Essay On Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut, ruler during the 18th dynasty, was one of the few female rulers of the ancient Egypt civilization. Many people may call her a Transvestite, a liar, a man, etc. She just had to do what she had to do to break barriers. Her Temple left for her is grand, and the walls have the stories of her life are written all over.

Hatshepsut was born circa 1502 BC to Thutmose I and Ahmose. Both of her parents were royalty, and Thutmose I was Pharaoh when she was born. She had two brothers whom died in accidents, which left her to take over the throne when her father passed. This was uncommon due to the lack of female Pharaohs. According to most sources, Hatshepsut was strong, beautiful, and charismatic, which made her parents show favoritism towards

her instead of her brothers. These traits made her made her more fit to be a pharaoh.
Hatshepsut’s half-brother and husband was Thutmose II.

When Thutmose I, Hatshepsut’s father died, Hatshepsut was about 15 years old, and Thutmose II took over as pharaoh. Thutmose II died after 3 years of reign due to a skin disease. Hatshepsut had a daughter, Neferure, but Thutmose II also had a son with a commoner named Aset. Many people believe that when Thutmose II reigned, Hatshepsut was actually the one in charge. Because of Thutmose II died early, his son Thutmose III was too young to reign, so Hatshepsut began to rule as Queen Regent, and used the title “God’s Wife.” Due to her father’s popularity and her charismatic features that everyone knew and loved, she was able to gain more followers that allowed her to become full pharaoh about seven years into the rule of Thutmose III. Hatshepsut wore the pharaoh’s dressings, which was made for males and had a false beard, the shendyt kilt, and the nemes headdress, uraeus and khat head cloth. At her coronation, she took on five names: Horus Powerful of Kas, Two Ladies Flourishing of Years, Female Horus of Fine Gold, Divine of Diadems, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ma’atkare, Daughter of Ra, Khenmet-Amen Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut’s reign was tranquil. There wasn’t much military action during her years, which was one of the great qualities of her rule. Her main accomplishments were with trade. She expanded trade with Nubia, Libya, and countries in Asia. She also had expeditions to Somalia, which was then called Punt, to retrieve

goods like ivory, spices, and gold. Stories from these expeditions were written on the walls of her temple. “One scene shows the Queen of the Puntites, who has a crooked back, a curved nose, and rolls of fat hanging over her knees and elbows, in stark contrast to Egyptians who were generally short and thin.” Hatshepsut also restored and renovated many old buildings that had been damaged or destroyed by other armies. One of these was the temple at Ipet-Issut, now known as Karnak. In addition to the renovations, she made the Red Chapel for the holy prayer of Amun .Hatshepsut put up two large stone pillars that were covered in gold foil, reflecting the sun’s rays all around. The words on the Obelisks were:
“Those who shall see my monument in future years, and shall speak of what I have done, beware of saying, “I know not, I know not how this has been done, fashioning a mountain of gold throughout, like something of nature” … Nor shall he who hears this say it was a boast, but rather, “How like her this is, how worthy of her father”. (Ray)”
Her memorial is one thing no one will ever forget.

Hatshepsut’s “Mortuary Temple”, built by Senenmut Hatshepsut’s consort, was designed in circa 1473 and took about 15 years to build. Her temple was built for her and her father, and was dedicated to two of their gods, Anubis and Hathor. The temple is located at Deir el Bahari, across the Nile River from Thebes, in the Valley of the Kings. It is made out of rock and has 3 layered terraces against the huge cliffs at Deir el Bahari. It took years to find Hatshepsut’s temple due to ancient Egyptians who wanted to keep her reign a secret after she died from the rulers to

come.
As Pharaoh, Hatshepsut kept her nephew as her co-ruler. Some people believe that their power was equally divided between the two of them, Hatshepsut job was to take care of commercial and administrative, and Thutmose III dealt with the military. But as Thutmose III got older, he started to become jealous of Hatshepsut’s power and reign and wanted the throne for himself. Hatshepsut tried many times to get her place as ruler; one of the things she did was stress how important her relationship was with the Pharaoh Thutmose I. She publicly said that he showed favoritism towards her rather than her two brothers and her half-brother. Also, Hatshepsut also claimed her actual father to be Amun-Ra, the sun god, who impregnated her mother with “divine conception”. The story of the night is written in her temple of how “when Amun-Ra came to Ahmose in the form of Tuthmose I”. The walls also have the story of “Amun-Ra speaking through an oracle and requesting Hatshepsut to rule Egypt”. This increased her followers many. As Thutmose III got older, he also became more powerful, and constructed a revolt against Hatshepsut in 1458 BC, and she disappeared. People do not know if Thutmose III murdered her or not. Hatshepsut’s tomb was obliterated, and her mummy was stolen, and only her liver, in a canopic jar, was found. Thutmose III also hated Senenmut, and Senenmut’s sarcophagus was also destroyed, and his mummy has never been found.
Along with assisting with the temples, and buildings, many people believed Senenmut was Hatshepsut’s secret lover. He was a commoner which was forbidden back then. She also had him buried with her in her tomb. Many people frowned upon this and some believe this is the reason why her history has been demolished and hidden.