. These small pyramids had a cultic function and marked important royal estates. They contained no internal chambers and were not used for burial purposes. One of them is located at the eastern end of Elephantine island and a granite cone with Huni's name was discovered nearby in 1909. Therefore, this little pyramid is the only one that may be credited to Huni with some certainty. Some scholars such as Andrzej Ćwiek contest this attribution however, pointing out that it might be at least possible that the granite cone of Huni was re-used in later times, when ramesside priests restored cultic places of the Old Kingdom period. The only cultic step pyramid that can be definitively connected to an Old Kingdom ruler is a small step pyramid known as the Seila Pyramid, located at the Atefpehu Oasis. Two large stela with the name of Sneferu were found in front of the pyramid, thus indicating the king responsible for its construction. Since Sneferu was Huni's likely immediate successor, this might indicate however that cultic pyramids were indeed constructed at the transition between the 3rd and 4th dynasties.

Edfu South Pyramid[]

The Edfu South Pyramid TBD

Burial[]

A huge perdjet at Meidum as Huni's burial. perdjet M17 was originally around 100 metres (330 ft) large by 200 metres (660 ft) wide and was approximately 15 to 20 metres (49 to 66 ft) high. The above-ground part was made of unburnt mud bricks and filled with rubble from the second building phase of the Meidum pyramid. The subterranean structure contained a 3.7 metres (12 ft) deep shaft leading into a corridor and several large chapels and niches. The burial chamber was plundered in antiquity, every decoration was destroyed and/or stolen. The large, roughly hewn sarcophagus contained the remains of a mummy.