Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from around 1479 BC until around 1458 BC. She was married to her half-brother, Pharaoh Thutmose II, and after his death, she began ruling as regent for her young stepson, Thutmose III. Over time, Hatshepsut took on the full powers of a pharaoh and was treated as a male ruler, dressing and being shown in art as a man.

Hatshepsut's time as pharaoh was marked by peace and great building projects. She ordered the construction of many important places, including the Karnak Temple Complex, the Red Chapel, the Speos Artemidos, and her famous Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Her rule brought prosperity to Egypt and is remembered as a time of progress and achievement.

After Hatshepsut died, there were efforts to erase her from history. Some of her statues were destroyed, and her monuments were damaged. Later pharaohs sometimes took credit for her successes, trying to remove her name from official records. Still, Hatshepsut remains one of the most well-known and successful rulers of ancient Egypt.

Early life

Hatshepsut was born between 1505 and 1495 BC. She was the eldest daughter of Thutmose I and his great royal wife, Ahmose. After her father died, Hatshepsut married her half-brother, Thutmose II, who was also her father’s heir. She was about fourteen or fifteen years old when they married. They had a daughter named Neferure, who later became known as the "King's Eldest Daughter." It's possible they had another daughter who may have died when she was very young.

Reign

When her husband and half-brother Thutmose II died, Hatshepsut started as a helper ruler for her stepson Thutmose III, who was too young to rule alone. Over time, Hatshepsut took on the full role of pharaoh herself. She ruled for about 21 to 22 years, sharing the same years as Thutmose III but leading as the main ruler. Hatshepsut was one of the few women in ancient Egypt to rule as a pharaoh and did so during a time when the country was successful and strong. The earliest proof that Hatshepsut was ruling as pharaoh comes from objects found in a tomb, dated to the seventh year of her rule. Her rule ended around the twenty-second year of Thutmose III's time as ruler.

Major accomplishments

Trade routes

Main article: Land of Punt

Hatshepsut brought back trade routes that had stopped during a difficult time in Egypt’s history. She sent a group of people to a place called the Land of Punt to get special items. They returned with trees used for a sweet smell and other valuable things.

Building projects

Hatshepsut built many important places in Egypt, including temples and large stone towers called obelisks. She built these to show her power and to honor the gods. Some of her buildings still stand today and show how skilled the builders were.

Official lauding

See also: Depiction of Hatshepsut's birth and coronation

Hatshepsut made sure everyone knew about her successes. She dressed and looked like other kings in statues and pictures. Stories told how the gods chose her to be the ruler, and she had these stories carved into her buildings so people would remember her leadership.

Irregular Heb Sed

Hatshepsut did something unusual by announcing her first heb sed jubilee in the 15th year of her rule, instead of waiting until the traditional 30th year like other Egyptian kings. Some experts think she may have done this to mark 30 years since the death of her father, Thutmose I, which gave her the right to rule. Others suggest she was celebrating 30 years of her father's dynasty or even 30 years of her own life.

Death, burial, and mummification

See also: KV20

Hatshepsut's last known record as pharaoh was on May 22, 1459 BC. Historians believe she stopped ruling around January 16, 1458 BC, which is thought to be the date she passed away.

Hatshepsut began planning her tomb when she was the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose II. When she became pharaoh, a new tomb, KV20, was prepared for her. This tomb was originally made for her father, Thutmose I, and was expanded to include her. It is believed she was buried there with her father.

During the reign of Thutmose III, her father's tomb was changed, and there is a chance Hatshepsut's mummy was moved to another tomb, KV60, which contained two female mummies. One was her nurse, and the other was unidentified.

Proposed mummy

In 2007, the unidentified mummy from KV60 was examined. It was missing a tooth that matched a molar found in a box from another tomb, leading some to think it might be Hatshepsut. However, later studies showed the tooth and the mummy's missing tooth were from different parts of the jaw, making this identification uncertain.

Legacy

Exclusion from the historical record

After Thutmose III became pharaoh, some people tried to remove Hatshepsut from history. They cut her name and pictures off walls. In some places, they added new stones to cover her images. At her temple, many of her statues were broken and hidden. At Karnak, they tried to block her monuments.

Some think Amenhotep II, Thutmose III’s son, might have done this because he wanted to be pharaoh more strongly. He also took away many of Hatshepsut’s achievements during his rule.

Modern assessment

Hatshepsut is called one of the first great women leaders we know about. She ruled as a regent for her stepson, which was unusual for the time. She built many temples and people got used to seeing a woman as a powerful leader. She used symbols usually linked to male rulers, which helped her be accepted as a king.

Some historians think Thutmose III wanted to remove Hatshepsut from history to make his own rule seem more direct. This showed how hard it was for women to hold power in ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut’s rule was successful, which may have made some people uncomfortable because it went against traditional gender roles.

When scientists first studied Hatshepsut’s temple in the 1800s, they were confused because her images showed her both as a woman and as a man. This caused a lot of discussion among historians about the order of the pharaohs.