Hatshepsut: The Role Of Women In Ancient Egypt

Throughout history, men typically dominated societies. Men have always appeared to have more respect and rights than women, depending on certain civilizations. In societies like Egypt, men were frequently pharaohs and today, are considered to be great rulers. Women were often expected to take the job of motherhood in Egyptian society. Although this was their anticipated responsibility, women, usually upper class and royal, were still permitted to get an education, to possess property, own businesses, have a job and be involved in military control. Women could also rule as pharaoh, which was an infrequent occurrence but did sometimes happen. Hatshepsut, for example, is one of the few women who became a pronounced leader in the ancient

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

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

Hatshepsut, also known as the king herself, was an extraordinary woman that ruled for many years. She had the audacity to portray herself as a man (Brown 2009). Her impact was mostly associated with the choice of declaring herself as a king and ruling in such manners for over 20 years. The impact she had on gender roles was significant because she never tried to hide her gender, yet she dressed as a king. Hatshepsut took a role that was never intended for women to have control of, and did the job as successful or even more successful than males in the same filed of work. During her time of ruling she created, renovated

In one respect, Hatshepsut is viewed as the female pharaoh who had a particularly unsuccessful reign that was devoid of any real achievements. Historians writing in the 1970’s and 1980’s often made sexist and unfounded assumptions about Hatshepsut’s rule, including her apparent scheming to take the throne from the

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

Egyptians paid great respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. The Egyptians believe that the royal family was immortal. The word family brings every member of the family to the same circle of respect and power. The man like in the Mesopotamian civilization was the head of the family. That is also seemed in today’s daily life in most cases. A statue of Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen represents the wife presenting her husband and not the husband presenting his wife as the powerful one.

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

Senenmut, an excellent architect within Ancient Egypt who came from a large educated family, was appointed by Hatshepsut to oversee any royal works, as well as overseeing slaves, fields, and gardens. It is said by some Egyptologists that he initiated a very personal relationship with her—he was even a tutor for Hatshepsut’s daughter. This suggests that Hatshepsut befriended Senenmut for her own advantage, in order for her building plans to be carried out as she pleased. Not only did she effectively choose a skilled architect, but she kept high standards for the location for her memorial tomb. This was at a natural bay near the Theban Mountains, facing the entrance to the Amen-Re Temple at Karnak. This location was especially chosen because it was the existing tomb of her father, and had great importance as it was previously a cult center for Hathor (goddess of ruling kings). A new entrance was created with a staircase leading to a new burial hall carved out of rock. Although her choice called for those extensive alterations of the existing tomb, Hatshepsut wanted to be remembered as a highly regarded leader and appointed Senemut to carry out with those building plans. Hatshepsut’s choice resulted in one of the most beautiful temples in Egypt, known as Djeser Djeseru, meaning holiest of the holy. This specific project displayed Hatshepsut’s creativity

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, also known as the first female pharaoh to obtain full power and one of the most successful rulers of ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut accomplished many things during her reign. She successfully re-established trade routes and construction projects. She also had a successful military career and claims she fought alongside soldiers in battle. Thus making Hatshepsut one of the most successful rulers in ancient Egyptian history.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa and it was one of the six civilizations globally to arise independently. Egyptian civilization began around 3150 BC and only ended nearly 30 centuries later due to the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. Noted for their great pyramids of the Old Kingdom, historians often question the gender roles in society. The main sources of information about ancient Egypt is evident through objects, artifacts, and monuments that have been found recovered from archaeological sites. Egyptian women achieved parity with Egyptian men. They enjoyed the same legal and economic rights. This was evident in the artworks left behind by their artists. However, this is not to conclude that all shared the same rights because there were many social classes. Gender did not define their rights, but their social class did.

“One of the central values of ancient Egyptian civilization was ma'at - the concept of harmony and balance in all aspects of one's life. This ideal was the most important duty observed by the pharaoh who, as a mediator between the gods and the people, was supposed to be a role model for how one lived a balanced life.” This balance was seen in society as well as a balance between men and women. Women in Ancient Egypt were treated very well compared to women in other ancient worlds such as in Ancient Greek.

Legendary women such as Nefertiti and Cleopatra are the powerful faces of Ancient Egypt that are well-known throughout the world, but the details on the lives of ordinary Egyptian women are much more obscure. Many goddesses and other important female figures have been a prevalent topic of study in the ancient Egyptian world, however, the knowledge of how 'normal’ women spent their days is not nearly as common. The development of the roles and status of women in ancient Egypt – as well as their everyday lives and their impact on society – was essential to the advancement of the civilization as a whole. The richest and most primary source other than written text was the artwork that is commonly associated with tombs; for instance, funerary models, reliefs, and wall paintings. Since men were typically the ones who would commission and create conceptual and representational art, many aspects of women’s lives were ignored or neglected. It was also very rare for female roles to be included in historical documents from the era because they seldom held high government positions, even though the idea of women being in power was not unheard of or uncommon between 3,000 and 1,000 BC. This research paper will be exploring a wide variety of details in ancient Egyptian women’s lives such as marriage, domestic living, legal and political rights, religion, and women of power. Ancient Egyptian women were granted social liberties, individual freedom, and even legal rights equal to those of