Hatshepsut: The Greatest Pharaoh Of Ancient Egypt

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

Hatshepsut became a dominant leader during the New Kingdom when she attained legitimate power when she declared herself as Pharaoh. After her husband, Thutmose II died prematurely; he had left a son named Thutmose III that was born to a lesser wife to his successor of the New Kingdom. As Thutmose III was quite young when he ascended the throne, Hatshepsut had the duty to co-regent with the young pharaoh. Together, they reigned for three years. Soon, political crisis started to arise which made Hatshepsut to take on the role of pharaoh in order to save her kingdom. When she enthroned herself, she started to make statues of herself having a beard, muscles and holding a flock and flail. She depicted herself as a man through these statues. Hatshepsut

One of Hatshepsut's major achievements was expanding the trade routes of Ancient Egypt. Most notably was an expedition to the Land of Punt, which became a major trade partner supplying Egypt with gold, resin, wood, ivory, and wild animals. Scholars still debate the exact location of Ancient Punt, but many believe it to be roughly modern-day Somalia to Sudan.

Egyptian women were fortunate in that they were equal to men as far as the law was concerned. They could own property, borrow money, initiate divorce, and many other things unheard of in the Greek civilization. The Egyptian royal line was matriarchal, meaning that royalty was passed down from mother to son. The Greeks, in comparison, were patriarchal, meaning control was passed from father to son. It was also necessary for a man to marry a woman of royalty in order to become a Pharaoh. Because of this, it was common for brothers to marry sisters. Sometimes, women were even known to become a Pharaoh. There are at least four documented female Pharaohs with the most notable being Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.) (McKay 2009). Hatshepsut, though a very powerful ruler, was often times depicted in men’s clothing and with a false beard (McKay 2009). This shows that even though women were much more important in Egyptian society, there was still a stigma around women leaders.

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.

Traditionally, the role of a Pharaoh and King was a male-dominated position, however, one ambitious woman took both titles for herself. Hatshepsut was daughter of the great Pharaoh, Thutmose I, married to her brother, Thutmose II, and acting as coregent for her stepson, Thutmose III, before assuming the full responsibility of Pharaoh. She was also arguably one of the most powerful and successful pharaohs of the New Kingdom. Although Hatshepsut’s reign was highly controversial, her architectural and commerce advances as well as her legitimation caused her reign to be highly successful. Hatshepsut’s ability to legitimise herself as the true pharaoh, even as a woman, was an extremely significant accomplishment of her reign. Similarly, the architectural

During her reign she started a building program to repair the damage done to the temples from the Hyksos. A major difference between Hatshepsut and other leaders of Egypt, was her gender. Hatshepsut was the first female to reign and claimed that she was chosen by the Egyptian god Amun-Ra. She tried to prove her effectiveness by dressing like a man and growing a beard, however, still referred to herself as the “female falcon.”

Hatshepsut had to make many life changing decisions in order to be a successful pharaoh. After she became pharaoh, it set the tone for women’s rights in Egypt. Hatshepsut was considered one of the best Egyptian pharaohs.

Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty her throne name was "Maatkare", which means “the truth in the soul of the sun”. The new kingdom consists of dynasty 18th, 19th and the 20th. Hatshepsut ruled in the 18th dynasty and she was one of the few female pharaohs in Egypt. She was a member of the Thutmosid line of kings of the early new Kingdome with her father being Thutmose the first who married into the family to become pharaoh (wasn’t royal blood). Hatshepsut married her half-brother Thutmose the second who was named pharaoh. Marrying Hatshepsut (the daughter of the king) confirmed his right to rule despite the fact that his mother was not of royal blood and neither was his father originally.

We can call her Queen or, as she would like to be known as King Hatshepsut had made her mark and ruled during the eighteenth Dynasty Egypt for over twenty years. She was born the eldest daughter of King Tuthmosis the first and later on married her half brother Tuthmosis the second to become one of the most remarkable women in Egyptian history. Although she was a female she became the epitome of the male role, often seen as an ordinary woman and as a man, dressed in men’s clothing, carrying the male accessories even shown wearing the false beard of the pharaohs. If she had been born a man, her long reign of Egypt would be remembered for its achievements such as solidifying a stable government, successful trade missions and the impressive architectural

Throughout Hatshepsut’s reign she has undergone many military campaigns and trading expeditions, her most accomplished however, was the expedition to Punt. The expedition to Punt was significant as it was beneficial in broadening Egypt’s trading routes to neighbouring areas as the expedition was not militaristic in nature but rather, done solely for peace and trade. The inscriptions of the reliefs from Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple display her greatest achievement through her rule, “The loading of the ships very heavily with marvels of the country of Punt; all goodly fragrant woods of God’s-land, heaps of myrrh-resin with fresh myrrh trees, with ebony, and pure ivory, with green gold of Emu.” (source) Hatshepsut’s ostentatious display of piety

Do you want to know who the most important pharaoh of ancient Egypt is? If you didn’t know, a pharaoh is ruler of ancient Egypt. They are sort of like kings, but they are considered as a living god. Narmer/Menes is the most important and the first pharaoh. He is important because he united Egypt.

However there was one woman that became a very successful ruler. Hatshepsut was the first woman to take the thrown as a pharaoh for fifteen years. She was a descendent from a few strong women such as Aahotep, who was a strong military leader and the mother of King Ahmose I. As soon as Ahmose died, his son Amenhotep ruled but hadn't had any male heirs. Because of lack of male heirs, an army general and commoner, Thutmose I, became king from marrying Amenhotep’s sister Nefertiri. Hatshepsut was the oldest of her two sisters. After her father, Thutmose I, died she became queen of Egypt at the age of 12 when she married her half-brother Thutmose II, who became king around 1492 B.C. He and Hatshepsut had a daughter and a son, yet again called Thutmose. When Hatshepsut's husband died, Thutmose III was still a child. Seeing how a child could not stand in power, she proclaimed herself pharaoh and the boy was sent off to join the