ARCHITECTS from Egypt

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Egyptian Architects of all time. This list of famous Egyptian Architects is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Imhotep (-2800 - -2700)

With an HPI of 79.03, Imhotep is the most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 69 different languages on wikipedia.

Imhotep (; Ancient Egyptian: ỉỉ-m-ḥtp "(the one who) comes in peace"; fl. late 27th century BC) was an Egyptian chancellor to the Pharaoh Djoser, possible architect of Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 3,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and deified. Traditions from long after Imhotep's death treated him as a great author of wisdom texts and especially as a physician. No text from his lifetime mentions these capacities and no text mentions his name in the first 1,200 years following his death. Apart from the three short contemporary inscriptions that establish him as chancellor to the Pharaoh, the first text to reference Imhotep dates to the time of Amenhotep III (c. 1391–1353 BC). It is addressed to the owner of a tomb and reads: The wab-priest may give offerings to your ka. The wab-priests may stretch to you their arms with libations on the soil, as it is done for Imhotep with the remains of the water bowl. It appears that this libation to Imhotep was done regularly, as they are attested on papyri associated with statues of Imhotep until the Late Period (c. 664–332 BC). Wildung (1977) explains the origin of this cult as a slow evolution of intellectuals' memory of Imhotep, from his death onward. Gardiner finds the cult of Imhotep during the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1077 BC) sufficiently distinct from the usual offerings made to other commoners that the epithet "demigod" is likely justified to describe his veneration. The first references to the healing abilities of Imhotep occur from the Thirtieth Dynasty (c. 380–343 BC) onward, some 2,200 years after his death.: 127 : 44  Imhotep is among the few non-royal Egyptians who were deified after their deaths, and until the 21st century, he was one of nearly a dozen non-royals to achieve this status. The center of his cult was in Memphis. The location of his tomb remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara.

2. Khufu (-2700 - -2570)

With an HPI of 72.14, Khufu is the 2nd most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 71 different languages.

Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but many other aspects of his reign are poorly documented. The only completely preserved portrait of the king is a three-inch-high ivory figurine found in a temple ruin of a later period at Abydos in 1903. All other reliefs and statues were found in fragments, and many buildings of Khufu are lost. Everything known about Khufu comes from inscriptions in his necropolis at Giza and later documents. For example, Khufu is the main character noted in the Westcar Papyrus from the 13th dynasty. Most documents that mention king Khufu were written by ancient Egyptian and Greek historians around 300 BC. Khufu's obituary is presented there in a conflicting way: while the king enjoyed a long-lasting cultural heritage preservation during the period of the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom, the ancient historians Manetho, Diodorus and Herodotus hand down a very negative depiction of Khufu's character. Thanks to these documents, an obscure and critical picture of Khufu's personality persists.

3. Senenmut (-1600 - -1463)

With an HPI of 64.18, Senenmut is the 3rd most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Senenmut (Ancient Egyptian: sn-n-mwt, sometimes spelled Senmut, Senemut, or Senmout) was an 18th Dynasty ancient Egyptian architect and government official. His name translates literally as "mother's brother."

4. Hemiunu (-2500 - -2501)

With an HPI of 63.11, Hemiunu is the 4th most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Hemiunu (fl. 2570 BC) was an ancient Egyptian prince who is believed to have been the architect of the Great Pyramid of Giza. As vizier, succeeding his father, Nefermaat, and his uncle, Kanefer, Hemiunu was one of the most important members of the court and responsible for all the royal works. His tomb lies close to Khufu's pyramid.

5. Amenhotep, son of Hapu (-1420 - -1400)

With an HPI of 60.30, Amenhotep, son of Hapu is the 5th most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Amenhotep, son of Hapu (transcribed jmn-ḥtp zꜣ ḥꜣp.w; fl. early-mid 14th century BC) was an ancient Egyptian architect, a priest, a herald, a scribe, and a public official, who held a number of offices under Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty. He was posthumously deified as a god of healing.

6. Nefermaat (-2500 - )

With an HPI of 57.83, Nefermaat is the 6th most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Nefermaat I (fl. c. 2575–2551 B.C.) was an ancient Egyptian prince, a son of king Sneferu. He was a vizier possessing the titles of the king's eldest son, royal seal bearer, and prophet of Bastet. His name means "Maat is beautiful" or "With perfect justice".

7. Hassan Fathy (1900 - 1989)

With an HPI of 55.18, Hassan Fathy is the 7th most famous Egyptian Architect.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Hassan Fathy (Egyptian Arabic: حسن فتحي; March 23, 1900 – November 30, 1989) was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to reestablish the use of adobe and traditional mud construction as opposed to western building designs, material configurations, and lay-outs. Fathy was recognized with the Aga Khan Chairman's Award for Architecture in 1980.