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“Even though the United States had not yet had a woman serve as president, one of the most successful and long- running pharaohs in Ancient Egypt was a woman. “Pharaohs were considered gods in Ancient Egypt. Some were able to make changes that benefited Egypt. Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt, making Egypt very successful. A majority of people believed that men were better pharaohs than women in Ancient Egypt. Historians may argue that King Tut was the greatest pharaoh of Egypt, but Hatshepsut was better because she was able to make Egypt wealthy with successful trades and numerous physical structures.
Hatshepsut was a greater pharaoh than any other ruler of Egypt because she was intelligent and dominant. According to “The Queen who would become King”, it states, “Her
temple
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Hatshepsut reigned Egypt with her own thoughts on how it should be ruled. She did not need anyone telling her what to do, and was able to stand on her own two feet unlike King Tut. The text also states “Historians believe two men, a general named Horemheb and a vizier named
Ay, were the most powerful and influential figures during King Tut’s reign.”
Therefore, Tut had people that were intelligent, brave, and powerful to guide and lead his decisions. Despite the fact that historians believe this,
Hatshepsut made sure that the outcome for Egypt was beneficial and worthy. King
Tut was technically not a king because he had almost no power over the decisions, the elders did. While some historians argue that the greatest pharaoh was King Tut, it is clear that the greatest was Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut helped Egypt become wealthier with trades. She made it beautiful with her structures that were better than many others. Egypt was ruled successfully and peacefully with Hatshepsut as a leader. Hence it can be undoubtedly proven that
Hatshepsut was the greatest leader throughout Egyptian history. Egypt may
Before Hatshepsut, there were other woman who attempted to rule over Egypt. Every time a woman came to power, there was some sort of problem that was left for them to solve. Unlike Hatshepsut, the other woman did not have any confidence to name themselves pharaoh and they did not grow up in the royal family like Hatshepsut did. In paragraph 13, it states, “A few women had tried to rule Egypt before, but never would search valid claim to the throne,” and, “These women had not ruled long or well and neither had had the audacity to proclaim herself pharaoh.” These quotes explain that Hatshepsut was recognized for taking power at a good time and not stepping
Hatshepsut stands apart for her historical legacy as opposed to Cleopatra, “Egypt’s Cleopatra looms large more for her romantic exploits than her historical legacy. One Egyptian queen stands apart, however: Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt for some two decades at the beginning of the fifteenth century B.C. A strong and effective pharaoh, she oversaw a cultural renaissance that influenced the arts in Egypt for more than a millennium” (Roehrig and Dreyfus
Pyramids, gold, the Nile, hieroglyphics, gods and goddesses…no matter how much we know about it, we all see one of these things when we picture Egypt. However, this image is not complete without the Pharaoh. Not much in Egypt was. So to be considered “The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt” is quite an honor, an honor that Ramesses III carries. A ruler in the time of the New Kingdom, he gave Egypt a few more years of glory before it’s decline.
Queen Hatshepsut was one of the most powerful females in Ancient Egyptian history. Not only was she the longest reigning female pharaoh in all of Egypt, but she made lasting impacts on the nation during and far after her reign. Although she was a woman, and this type of power had never been given to a woman before, she is considered one of Egypt's most successful pharaohs.
Ancient Egypt is home to one of the greatest female pharaoh. Queen Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharaoh and did great things.
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.
When an Egyptian Pharaoh is pictured, it is normally a person with a very elegant crown and well-designed clothing, but most importantly a Pharaoh is depicted as a man. In the history of Egypt, though, some Pharaohs were actually women, just like the case of Hatshepsut. There were other women rulers of Egypt, and when asked which one is most recognized, it is probably Cleopatra, but Hatshepsut deserves just as much respect as Cleopatra for the way she obtained the title of Pharaoh. She not only broke the traditional laws of Egypt when becoming Pharaoh, but Hatshepsut let nothing stop her from becoming a future Pharaoh of Egypt. Developing into a Pharaoh was not a simple task, but to become Pharaoh “Hatshepsut made the most extraordinary move ever made by an Egyptian, or any other woman” (Wells 185). The move to follow her dreams were filled with lots of struggles, and the major struggle that was in her way was being a woman when most Pharaohs are men. Another struggle was her stepson Tuthmosis III, and his journey to become the next Pharaoh. The last struggle was to keep her legacy known after her death to show the Pharaoh she really was. Through all the battles to become Pharaoh, Hatshepsut stayed strong to become a person many women could not be in that specific time period. Hatshepsut, no doubt, had struggles through her destination of becoming a Pharaoh, but she fought through each battle in becoming one of the most known and popular Pharaohs of Egypt.
In Ancient Egypt there were over 29 Kings and Pharaohs and over 5 Queens. Some of the most famous kings and queens were: Ramses II, Ramses III, King Tut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti.
Ancient Egypt, before the arrival of the Ptolemies, had numerous female rulers who ruled as pharaoh. In Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley notes, “among the thousands of queens were many consorts of immense influence and power, and at least three queens regnant who were accepted by their people as semi divine female kings.” During the reign of Ptolemy II, the native priest Manetho, who had been commissioned to compile a list of every pharaoh till date, listed no less than five female pharaohs including Hatshepsut and Nefertiti . Thus, it was not difficult for various queens of the Ptolemaic dynasty to gain and retain power in equal measure as that of their male counterparts. One of these queens, Arsinoë II, wife of Ptolemy II, was a queen of many firsts, including being the first Egyptian queen to have her own coinage (pictured below), the first Ptolemaic queen to “wear the double uraeus…and the first to design her own Egyptian style crown.”
Cleopatra is perhaps, one of the most significant pharaoh’s of Ancient Egypt. She was an extremely significant figure in Ancient Egypt and used her wits and beauty to keep Egypt free from Roman forces. She ruled Egypt for almost 3 decades and led the crumbling Egyptian civilization through many difficult times. She has been remembered and idolized long after her dead and the death of Ancient Egyptian civilization.
In today’s society, many women hold leadership roles in political and religious settings. However, looking back in history it was very uncommon for a woman to be in a position of power. Although there are exceptions to women holding influential positions long before it was considered socially acceptable. Two particular examples of great ancient female leaders are the Tang Empress of China, Wu Zetian, and the last Pharaoh of Egypt, Cleopatra. Empress Wu and Cleopatra are both infamous female monarch rulers who found their way to power by using violence and clever tactics to gain and preserve their positions.
One of the greatest rulers of all time not only ruled thousands of years ago but was a female. Hatshepsut, a strong young woman, has grown to be known as “The King Herself.” Hatshepsut went through many negative aspects in her life, including the death of her father, mother, sisters and brother/husband. Although these things should’ve…………….. she became one of the greats, ruling for more than 20 years, which was far above average. She set great standards in leadership and inspired individuals greatly.
The last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt Was Cleopatra, born a princess of Egypt. Her father was the Pharaoh Ptolemy VII. Cleopatra was smart and intelligent. She was her father's favourite child and learned a lot about how the country was ruled. They were the Ptolemy dynasty that had been established by the Greek ruler Alexander the Great. They were actually Greek. Cleopatra grew up speaking, reading, and writing Greek. Unlike many of her relatives, however, Cleopatra also learned many other languages including Egyptian and Latin.
According to Egyptian doctrines, the pharaoh is the son of Ra (Dunca 2012). Ra is the central god of Egyptian mythology and is represented by the sun. Given this, the pharaoh is supposed to be seen as a divine figure ruling over Egypt and its people. The same myth as I discussed earlier, regarding Isis and Osiris is used as the ruling myth because this myth represents many different aspects of Egyptian life. Osiris was the King of Egypt, as mentioned before, and when his son Horus defeated Osiris’s evil brother, Seth, he followed his father’s footsteps and became King of Egypt. This was reinforced by the association of the pharaoh’s name with the falcon hieroglyph that stood for Horus, who was the son of Isis and Osiris (Olszewski 2016). In ancient Egypt, the falcon was the only animal that was able to look directly at the sun, which represented Horus as well as other gods such as Ra, who was believed to be the sun, and Montu (Cicarma 2013). Horus was not only known for being their son, but as the protection over Egypt. “The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and of the royal power from the deities” (Cicarma 2013). Being the son of Isis and Osiris and the symbol for protection over Egypt, he was the mythical heir to Royalty in Egypt (Cicarma 2013). All of this information reinforces the belief that pharaohs were divine rulers and were the
Hatshepsut, whose name means “First Among Noble Women”, was a female Egyptian pharaoh who ruled egypt for 20 years. While pharaoh, she developed trade relationships, sponsored building projects, and kept war out of her country. After she was killed, however, Thutmose ||| destroyed Hatshepsut’s temples, erased hieroglyphic writing about her, and altogether attempted to erase all memory of Hatshepsut as Egypt’s pharaoh. Hatshepsut was a powerful and noble ruler, who caused Egypt to flourish and thrive under her reign.