King Sneferu, lauded as "Bringer of Beauty", "Master of All Justice", "Ruler of Lower and Upper Nile", was the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty.
He descended from a family in Middle Egypt that lived near Hermopolis, and most likely ascended to the throne by marrying a royal heiress.
There is still debate as to who his father was, with the credit often being given to Huni, but this cannot be confirmed due to the break in dynasties.
His mother, Meresankh I was either a lesser wife or concubine of Huni which, if it was the latter, would technically not qualify him as having royal blood.

Egypt in the Third Millennium BC was, by all accounts, a land of peace and plenty.
Elites commonly ate fattened ducks and geese and wore fine white linens—when they wore clothes at all.
Sneferu had a very high opinion of himself, proving so when he floated in a boat down the Nile covered only with fishnets.

Until his reign, Egyptian kings were thought to be worldly incarnations of Horus, obtaining total deification exclusively in death.
Sneferu was the first king to proclaim that he was the embodiment of Ra, another sun deity.
Khufu would pursue his father's path, taking the name Son of the Sun God.

On the whole, Egypt was ruled by two centers of power - legal authority and traditional authority.
Legal authority constituted governing by the king, not over the people directly, but via viziers and nomarchs.
Traditional authority was derived from the concept that the deities gave a king the divine right to rule as he pleased.
At its heart, the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian government became organized so that only the king could direct traditional authority.

The Bent Pyramid was Sneferu's first attempt at building a perfect structure, but it slopes and eventually bends to a lower angle, giving the structure a squished look.
His Red Pyramid is widely considered the first true pyramid and earned its name from the reddish tint in the limestone used.
The Red Pyramid was considered the first pyramid, approximately 150 years after the structures built by King Djoser.
The Red Pyramid was the first to be given a solid foundation so that it was stable enough for a taller building.
He is also said to be responsible for a series of pyramids built in Seila.
He commissioned a total of three pyramids, but there are records that point to a fourth.
Although he did not construct any of the pyramids at Giza, he is known as the king who moved the most stone and brick.
A lot of Sneferu's political expeditions were to other countries to secure two things: a substantial labor force and access to a large store of materials.
He traveled to Nubia and Libya for these things.
His incursions in these areas allowed Sneferu to secure a large labor force, so large, in fact, that it caused huge devastation to the raided countries.
He also needed cattle and other food sources to provide to the people building his pyramids.
By the end of his military efforts, he managed to capture 11,000 prisoners and 13,100 head of cattle.
King Sneferu, lauded as "Bringer of Beauty", "Master of All Justice", "Ruler of Lower and Upper Nile", was the first pharaoh of the fourth dynasty. He descended from a family in Middle Egypt that lived near Hermopolis, and most likely ascended to the throne by marrying a royal heiress. There is still debate as to who his father was, with the credit often being given to Huni, but this cannot be confirmed due to the break in dynasties. His mother, Meresankh I was either a lesser wife or concubine of Huni which, if it was the latter, would technically not qualify him as having royal blood.
Egypt in the Third Millennium BC was, by all accounts, a land of peace and plenty. Elites commonly ate fattened ducks and geese and wore fine white linens—when they wore clothes at all. Sneferu had a very high opinion of himself, proving so when he floated in a boat down the Nile covered only with fishnets.
Until his reign, Egyptian kings were thought to be worldly incarnations of Horus, obtaining total deification exclusively in death. Sneferu was the first king to proclaim that he was the embodiment of Ra, another sun deity. Khufu would pursue his father's path, taking the name Son of the Sun God.
On the whole, Egypt was ruled by two centers of power - legal authority and traditional authority. Legal authority constituted governing by the king, not over the people directly, but via viziers and nomarchs. Traditional authority was derived from the concept that the deities gave a king the divine right to rule as he pleased. At its heart, the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian government became organized so that only the king could direct traditional authority.
The Bent Pyramid was Sneferu's first attempt at building a perfect structure, but it slopes and eventually bends to a lower angle, giving the structure a squished look. His Red Pyramid is widely considered the first true pyramid and earned its name from the reddish tint in the limestone used. The Red Pyramid was considered the first pyramid, approximately 150 years after the structures built by King Djoser. The Red Pyramid was the first to be given a solid foundation so that it was stable enough for a taller building. He is also said to be responsible for a series of pyramids built in Seila. He commissioned a total of three pyramids, but there are records that point to a fourth. Although he did not construct any of the pyramids at Giza, he is known as the king who moved the most stone and brick. A lot of Sneferu's political expeditions were to other countries to secure two things: a substantial labor force and access to a large store of materials. He traveled to Nubia and Libya for these things. His incursions in these areas allowed Sneferu to secure a large labor force, so large, in fact, that it caused huge devastation to the raided countries. He also needed cattle and other food sources to provide to the people building his pyramids. By the end of his military efforts, he managed to capture 11,000 prisoners and 13,100 head of cattle.
Fourth Dynasty of Egypt