Baufra

Also known as: Baefra, Baufre, Baka, Bicheris, Bikka Dynasty IV

According to Africanus, Manetho named Bicheres as the successor to Suphis (Khafra) but there is no archaeological evidence for a king by that name. Diodorus writes that after Khufu died, his brother Chefren (Khafra) took the throne, but also adds that according to some, it was his son Chabryen (Radjedef) who ascended the throne. This is probaby a mistake, as they were in fact brothers. This shows that there were inconsistencies in the traditions about the fourth dynasty even in ancient Egypt.

The Turin papyrus and Manetho both give eight kings of the fourth dynasty. The Abydos king lists only six, while the Saqqara king list give nine. This confusion among the sources is very hard to reconcile or decipher. The Saqqara list is damaged after the cartouche of Khafra, leaving five unreadable names (numbers 35-39.) By coincidence, the Turin papyrus is also damaged in the same spot (4.13-16), leaving four unreadable names after Khafra.

Turin 4.14 and 4.15 can with good confidence be assigned to Menkaura and Shepseskaf respectively. That leaves 4.13 and 4.15 as possible placements for Baufra. Logically Baufra must have ruled before Menkaura, just like Ratoises (Radjedef,) his name was displaced in Manetho's dynasty, and should thus be in 4.13. This give the succession Baufra → Menkaura → Shepseskaf → Djedefhor. This might have been the tradition about the pyramid builders during the New Kingdom, and would solve the Turin problem.

The Saqqara list still have one more empty cartouche to account for, and there seems to be no solution to this problem.

Reign of Baufra
AE Chronology2474–2473
von Beckerath2521–2514
Allen2494–2490
Malek2493–2488
Arnold2477–2472
Turin Canon... years
Manetho (Africanus)22 years

 

The Royal Titulary

From the hieroglyphic records

Golden Horus name
Golden Horus name of Baufra: Neb hedjet nub
Neb hedjet nub
nb-ḥḏdt-nwb
nb-S1:nbw
ASAE, 7, 281, no. 55
Throne name
Throne name of Baufra: Ba ef Ra
Ba ef Ra
bꜢ.f-rꜤ
His soul is that of Ra
ra-G29-f
Wadi Hammamat inscription
Drioton, Une Liste des Rois de la IV Dynastie dans l'Ouadi Hammamat. Bulletin de la Société Français d'Égyptologie 16, 41-49
Throne name variant
Throne name of Baufra: Bau ef Ra
Bau ef Ra
bꜢw.f-rꜤ
His souls are those of Ra
ra-G30&W-Y1:Z2:f
Westcar papyrus 4.18
Throne name variant
Throne name of Baufra: Ba ka
Ba ka
bꜢ-kꜢ
Ba and Ka
G29-kA-Z1
ASAE, 7, 266-280
Throne name variant
Throne name of Baufra: Ba ka
Ba ka
bꜢ-kꜢ
Ba and Ka
E10-kA-Z1
ASAE, 7, 266-280
Throne name variant
Throne name of Baufra: Name missing
Name missing
Royal Canon of Turin 4.13
Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (1959), III:13

The sources of antiquity

From the writings of the historians and scholars of antiquity

AuthorGreekTransliterationTranscriptionReign
Africanus iv, 6 Bιχερης Bikheres Bicheres 22 years
Eratosthenes 14 Βιυρης Biures Biyres 10 years

Bibliography


The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I – Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC (London, 2008), 68–69
The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (Atlanta, 2013), 36

 

End of page
The Royal titulary

The full titulary was announced at the coronation, when a pharaoh officially became king.

Horus
Horus name
The oldest form of a pharaoh's name, often enclosed in a serekh, a sort of "heraldic crest" representing a palace facade.

Nebty
Nebty name
The "Two Ladies", the heraldic goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, representing Upper and Lower Egypt respectively.

Golden Horus
Golden Horus name
Gold was strongly associated with eternity, but the meaning of this title is disputed.

Prenomen
Throne name
(prenomen) Announced at the coronation, and written in a cartouche.

Nomen
Personal name
(nomen) The name given at birth, also written in a cartouche.

Kinglists
Ancient historians

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