[2] Each of the rulers of this dynasty (except for Shepseskaf, the last) commissioned at least one pyramid to serve as a tomb or cenotaph[citation needed].

Sneferu, lauded as "Bringer of Beauty", "Master of All Justice", and "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.

Elites commonly ate fattened ducks and geese, and they wore fine white linens.

Until his reign, Egyptian kings were thought to be worldly incarnations of Horus, obtaining total deification exclusively in death.

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.

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.

[citation needed] Khufu, known to the Greek as Cheops, and Sneferu's successor—though it is unclear whether he was the biological son of Sneferu—was a widely known king.

His mortuary temple was built on the northern end of the pyramid, which is no longer accessible due to ravages by grave robbers.

Only three-dimensional reliefs have been recovered and have lasted into modern day, including many limestone busts and clay figurines.

The best guess historians can make is that there is evidence of construction of a harbor on the coast of the Red Sea that was excavated by John Gardner Wilkinson and James Burton in 1823.

It is widely suggested that he is the son of a lesser queen who murdered the rightful heir to the throne and Djedefre's half brother, the crown prince Kawab.

[5] Khafre's sphinx was well-known and closer to his subjects, making it harder to determine which was built first due to biased record keeping.

Instead of a triangular pyramid, he chose to construct a rectangular block, commonly known as the Mastabat al-Fir’aun ("Pharaoh's Bench").

[9] Some authorities have equated this king with Bikheris, on Manetho's list, who could correspond to the Egyptian name Baka or Bakare.

This depiction and the title given have led some Egyptologists to suggest that she reigned as king near the end of the fourth dynasty.

The "Age of the Pyramids" was not just about the building of large and easily recognizable structures, but also a change in funerary practices and rituals.

The Cult of Ra grew in size, going back to the fact that Djedefre's tomb was built closer to the center of worship in what the Ancient Greeks called Heliopolis.

[10] It was a delta city near contemporary Cairo that had been occupied since the predynastic times, whose ancient Egyptian name was I͗wnw or Iunu and meant the pillars.

The afterlife was once believed to be a divine kingdom that was represented as a type of idealistic heaven where only kings and pure hearts could go.

Instead, the Fourth Dynasty represented a change in this idea, formulated the notion that the afterlife was a familiar place, taking the semblance of Earth.

Hieroglyphic writings were important to elites because, one, it was a lavish display of wealth and, two, it guided their souls to the afterlife.

After the Middle Kingdom, royals abandoned pyramids; they preferred graves that were carved into living rock of the Upper Egyptian mountains.