Djedefhor
Ancient Egyptian prince
title: "Djedefhor" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["princes-of-the-fourth-dynasty-of-egypt", "children-of-khufu", "3rd-millennium-bc-births", "3rd-millennium-bc-deaths", "deified-ancient-egyptian-people"] description: "Ancient Egyptian prince" topic_path: "geography/egypt" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djedefhor" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ancient Egyptian prince ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Egyptian dignitary"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Djedefhor |
| Egyptian_name | H-Hr:r-Dd-f |
| alt | Djedi and Djedefhor |
| caption | Djedi and Djedefhor |
| birth_name | Djedefhor |
| death_date | 2530 BC |
| resting_place_coordinates | |
| burial | Giza, Egypt |
| style | overseer of all works of the king |
| children | Auibra |
| father | Khufu |
| :: |
| name = Djedefhor | Egyptian_name=H-Hr:r-Dd-f | alt = Djedi and Djedefhor | caption = Djedi and Djedefhor | birth_name = Djedefhor | death_date = 2530 BC | resting_place_coordinates = | burial = Giza, Egypt | style = overseer of all works of the king | children = Auibra | father = Khufu Djedefhor or Hordjedef (died 2530 BC) was a noble Egyptian of the 4th Dynasty. He was the son of King Khufu and his name means "Enduring Like Horus".
Biography
Djedefhor was a son of Khufu and half-brother of kings Djedefre and Khafre. Queen Meritites I is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother.
He is mentioned on an inscription in Wadi Hammamat, his name appears in a cartouche, written after the names of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafre, preceding the name of another of his brothers, Baufra. There is no evidence that either Djedefhor or Baufra ruled as a king, even though only kings' names were written in cartouches during the 4th dynasty.
The Teachings of Djedefhor, a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor may have been deified after his death though this is disputed.
Titles
Djedefhor's titles were: ::data[format=table title=""]
| Title | Translation | Jones Index |
|---|---|---|
| imy-rȝ kȝt nbt (nt) nzwt | overseer of all works of the king | 950 |
| tȝyty zȝb ṯȝty | he of the curtain, chief justice, vizier | 3706 |
| iry-pˁt | hereditary prince/nobleman, 'keeper of the patricians' | 1157 |
| wr di.w pr ḏḥwty | Greatest of the Five in the temple of Thoth | 1471 |
| mniw nḫn | protector/guardian of Hierakonpolis | 1597 |
| rȝ p nb | mouth of every Pe-ite/Butite (see Buto) | 1831 |
| ḥȝty-ˁ | count | 1858 |
| ḥry-sštȝ n it.f | privy to the secret of his father | 2241 |
| ḥry-sštȝ n nzwt m swt.f nbt | privy to the secret [of the king in] all his cult places/secretary [of the king in] all his cult-places | 2311 |
| ḫrp ˁḥ | director of the ˁḥ palace | 2579 |
| ẖry-ḥbt | lector priest, 'he who cames the ritual-book' | 2848 |
| ẖry-ḥbt ḥry-tp | chief lector priest, lector priest in charge | 2860 |
| zȝ nswt | king's son | 2911 |
| zȝ nswt n ẖt.f smsw | king's eldest son of his body | 2914 |
| zš mḏȝt-nṯr | scribe of the god's book | 3132 |
| smr | companion, courtier | 3263 |
| smr wˁty | sole companion | 3268 |
| smr wˁty n it.f | sole companion of his father | 3272 |
| nb imȝḫw ḫr it.f | possessor of reverence with his father | 1782 |
| :: |
Translation and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.
Burial
He was still alive during the reign of Menkaure, Khufu's grandson. Hence he must have been buried towards the end of the Fourth Dynasty. Djedefhor was buried in mastaba G 7210–7220 in the east field which is part of the Giza pyramid complex. His sarcophagus is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Appearance in ancient Egyptian fiction
He is one of the main characters in a story included in the Papyrus Westcar. In the text of that papyrus, Djedefhor is mentioned as one who brought the soothsayer and magician called Djedi to the court of Khufu. This Djedi was inspired by real Prince Djedi, who was a son of Prince Rahotep and nephew to Khufu.
Sources
References
- {{dodson, p.58
- [http://gizapyramids.org gizapyramids.org] G 7220
- Dodson & Hilton, pp.54-55
- (15 December 2021). "Death, Power, and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt: The Old and Middle Kingdoms". Cornell University Press.
- [[Michel Baud. Baud, Michel]], ''Famille royale et pouvoir sous l'Ancien Empire Egyptien 1 & 2'' IFAO, 1999, {{ISBN. 2-7247-0248-4.
- [[Dilwyn Jones. Jones, Dilwyn]], ''An Index Of Ancient Egyptian Titles Epithets And Phrases Of The Old Kingdom 1 & 2'' BAR, 2000, {{ISBN. 1-84171-069-5.
- Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition (revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org
- "Tales of magic in Ancient Egypt".
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