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Titulary what's this?
Horus Name Horus, Khaba "Horus, the Ba appears"
Nebty Name  
Golden Horus Name "The Golden Falcon"
Praenomen  
Nomen Khaba
   
Manetho Mesochris
King Lists Hudjefa, Neferkare "Beautiful is the Soul of Re", Nebkare "Lord of Souls, Re"
Alternate Names Horus-Khaba, Chaba, Horus-Chaba
Dates what's this?
manetho reigned 28 years
swelim reigned 19 years
turin kinglist reigned 6 years, "erased"
piccione 2660--2654 BCE
egyptsite 2603--2599 BCE
krauss 2670
von beckerath 2638-2614
malek 2603-2597
redford 2679-2673
allen 2605-2599
shaw & nicholson 2640-2637
Succession
Predecessor Sekhemkhet
Successor Huni
Associated People
unknown  
Burial Place
Unfinished step pyramid Zawiyet el-Aryan
Monuments
Unfinished Step Pyramid the "Layer Pyramid"
History

khaba is attested to by a carving in Sahure's tomb and on a few stone bowls, although his own tomb is not known.  Actually, even less is known about Khaba than his predecessor Sekhemkhet, who was entirely unknown to the world until 1950. It is possible that Khaba and the earlier ruler Nebka were the same person

His name is marked as "erased" from the Turin king list, which could mean a number of things -- dynastic problems, succession problems, or, most simply that the person copying the king list in Turin was unable to read the original document. There is also some dispute as to who this king really is: he may be the ruler referenced in the king lists as Nebkha (with a rule of about 3-5 years), one of the kings ruling after Djoser, or ? Manetho is hard to interpret about this king. If he is the king referenced as Necheropes, Manetho says 28 years, which seems far too long. If he is the king referenced as Nebka then a more reasonable 3-5 years is probably correct.

However, an unfinished step pyramid in Zaqiyet al-Aryan (about 7km north of Saqqara proper) is probably his funerary monument, since his name was found inscribed on objects in a mastaba tomb a little to the north. The Step pyramid is often referred to as the "Layer Pyramid" based on the manner in which it was built -- thick, leaning layers of stone against a core, with sloping courses. It was intended to have five steps, and would have been about 45 meters tall, although currently it is a mere 17 meters tall. It was originally built very close to the flood plain, and currently sits very close to cultivated land, instead of out into the desert like most of the structures.

The pyramid shows several signs of architectural advancements, and the ability of the stonemasons to deal with larger and larger blocks of stone. The block size o the core are larger than for Djoser.  The galleries inside the pyramid and the burial chamber are very similar to Djoser's as well. When the pyramid was entered in the late 1800s, nothing was found, not even a sarcophagus.

It is probably that the king died before the pyramid was finished, and it was abandoned.

 

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pharaohs

Nebkha
Djoser
Sekhemkhet
Khaba
Huni

monuments

Tomb at Zawiyet el-Aryan
Step Pyramid