Kawab ( 2600 BC - 2570 BC) was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.
Biography Kawab was the eldest son of King Khufu and Meritites I and half-brother of kings Djedefre and Khafre. He was possibly born during the reign of his grandfather Sneferu. Kawab married his sister Hetepheres II. They had at least one son, named Mindjedef, and a daughter named Meresankh III. Duaenhor is thought by some to be a son and Kaemsekhem probably is one as well.
Kawab died during the reign of his fatherDodson & Hilton, p. 59. so the next ruler was Djedefre, who married his widow Hetepheres II. It used to be believed that Djedefre had Kawab murdered, since Djedefre was buried in Abu Rawash, instead of Giza, which was the custom. Djedefre's pyramid was also vandalized, but it is now thought that the tomb was vandalized much later, that is, during Roman times.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. (2004). .Mountains of the Pharaohs: The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders p. 112.
Kawab's titles included officiant of Anubis, Priest of Serket, King's son of his body, King's eldest son of his body, hereditary prince, chief of the ten(s) of Upper Egypt, sole companion of love, vizier (the title of vizier occurs on a statue from Mitrahina).Simpson, William Kelly. The Mastabas of Kawab, Khafkhufu I and II. Giza Mastabas 3. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1978. pg 1-8, Plate I-X, Retrieved from gizapyramids.org
Titles The full list of titles of Kawab were:Baud, Michel, Famille royale et pouvoir sous l'Ancien Empire Egyptien 1 & 2 IFAO, 1999, - PDF from Digital Giza (2 parts), . +TitleTranslationJones Indeximy izhe who is in the iz-bureau, councillor247iry-pˁthereditary prince/nobleman, 'keeper of the patricians'1157ˁȝ dwȝwassistant of Duau1308wr di.w pr ḏḥwtyGreatest of the Five in the temple of Thoth1471ḥȝty-ˁcount1858ḥm-nṯr srḳtpriest of Serket2120ḥts(?) Inpw ...Reading unknown but related to Anubis (Inpw)2501ḫrp iȝwt nbwt nṯrwtdirector of every divine office2541ẖry-ḥbt ḥry-tpchief lector priest, lector priest in charge2860zȝ nswtking's son2911zȝ nswt n ẖt.fKing's son of his body2912zȝ nswt smswking's eldest son2913zȝ nswt n ẖt.f smswking's eldest son of his body2914smr wˁty n(y) mrwtsole companion, possessor of love3277tȝyty zȝb ṯȝtyhe of the curtain, chief justice and vizier3706wr 10 šmˁGreatest/Great one of the ten of Upper Egypt1437 Translations and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.Jones, Dilwyn, An Index Of Ancient Egyptian Titles Epithets And Phrases Of The Old Kingdom 1 & 2 BAR, 2000, .
Tomb
Kawab was buried in a large double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis. Mastaba G 7110 belonged to Kawab's wife. Her name was found in the chapel. G 7120 belonged to Kawab.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. A relief in the door way shows Kawab standing before his mother: zȝ.s mr.s kȝ-wˤb, zȝt nṯr.s ḫrp jmȝt sšmt mrt-jt.s mwt.f mst n ḫwfw
"Her son, her beloved, Ka-wab, the daughter of her god, she who is in charge of the affairs of the jmAt, Meritites, his mother, who bore (him) to Khufu."
Four burial shafts were constructed as part of the mastaba. Shaft G 7110A was never used. Shaft G 7110B was originally intended for Hetepheres II, but was never finished and shows no sign of ever being used. This is most likely due to the fact that Hetepheres remarried after the death of her husband. Shaft G 7120A was the burial place of Kawab. A red granite sarcophagus was made for Kawab and found in place.George Andrew Reisner. A History of the Giza Necropolis p. 10. . . The sarcophagus is inscribed with the following text: 1) "A boon which the king gives and Anubis, foremost of the divine booth, a burial in the necropolis as a possessor of a well provided state before the great god, officiant of Anubis, priest of Selket, Kawab 2) a boon which the king gives and Anubis, foremost of the divine booth, a burial in the necropolis in the western cemetery, having grown gracefully old, the king's son of his body, Kawab 3) king's eldest son of his body, officiant of Anubis, Kawab."
After death Over a millennia after Kawab died, Prince Khaemweset, son of Ramesses II, restored Kawab's statue in the temple of Memphis.
In popular culture The 1988 PBS tv film adaptation of David Macaulay's 1975 book Pyramid depicts Kawab as being killed by an ambush near the border between Egypt and Nubia.
Ancestry
Sources