Summary Of Hatchepsut: Female Pharaoh By Joyce Tyldesley

About 3,500 years ago, female queen, or king, Hatchepsut came to be one of the most successful rulers of Egypt’s early 18th Dynasty. Hatchepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I, or Tuthmosis I, and sister-wife of Thutmose II. When her husband died, she took over as ruler; however, her nephew, Thutmose III was next in line, but at the time he was only two, which meant she was able to become the dominant co-king. The author, Joyce Tyldesley, mentions how “there was no ancient Egyptian term for queen” (135), only titles such as, pharaoh’s wife or god’s wife, which made Hatchepsut a female king. At the beginning of her reign, Hatchepsut was represented as feminine, but later on she was portrayed as more masculine, wearing male clothing and the pharaoh’s

traditional false beard. Tyldesley claimed that “she had no wish to be remembered merely for her sex” (5). For 22 years, under her rule, Egypt flourished due to “Hatchepsut’s internal peace, foreign exploration, and monumental building” (112).
Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh is an unbiased, non-fiction biography based on archaeological and historical evidence on the history of a female king in Egypt.

Joyce Tyldesley writes about the history of the king and her immediate family, the history of the king’s memory after her death, and the fascinating tale of those who have since studied and interpreted her. Tyldesley makes many comparisons between Hatchepsut and other female leaders, such as Joan of Arc, Elizabeth I, and Margaret Thatcher. Tyldesley provides her readers with an enthralling understanding of the forgotten female king and the royal family of early 18th Dynasty

Egypt.
Joyce Tyldesley arranges her book topically with eight chapters. She starts out with what Egypt was like in the early 18th Dynasty, continues with the life and family of Hatchepsut, and ends with life after Hatchepsut’s death. Her chapters include, Egypt in the Early Eighteenth Dynasty, A Strong Family, Queen of Egypt, King of Egypt, War and Peace, Propaganda in Stone, Senenmut: Greatest of the Great, and The End and the Aftermath. While this book may seem like it’s arranged chronologically, the information Tyldesley adds to her book is based off evidence found over the past century, which makes it difficult to place an exact date on most evidence. When Hatchepsut died, her stepson-nephew, Tuthmosis III, made the attempt to erase Hatchepsut’s memory from the history of Egypt, and succeeded. Her monuments and images were destroyed and vandalized and her name was completely forgotten. In the 1820’s, Egyptologists deciphered hieroglyphics of Hatchepsut. Being forgotten for so long, there is little known about the king, which makes writing a book about interpreted evidence difficult. Tyldesley created her book to be readable and understandable, but with that came a lot of repetitive information. With the lack of evidence and redundancy, Tyldesley’s interpretations are as good as any Egyptologists. Readers are able to imagine and picture the first female king and ruler, and what may or may not have existed during her reign. Unfortunately, what we are reading about Hatchepsut isn’t the full story, but Tyldesley provides her readers with an intriguing insight on the unimaginable king Hatchepsut.
Joyce Ann Tyldesley was born and lives in Bolton, Lancashire; a town with an exceptional Egyptology collection.

Tyldesley has written over twenty books, including Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh, Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, The Private Lives of the Pharaohs, Egypt's Golden Empire: The Age of the New Kingdom, Egypt and many more. From 1978-1981 she studied archaeology at Liverpool University, and earned a first class honors degree in archaeology. In 1986 she earned a doctorate in Prehistoric Archaeology from Oxford University. During that time, she developed useful fieldwork experience, working on archaeological sites of all ages in Britain, Europe, and Egypt. Additionally, in 1986 she won the Egypt Exploration Society’s Centenary Studentship, and used it to develop her own ground survey of the prehistoric site at Nazlet Tuna, in Middle Egypt. She gained a valuable experience of teaching Egyptology to different audiences by working for various organizations, including Liverpool University, the Workers' Educational Association (WEA), the University of the Third Age (U3A), and became “Dr. Dig” of Dig Magazine, answering questions submitted by children on any aspect of archaeology. In 2007 she was appointed senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester where she tutors and organizes courses for the internet based, three year distance learning certificate in the Egyptology program. She recently has developed the Diploma in Egyptology and Short Courses in

Egyptology. In 2011 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bolton, and became an Honorary Research Associate of the Manchester Museum. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool University, President of Bolton Archaeology, and Egyptology Society.
If I were to recommend this book to someone, I would recommend it to readers who don’t know much about Hatchepsut or the ancient Egyptian empire. The work of this book is dry, conspicuous, and repetitive. This book supports the history of how Hatchepsut has been interpreted since she has been discovered, but is only an introduction to her life. Although the book is short, the biography doesn’t begin to portray the unbelievable life of Hatchepsut. While Tyldesley’s book covers the history of the 18th Dynasty, the life of the pharaoh, and life after her death, the book could have included more on Egyptian history and Hatchepsut’s place as king of Egypt.
After twenty years of ruling Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, Hatchepsut ended her reign with many fulfilled achievements and successes. Joyce Tyldesley gives us a better understanding of Egypt’s first female king. Her flawless research and well written biography restores the female king deserved place in history today.