Sūrīd ibn Salhouk ( ar, سوريد بن سلهوق, also known as Saurit, Saurid, and more commonly known as Surid) is a legendary king from medieval Coptic and Islamic lore who is said to have lived before the

biblical flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micro ...

. In legends, Surid was often conflated with or identified as the biblical prophet

Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...

, the Muslim prophet Idris, and

Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...

. Surid, among other achievements, was often credited with building the

Pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

. One legend in particular relates how, three hundred years prior to the deluge, Surid had a terrifying dream of the world's end, and so he ordered the construction of the pyramids so that they might house all the knowledge of Egypt and survive into the present. According to Martyn Smith, "The story of Surid and his antediluvian construction of the pyramids assigns to them a place in

sacred history Sacred history is the parts of the Torah narrative on the boundary of historicity, especially the Moses and Exodus stories which can be argued to have a remote historical nucleus without any positive evidence to the effect. Rabbi Neil Gillman, pr ...

and establishes a neutral narrative ground upon which Muslims and Christians could agree".

See also

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