Hatshepsut Essay

Although there wasn’t any law against women to become ruler. Many believe she was out place when she became ruler. After she died, there was an operation to destroy all images of Hatshepsut from history. However, due to the statues are made out of granite, destroying the statues is extremely difficult. In the artistic convention, there wasn’t a method for a female pharaoh. Hatshepsut accepted to conform to the traditional convention by changing herself to a man. By looking at the Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, it depicts her understanding and respect towards the role of a pharaoh in Ancient Egyptian

Therefore, Hatshepsut was summoned to rule on behalf of her stepson. Thutmose was crowned king but until the day Hatshepsut was deceased, the king had to compete with his stepmother-aunt. At first she acted as an advisor to the king, but being Hatshepsut was close to the throne all of her life, felt that “she had the most royal power as well as the purest royal blood in her veins.” After a few years passed, Hatshepsut presumed the Double crown and made herself king. Hatshepsut had a strong and vibrant personality and intended to overshadow her half brother as well as her husband. Thutmose III was still known as co ruler, but he remained in the background. There were many difficulties regarding her gender when she first came into rule, but it did not hinder her greatness. The inscription cutters often made mistakes as all the royal titles were in male form. She had to legitimize herself as female ruler, as she often did through art and statues.

A woman becoming Pharaoh had been almost unheard of in ancient Egypt until Hatshepsut was born. Hatshepsut was the second daughter of the pharaoh, Thothmes I. After her sister, Neferu-khebit, died, Hatshepsut was the next heir to the throne unless a male married her and became Pharaoh. After Thothmes passed away, Hatshepsut fearfully, yet confidently, claimed the throne and commenced one of the most successful She-Pharaoh reigns ever recorded. Pauline Gedge’s Child of the Morning explained the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of ancient Egypt’s society during Hatshepsut’s reign as Queen and Pharaoh.

Hatshepsut was born around 15th century B.C., she is the daughter of Tuthmose the first and his wife, Aahmes. When king Tuthmose I died, queen Aahmes married her half-brother, King Tuthmose II. King Tuthmose II died after a short rule and the throne was supposed to be passed down to his son Tuthmose III but he was considered far too young to rule so Hatshepsut ruled in his stead as a regent. Information about Hatshepsut varied a bit, some articles speculated Hatshepsut was the 4th female pharaoh while others say she was the 6th. But without a doubt she was considered one of the greatest pharaohs of all time, even amongst the male counterparts. As a pharaoh, Hatshepsut did things like reestablishing trade routes that has been long lost due to past invaders. By doing this, Hatshepsut was able to turn the economy around and lead Egypt into a period of wealth and prosperous trade. Her allowing an expedition to the land of Punt also wielded excellent results. In total she sent 5 ships accommodating 210 sailors and 30 rowers most likely slaves. They bought back 31 live myrrh tree roots and were the first recorded attempt to plant foreign

She was a great Pharaoh, but she was supposed to give the throne to her stepson when the last Pharaoh dies and she keeps it to herself. The reason for this is that I think she kept the throne for herself because she must've thought the nethu was too young to be the next Pharaoh and was protecting the empire from having a very young boy as your Pharaoh or she could just be a person who is not thinking about anyone else besides herself and wants to keep it for all of the gold and riches. Another reason why Ramses was a greater is when Ramses went into went into battle he didn’t care about winning or losing it just mattered that he didn’t give up on it and Hatshepsut didn’t even go into battle because she was scared that she was going to lose being a Pharaoh and have to give it to her stepson. Ramses worked hard to fight for his empire and all Hatshepsut did was sit there and think of another thing to do instead of go into war to protect her

While there are several notable Egyptian temples, monuments, and tombs; this paper will focus on the analysis and evaluation of the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri, C. 1458 BC. First and foremost, it is important to identify the historical figure who influenced this construction of this temple. Queen Hatshepsut ascended to the throne of Egypt after her son’s passing and was the first and only female pharaoh in about 1473 BC; nearly a thousand years after the construction of the Pyramids at Giza. The

She invoked both, claiming lineage of the Theban state god Amun-Re, and receiving the titles of Lady of the Two Lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, (in reference towards her ruling a unified kingdom), Hatshepsut-united-with-Amun, according to Gay Robins in The Names of Hatshepsut as King. Upon this, she also was called Hatshepsu, which is the masculine version of her original name. Scholars, looking back at this, are not shocked that she played both of these legitimacy strategies. Once again, according to Ludwig D. Morenz and Lutz Popko’s A Companion to Ancient Egypt Volume I, in Egypt only men could be kings. Between this and the fact that Thutmose was already the real king, Hatshepsut needed to prove herself worthy as much as possible, and with this came a radical image change- presenting herself as a man. This, as we will see, bleeds into the art of her at the time.

Given the male-dominated rulers of Egypt, Hatshepsut was one of the few female rulers. Hatshepsut was the wife of her half-brother, Thutmose II, who ruled for fourteen years. When Thutmose II passed away, she co-ruled with her underage son, Thutmose III. A few years later, she was declared king. Throughout her reign, she had several paintings and sculptures of herself made. However in these paintings and sculptures, she was often

Other interpretations deduce Hatshepsut as a highly successful pharaoh whose reign significantly contributed the prosperity and stability of Egypt at the time. Ineni, for example, was an official under Hatshepsut who talked highly of her; ‘she settled the affairs of the Two Lands…whose plans are excellent, she who satisfies the two regions when she speaks’. This quote demonstrates that officials from her context believed that she was an effective and efficient ruler who had the support of the official and peasant class. Modern day historians such as Callender, Tyldestry and Redford also present a balanced, more positive view of Hatshepsut as a competent and effective pharaoh who brought peace and prosperity to Egypt. J. Tyldesley, for example, names Hatshepsut as the woman who led a stable government, had a successful trading mission, and maintained impressive architectural advances in her building programs. She emphasises how rather than

The Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut is a magnificent piece of art located in the Egyptian section next to many other statues of the great pharaoh Hatshepsut. Out of all the statues of Hatshepsut, the Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut was kept in the best shape and caught a lot of attention from the people in the room. Its great size is something truly remarkable, considering it was built in the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. More importantly, this statue is the first structure in art that depicts a woman leader. Not only is it a truly unique piece of work, but also it is a piece that is revolutionary for its time. The massive size of this statue leaves one wondering if women have always been just as powerful as men, if not more.

Amun and religion played a large role in Hatshepsut’s reign due to the use of a higher being to consolidate her reign. The limestone bust of Hatshepsut as Osiris, a portrait from her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari depicts her as the male god Osiris, giving her a sense of power as she is depicted as a powerful god, god of

“As a result of the Hyksos wars, Egypt was no longer isolated and before long began to play a full part in the developments and trade of the Eastern Mediterranean.” (Grimal)

During the time of Ancient Egypt, having strong Pharaohs was essential to the maintenance and growth of the civilization, as the Pharaohs were believed to be living Gods. Although leadership of Ancient Egypt was often male dominated, there were admirable female Pharaohs who successfully gained power and left behind a positive legacy; one woman to achieve this was Hatshepsut, meaning ‘foremost of female nobles’. Her innovation and determination allowed her to maintain her position of Pharaoh for about twenty years (1479-1458 BCE). Hatshepsut was considered to be a very successful leader because of her confidence and ambition, magnificent building projects, and establishment of a strong trading network.

Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt from 1473 B.C.E. to 1458 B.C.E. She is known for her search of myrrh, and when she died, her name was removed from all the recorded in opposition to a woman ruler.

During her successful 20 year reign, Hatshepsut re-established a trade route to the land of Punt. Her delegation returned with many rare materials and precious articles that enhanced the wealth of the Egyptian nation. They brought back gold, ivory, electrum alloy and many precious woods. By re-establishing the trade route to the land of Punt, Hatshepsut enhanced the wealth of the ancient Egyptian nation.