Biography queen hatshepsut
Hatshepsut
(1508-1458)
Who Was Hatshepsut?
Beginning in 1478 B.C., Queen Hatshepsut reigned over Egypt for more than 20 years. She served as queen alongside her husband, Thutmose II, but after his death, she claimed the role of pharaoh while acting as regent to her step-son, Thutmose III. She reigned peaceably, building temples and monuments, resulting in the flourishing of Egypt. After her death, Thutmose III erased her inscriptions and tried to eradicate her memory.
Family
Hatshepsut was born circa 1508 B.C. The only child born to the Egyptian king Thutmose I by his principal wife and queen, Ahmose, Hatshepsut was expected to be queen. After the death of her father at age 12, Hatsheput married her half-brother Thutmose II, whose mother was a lesser wife — a common practice meant to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline. During the reign of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut assumed the traditional role of queen and principal wife.
From Regent to Pharoah
Thutmose II died after a 15-year reign, making Hatshepsut a widow before the age of 30. Hatshepsut had no sons — only a daughter, Neferure — and the male heir was an infant, born to a concubine named Isis.
Since Thutmose III was too young to assume the throne unaided, Hatshepsut served as his regent. Initially, Hatshepsut bore this role traditionally until, for reasons that are unclear, she claimed the role of pharaoh. Technically, Hatshepsut did not ‘usurp’ the crown, as Thutmose III was never deposed and was considered co-ruler throughout her life, but it is clear that Hatshepsut was the principal ruler in power.
She began having herself depicted in the traditional king’s kilt and crown, along with a fake beard and male body. This was not an attempt to trick people into thinking she was male; rather, since there were no words or images to portray a woman with this status, it was a way of asserting her authority.
Hatshepsut’s successful transition from queen to pharaoh was, in part, due to her ability to Egyptian queen and pharaoh, sixth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1479/8–1458 BC) For the 13th dynasty princess, see Hatshepsut (king's daughter). Hatshepsut (haht-SHEPP-sut; c. 1507–1458 BC) was the Great Royal Wife of PharaohThutmose II and the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from c. 1479 BC until c. 1458 BC (Low Chronology). She was Egypt's second confirmed woman who ruled in her own right, the first being Sobekneferu/Nefrusobek in the Twelfth Dynasty. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and Great Royal Wife, Ahmose. Upon the death of her husband and half-brother Thutmose II, she had initially ruled as regent to her stepson, Thutmose III, who inherited the throne at the age of two. Several years into her regency, Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh and adopted the full royal titulary, making her a co-ruler alongside Thutmose III. In order to establish herself in the Egyptian patriarchy, she took on traditionally male roles and was depicted as a male pharaoh, with physically masculine traits and traditionally male garb. She emphasized both the qualities of men and women to convey the idea that she was both a mother and father to the realm. Hatshepsut's reign was a period of great prosperity and general peace. One of the most prolific builders in Ancient Egypt, she oversaw large-scale construction projects such as the Karnak Temple Complex, the Red Chapel, the Speos Artemidos and most famously, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Hatshepsut probably died in Year 22 of the reign of Thutmose III. Towards the end of the reign of Thutmose III and into the reign of his son Amenhotep II, an attempt was made to remove her from official accounts of Egyptian historiography: her statues were destroyed, her monuments were defaced, and many of her achievements were ascribed to other pharaohs. Roehrig, Catharine H., ed., with Renée Dreyfus and Cathleen A. Keller 2005 356 pages 386 illustrations Cleopatra may be the most famous woman of ancient Egypt, but far more significant was Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh who reigned for nearly twenty years in the fifteenth century B.C., during the early period of the New Kingdom. After acting as regent for her young nephew-stepson Thutmose III, Hatshepsut assumed the title of king and exercised the full powers of the throne as senior co-ruler with Thutmose. In accordance with Egyptian ideology and representational tradition, she was often depicted as a male king. Hatshepsut's reign, fully accepted by a flourishing Egypt, introduced a period of immense artistic creativity. Some twenty years after her death, however, monuments bearing her image were ruthlessly defaced, and her name was erased from historical accounts. All memory of this fascinating history in pharaonic lore was lost until mid-nineteenth century, when Hatshepsut was rediscovered by Egyptologists and her place in history restored. Excavation began on her most magnificent surviving monument—the temple she built at Deir el-Bahri near the Valley of the Kings, across the Nile from modern Luxor. Thousands of stone fragments found in pits near the temple were reassembled into magnificent statues of Hatshepsut, some of colossal proportions. Discoveries continue even today, and, accordingly, scholars' opinions about the historical role of this controversial female have continued to change. The ongoing debate about her reign has inspired the many authors of this volume, which accompanies a major exhibition at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/de Young, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Recent research on Hatshepsut and the nature of her kingship is presented alongside wide-ranging discussions of the rich artistic production that marked her reign. Hatshepsut was the elder of two daughters born to Thutmose I and his queen, Ahmes. After her father’s death, 12-year-old Hatshepsut became queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother Thutmose II, the son of her father and one of his secondary wives, who inherited his father’s throne around 1492 B.C. They had one daughter, Neferure. Thutmose II died young, around 1479 B.C., and the throne went to his infant son, also born to a secondary wife. According to custom, Hatshepsut began acting as Thutmose III’s regent, handling affairs of state until her stepson came of age. Did you know? Hatshepsut was only the third woman to become pharaoh in 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, and the first to attain the full power of the position. Cleopatra, who also exercised such power, would rule some 14 centuries later. After less than seven years, however, Hatshepsut took the unprecedented step of assuming the title and full powers of a pharaoh herself, becoming co-ruler of Egypt with Thutmose III. Though past Egyptologists held that it was merely the queen’s ambition that drove her, more recent scholars have suggested that the move might have been due to a political crisis, such as a threat from another branch of the royal family, and that Hatshepsut may have been acting to save the throne for her stepson. Building Egypt's Largest Pyramids Knowing that her power grab was highly controversial, Hatshepsut fought to defend its legitimacy, pointing to her royal lineage and claiming that her father had appointed her his successor. She sought to reinvent her image, and in statues and paintings of that time, she ordered that she be portrayed as a male pharaoh, with a beard and large muscles. In other images, however, she appeared in traditional female regalia. Hatshepsut surrounded herself with supporters in key positions in government, including Senenmut, her chief minister. Some have suggested Senenmut mig Hatshepsut
Early
Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh
Hatshepsut's Rise to Power
Hatshepsut as Pharaoh