Hatshepsut: The Lost Queen Of Egypt

Hathor Who is placed beside Amun-Re with a frieze of cobras under them, (Roberts, 1995-p.45). The cobra forms the king’s name, mAat-kA-ra; which drives you to the idea that Hatshepsut is the spiritual daughter of Hathor Who and Amun-Re who received the quintessential powers of live-giving from Hathor and the rejuvenation of Amun-Re, (Roberts,1995-p.45; Troy,1986-p.46). She also displayed the royal entities who tried to take advantage of her being a female king in the inscriptions as imagery using ideological overlay, (Troy, 1986-p.142).

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

Hatshepsut’s appearance and portrayal changed as her usually feminine features were replaced by kingly accessories such as the royal kilt, Nemes headdress with uraeus, Atef crown and symbols of Egypt’s enemies under her feet when represented in statues. The seated limestone statue from Deir El-Bahri is the best example of this portrayal of Hatshepsut as a female but with kingly accessories. This transition from a female representation to a more manly and masculine appearance reflects Hatshepsut to have a more kingly identity and because traditional most Pharaohs were male. Egyptologist Peter Dorman also explains this transition as the “strictures of functioning solely as a queen were inconsistent with that role. Hatshepsut’s royal image changed over time as her feminine appearance gradually changed as she began to be depicted in royal masculine

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

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

During her reign, Hatshepsut had started trading expeditions from Punt (present-day Eritrea) that brought ivory, ebony, gold, leopard skins and incense into Egypt. When Hatshepsut was trading with Punt, she utilized trade as a technique to give herself a chance to expand the economy of her country. In order for trading to be accomplished, Hatshepsut had established vital trade routes to aid in implementing exchange with other countries. As a result, Hatshepsut became the first monarch in the New Kingdom to trade with Punt. Through her action of expanding trades with trade routes, she demonstrated that she is an influential leader because she was not afraid to try new ways of making her country better and more prosperous. Along with trading with Punt, Hatshepsut had also traded with countries in west Asia which are in east of Egypt through her vital trade routes. Thus allowing boats filled with goods to be imported back to Egypt. In addition to expanding trade to help her country prosper, Hatshepsut had also built many great monuments such as the Palace of Ma’at, Gebel el Silsila, Chapelle Rouge, and the Deir el Bahri that exhibits the immense growth of her country. These tremendous monuments displayed that Egypt under Hatshepsut’s rule had prospered because it proves that the economy of that time was great since Hatshepsut was able to afford

Major Achievements: She was the first female pharaoh. Her largest architectural achievement was a temple above the nile that was built into a cliff.

Hatshepsut’s building programs played a major role in her reign as is shown through the praise they still receive from the future generations. Hatshepsut main focus seemed to be her building programs as she constantly refers to them. Once she acquired the role of pharaoh she started repairing buildings that were neglected during the Hyksos occupation such as the temple of Hathor at Cusae, a temple for Min and the temple of Thoth at Hermopolis. Her building programs consisted of completing Thutmose II due to his short reign and constructing new buildings. Her new building programs consisted of her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri; the Red Chapel, obelisks and pylon at Karnak; the barque sanctuary at Luxor and the cliff temple dedicated to the lion goddess, Pakhet at Beni Hassan. Her building programs were important to further enhance her relationship with the Amun- Re cult. Through her buildings she reinforced her relationship with Amun, using it as propaganda to prove that she has the right to claim the throne.

Let’s start with Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This amazing pharaoh was the first girl pharaoh. This pioneer ruled during the new kingdom, otherwise known as the Golden age. She ruled from about 1473 B.C.E to about 1458 B.C.E. This pharaoh encouraged trade in Egypt and in other civilizations. She made her government stronger by filling her government with royal advisers. She also wanted the same respect that people gave to rulers that are men. Some fun facts about her is that sometimes she wore a fake beard and she shared her rule with male

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.

Hatshepsut is the female ruler who made the biggest impact on ancient civilization. She was the third female leader in Egypt for three thousand years. She also was the longest reigning female leader. Hatshepsut was the of Pharaoh, Thutmose I, and Aahme. She was married to her half brother and pharoah after her father, Thutmose II. They had a son named Thutmose III. She had two other brothers who died before she became pharoah. After her husband died in mid-ruling, their son was too young to take the throne so Hatsheput had to became the stand-in pharoah, also known as his dowager, until he was old enough to claim the throne. Hatshepsut left her impact on the world by defying the concept of male superiority, securing herself into the pharoah

Within the society of ancient Egypt, having a good Pharaoh was considered to be absolutely vital for the functioning of the country; and it was for this reason that Egypt had been ruled by these supposedly half gods half humans for over three thousand years. The position of the Pharaoh was auspiciously passed down through the royal family and traditionally to the eldest son when his father died. Hatshepsut was a significant individual who thwarted this convention by depicting herself as a male so that after her husband/brother Thutmosis II died suddenly she could become Pharaoh instead of the rightful successor, who was Thutmosis III. Because of the male-governed society of which she had lived in, Hatshepsut had to indeed subvert the