Autobiography of Harkhuf

Harkhuf was a governor of Upper Egypt in the 23rd century BC. He travelled extensively over time. His name is sometimes spelled Herkhuf or Hirkhuf in Egypt.

The life of Harkhuf is known entirely from the inscriptions in his tomb at Qubbet el-Hawa on the west bank of the Nile at Aswan, near the First Cataract of the Nile. He was a native of Elephantine. He was appointed governor of the southern part of Upper Egypt and overseer of caravans under the pharaoh Merenre, third king of the 6th dynasty. His primary business, however, was trade with Nubia. He led a total of four expeditions in his life.

He travelled a considerable distance to a land called Iyam, which probably corresponds to the fertile plain that opens out south of the area of modern Khartoum, where the Blue Nile joins the White.