In the New kingdom of Egypt growth, wealth, prosperity and internal peace are highly regarded as a necessity in which a successful pharaoh must possess, in order to maintain the stability of Egypt, achieve succession and overall leave behind a constructive legacy. Kingship was traditionally a sole male activity due to the throne being heavily male dominated, Hatshepsut was arguably Egypt’s most distinguished and powerful female pharaoh to effectively rise to and maintain her position of power for approximately two decades. The extent and importance of Hatshepsut’s reign and legacy has continuously undergone a series of dogmatic inconsistencies and has been subject to a wide range of dictatorial judgement by historians. However, her legacy can
be assessed through her divine birth, conception and coronation reliefs, military campaigns and various building programs. Predominantly as a female pharaoh in the New Kingdom of Egypt it was extremely important to gain full support of all fellow Egyptians and to confirm the authority of one’s rule. It has been implied by many historians that Hatshepsut had “usurped the throne” from the legitimate contender, her stepson Thutmose III and needed a divine approbation to maintain her royal position. Hatshepsut used political, systematic and religious methods of propaganda and direct promotion of Amun, shown evident in her divine birth, conception and coronation reliefs as justification to her proclamation to the throne.
Hatshepsut, declared herself king during the reign of her stepson and nephew, Thutmose III. She adopted the full titulary of a pharaoh, and since this was traditionally a man’s role, she wore the nemes-headcloth, the shendyt-kilt and a fake beard as part of the ceremonial attire of the Egyptian king. This is portrayed in her life-size statue “White Hatshepsut” at the MET.
Hatshepsut’s reign especially leaves much to the scholar’s speculation and interpretation since little evidence is left. The reader must acknowledge how an author’s views may be construed by sexism and other concepts prevalent in their time. What these five authors imply about Hatshepsut’s personality and attitude concerning her political ascent, her usage of propaganda, and her achievements during that time all differ from each other, some more drastically than others. This certainly shows that when one reads of history, their research should span as far as possible in order to most accurately inform themselves of what truly happened; it is from there that they can formulate the best
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
‘The Hyksos forced Egyptian Pharaohs to look beyond their own borders, and involve themselves in the affairs and lives of their neighbor’s’ Through the notion of looking beyond their own borders, the necessity of constant battles was not only to expand but also protect Egypt’s borders, this eventually led to the image of the ‘Warrior Pharaoh’. Egypt became the pre-eminent power in the east due to talented civil, military and religious bureaucracies. The Hyksos ‘encouraged new nationalism and patriotism’ this could be seen through formation of administration, stable rule, gods and building externally while taking on board the establishment of the extensive diplomatic and trading contacts with the eastern Mediterranean region and Nubia. The economic influences created by the Hyksos include various influences that furthermore excelled New Kingdom Egypt to be a greater society. The ‘foreign rulers’ introduced olive and pomegranate trees as well as domesticated cattle to the agricultural practices to Egyptian society.
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.
Robins, Gay. "The Names of Hatshepsut as King." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 85 (1999): 103-12. Jstore. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .
The Women who would be king is a book about Hatshepsut’s rise to power in ancient Egypt. The author, Kara Cooney is an Egyptologist, archaeologist and is chair of the Department of Near Eastern Language and Cultures at UCLA. She also is an associate professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA. Cooney when writing the book choose to “forgo any long-winded analysis of architectural history, reliefs, statuary, text, and genealogy, instead focusing solely on Hatshepsut’s narrative.”(pg. xii Author’s Note) Cooney takes more of a biographical approach when writing this book. In no way is this book supposed to be a perfect biography or story of Hatshepsut, due to the fact that there is so little information about her. Cooney even says that many of her Egyptological training rules had to be broken in order to write the book containing Hatshepsut’s ambitions, intentions, and disappointments.
Hatshepsut was born into a wealthy, educated family; however, she displayed qualities that are innate among most great leaders. She was courageous, ambitious, confident, and innovative. This allowed her to become the female Pharaoh during the 18th dynasty, and in a male dominating society, this was seen as an accomplishment among historians analyzing women in power. Hatshepsut’s will to adopt the role as Pharaoh prior to her reign portrays her as a strong, independent female leader. Her building projects and further establishment of trade had a positive impact on Ancient Egypt socially, economically, and intellectually by creating opportunity and further expanding their knowledge. Ultimately, Hatshepsut is considered to be a very successful and influential leader within Ancient history.
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.
Hatshepsut was Thutmose II’s queen, she became regent for Thutmose III ca. 1479 at his death. Egypt prospered under her reign. When Thutmose III was old enough to rule, it was decided that Hatshepsut and Thutmose III would reign together as co-regents. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III’s co-rule may have been strained. After Hatshepsut’s death, Thutmose III defiled or removed many statues, paintings or writings of Hatshepsut life and reign. Not many records exist that show what type of relationship existed between Hatshepsut and Thutmose III. Her name is not listed in the official lists at Karnak and Abydos, Thutmose III had it removed. Thutmose III had it recorded that he assumed the crown in 1490 upon his father’s death. Hatshepsut made the same claim in reverse, but she acknowledged the co-regency but claimed the position of King. Over time, the interpretation of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III’s reign has changed. One biography (Wells) gives the impression that if they could have gotten away with killing each other they would have. The other (Tyldesley) gives a more objective view, and explains that there just isn’t proof of a volatile relationship between the two. Almost as if they were co-regents and each had their strong suit and left each other to it. She (Tyldesley) describes the previous notion of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III’s relationship as overly dramatic.
“The pharaoh of ancient Egypt is normally described as the typical example of a divine ruler” (J. Ray, Hatshepsut, Vol 44, Issue 5, 1994) The ancient Egyptian world has seen hundreds of pharaohs; some excelled and some didn’t. Many of the pharaohs were men, only few females succeeded in gaining such great power, yet some did... specifically Hatshepsut. Few pharaohs of the 18Th Dynasty have aroused as much controversy as Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the sixth pharaoh of the New Kingdom and set up co-regency with her nephew and stepson, Thutmose III. (J. Lawless, Hatshepsut, a Personal Study, 2010) Hatshepsut created many junctions in history through politics, building programmes and military. This makes her so recognised in modern day studies, though almost all evidence of her existence has been partially or completely destroyed. Due to this many theories have been created about the standard of her reign.
Was she the archetypal wicked stepmother, an unnatural and scheming woman ?of the most virile character who would deliberately abuse a position of trust to steal the throne from a defenceless child? (Gardiner, 1961:184)? Or was she ?an experienced and well-meaning woman who ruled amicably alongside her stepson, steering her country through twenty peaceful, prosperous years who deserves to be commemorated among the great monarchs of Egypt? (Budge, 1902:I)? According to biographer and historian Joyce Tyldesley, Queen or as she would prefer to be remembered, King Hatchepsut became the female embodiment of a male role, whose reign was a carefully balanced period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monument building (Tyldesley, 1996:1). This study will show that it was Hatshepsut the Pharaoh?s devotion to the god Amen and her protection of the maat of 18th Dynasty Egypt that allowed her to forge her successful New Kingdom regime.
to 2650 B.C., changed his name to the more commonly known Zoser. It was Zoser
Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt during the 18th dynasty, was one of a small handful of female pharaohs. Despite her many achievements, her reign is most remembered for the fact that she was a woman. Her unique story has been a source for dispute among scholars, which has led to a number of conflicting views. The small amount of Hatshepsut’s life that has been documented does not allow us to see the more intimate details of her life. Historians have a broad range of opinions on her, but one thing is certain: her reign provided Egypt with a period of peace and prosperity after 100 years of foreign rule.