Huni

King 2637-2613 BC.

    Huni is named in the Turin Canon and the Saqqara List as the last ruler of the Third Dynasty, and he appears in the Papyrus Prisse as the immediate predecessor of *Sneferu; he was the father of Queen *Hetepheres, who represented the direct line of the royal family, and also probably of *Sneferu, who was born to Meresankh, one of Huni's minor queens. *Sneferu was married to *Hetepheres, the divine heiress and probably his sister, to ensure his claim to the throne. This was typical of royal marriages in the early Old Kingdom, when brothers frequently married their sisters to establish their dynastic rights.

    A conical piece of red granite discovered on the Island of Elephantine and inscribed with Huni's name records the founding of a building which may have been a fortress on the island, forming part of the old border between Egypt and Nubia. It is possible that the stepped pyramid at Medum may have been started in Huni's reign and finished by *Sneferu, who was probably responsible for the change in its design when the steps were filled in and the monument was converted into a true pyramid.

BIBL. Rowe, A. Excavations of the Eckley B. Coxe, Jr, Expedition at Meydum, Egypt, 1929-30. Museum Journal, Pennsylvania, March 1931; Borchadt, L. Konig Huni (?). ZAS 49 (1909) pp. 12-13.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David

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(reigned c. 2638–2615 BC)

   Last ruler of Dynasty 3. He is often said to have been buried in thepyramid at Meidum, but this may well have been built for Snefruor completed by him. There is no basis for the contention that Snefru was his son since Snefru’s mother does not have a queenly title. No reason is known for the change in dynasty.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier