Surid Ibn Salhouk

The name Surid derives from the earlier name Souphis used by Manetho in his work Aegyptiaca to refer to the historical Pharaoh Khufu, who was buried in the Great Pyramid.

Surid, among other achievements, was often credited with building the Pyramids of Giza (structures that, in the middle ages, were believed by many to predate the biblical flood narrative). One legend in particular relates how, prior to the deluge, Surid had a terrifying dream of the world's end: In this dream, the "fixed stars had come down," and they "had grabbed the people and had hurled them between two mountains. These [then] closed over [the people] and the shining stars had become dark and gloomy." After consulting with his trusted advisor Philemon, Surid is said to have ordered the construction of the pyramids so that they could serve as his tomb and also house all the knowledge of Egypt, ensuring its survival during the flood. Al-Maqrizi writes of this, saying in his Khitat, that it took Surid merely six months to build the pyramids, and that he then wrapped them in coloured brocade, on which he wrote: “We built them in six months; tell him who comes after us to destroy them in six hundred years! For destroying is easier than building. We also draped them with colored brocade; let him drape them with mats! For mats are of less value than brocade."

According to Martyn Smith, "The story of Surid and his antediluvian construction of the pyramids assigns to them a place in sacred history and establishes a neutral narrative ground upon which Muslims and Christians could agree".