in fact a woman. Hatshepsut was the sixth pharaoh of ancient Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty, during the time called the New Kingdom period. Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom lasted from 1570 until 1069 B.C.E. Some Hatshepsut: Pharaoh of the best-known pharaohs ruled during this time, including Thutmose, of Egypt Amenhotep, Akhenaten, and Tutankha- mun. However, the name Hatshepsut Although the pyramids of ancient remained largely unknown for thou- Egypt have existed for thousands of sands of years. years, the study of ancient Egypt, called Hatshepsut ruled Egypt from 1473 Egyptology, began in earnest in the until 1458 B.C.E. While she is not the early 1800s. At this time, people had fi- only woman to have ever served as pha- nally learned how to read hieroglyphics, raoh, no woman ruled longer. Today, the ancient Egyptian system of pictorial most historians agree that Hatshepsut writing. Once scholars could read hi- was the most powerful and successful eroglyphics, they were able to increase female pharaoh. their knowledge of ancient Egyptian cul- Historians are unsure of Hatshepsut’s ture and history. actual birthdate. They do know that she In 1822, when reading the text in- was the oldest of two daughters born to scribed on an ancient monument, Egyp- the Egyptian king Thutmose I and to his tologists encountered a puzzling figure. queen, Ahmes. Thutmose I was a charis- This person was a pharaoh of Egypt. matic ruler and a powerful military lead- Like other Egyptian rulers, this pha- er. Hatshepsut was married to her half raoh was depicted, or shown, wearing brother, Thutmose II. When their father a crown, a kilt, and a beard. However, died, Thutmose II inherited his throne. mysteriously, this pharaoh had a wom- This was around 1492 B.C.E. Hatshepsut an’s name, Hatshepsut. What scientists would give birth to only one child, a girl soon discovered was that this ruler was named Neferure.
Ancient Egypt of the New Kingdom Period (1570-1069 B.C.E.) ASSYRIA Nineveh N Carchemish Assur SYRIA
Mediterranean Sea MESOPOTAMIA Tyre Damascus Babylon Gaza Ur CANAAN ARABIA Memphis SINAI Per sian LIBYA Gulf EGYPTIAN Red Sea
Thebes
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e il N 150 mi EMPIRE 150 km 2019 Egyptian Empire (New Kingdom) Napata Geography News Network 3 15 19 Extent of Egyptian New Kingdom
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rine Roehrig, curator of Egyptian art at When Thutmose II died in 1479 B.C.E., the Metropolitan Museum in New York his throne passed to his son Thutmose City explains, “Hatshepsut may have III, who was the child of Thutmose II and had to declare herself king to protect Isis, a member of his harem. Since Thut- the kingship for her stepson.” No matter mose III was just a baby, Hatshepsut what her true intentions were, Hatshep- ruled in his place as regent. Regents are sut maintained her power by surround- people who govern in place of younger ing herself with a group of loyal officials rulers until they are old enough to gov- who each controlled important posi- ern on their own. tions in her government. At first, Hatshepsut fulfilled the nor- Hatshepsut’s rule was mostly a time of mal duties as a regent for an underage peace in Egypt. Instead of defending her pharaoh. Then, after seven years in this country’s borders, she focused primar- role, Hatshepsut had herself crowned ily on trading with Egypt’s neighbors. as king. As a result, Hatshepsut and her Through trade with East Africa, Hatshep- stepson Thutmose III were co-rulers. In sut brought myrrh, animal skins, ebony, reality, however, Hatshepsut was the and gold back to Egypt. more powerful leader. She also focused attention on build- It was unusual for women to hold ing projects. In the city of Thebes, she such an important position in ancient built temples to the god Amon-Re. At the Egypt. For this reason, Hatshepsut had city of Beni Hasan, she built a rock-cut herself depicted in Egyptian art as hav- temple called Speos Artemidos. Howev- ing male qualities. While early portraits er, her greatest building project was the of Hatshepsut show her with a woman’s Dayr al-Bahrī temple. Constructed as a body and wearing women’s clothes, monument to Hatshepsut herself, the later portraits depict her with a man’s temple was dedicated to Amon-Re and body. While it may appear that Hatshep- included a group of chapels dedicated to sut was trying to fool her subjects into other Egyptian gods. believing she was actually a man, histo- Even though Hatshepsut took much rians say that by having herself depicted of her stepson’s power, she did not mis- as a man, she was simply indicating that treat him. “He wasn’t under house arrest she possessed the power traditionally for those 20-odd years,” explains Cath- held by men. “She was not pretending to arine Roehrig. “He was learning how be a man! She was not cross-dressing!” to be a very good soldier.” Eventually, insists Cathleen Keller, a professor of Hatshepsut allowed Thutmose III to play Near Eastern studies at the University of a larger role in ruling Egypt. California at Berkeley. Once Hatshepsut died in 1458 B.C.E., Historians are still not certain why Thutmose ruled Egypt for an addition- Hatshepsut chose to be ruler of Egypt al 33 years by himself. Near the end of or how she was able to convince fellow his reign, Thutmose tried to remove all Egyptians to accept her in this power- traces of Hatshepsut’s rule. Her name ful role. At first, historians thought that was erased from the official list of kings, Hatshepsut was merely greedy and hun- her monuments destroyed, and her gry for royal power. Early twentieth cen- statues pulled down. Some historians tury scholar William C. Hayes wrote that think Thutmose did this to demonstrate Hatshepsut was the “vilest [nastiest] that Egypt was ruled by Thutmose I, type of usurper [person who seizes the Thutmose II, and Thutmose III in suc- crown].” Once she became her stepson’s cession—without any interruptions. By regent, Hayes believed, “It was not long doing so, Thutmose III would make sure before this vain, ambitious, and unscru- that his son, Amenhotep II, would defi- pulous [without morals] woman showed nitely follow him as ruler. . . . her true colors.” Egyptologist Peter Dorman, in con- ther historians disagree. Some think trast, thinks Thutmose’s motives for Hatshepsut may have taken power be- wiping away the memory of his step- cause other members of the royal fam- mother’s rule has to do with ensuring ily may have wanted to steal the power male control of Egyptian government. away from her young stepson. As Catha- Hatshepsut’s legacy, Dorman thinks,
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was “best erased” in order to “prevent tory and determine the important role the possibility of another powerful fe- she played in ruling ancient Egypt. Al- male ever inserting herself into the long though archaeologists found Hatshep- line of Egyptian male kings.” Ultimately, sut’s tomb in 1903 C.E., it was empty. Her historians are not sure why Thutmose mummy was not found and identified tried to delete her from history. until 2007. It is now kept at the Egyptian For hundreds of years after her reign, Museum in Cairo, Egypt’s capital city. Hatshepsut remained largely unknown. Sadly, thousands of years later, this im- Then, in the early 1800s, once scholars portant and powerful leader largely re- had learned to read hieroglyphics, they mains a mystery. “She’s like an iceberg,” were able to decipher the inscriptions says Joyce Tyldesley, author of the book at Dayr al-Bahrī. At first archaeologists Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh. “On the were confused by pictures of a male surface we know quite a lot about her. ruler with a woman’s name. Eventually, But there’s so much we don’t know.” they were able to piece together her his-
Brought to you by Geography News Network. March 15, 2019. #326 .
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CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS PRACTICE
ACTIVITIES AND QUESTIONS Defining: What is a regent? Why did Hatshepsut serve in that role? Comparing and Contrasting: Compare and contrast the two views presented in the selection that attempt to explain why Hatshepsut chose to rule Egypt. Listing: What were some of Hatshepsut’s accomplishments as pharaoh? Analyzing Primary Sources: Author Joyce Tyldesley remarks that Hatshepsut is “like an iceberg.” What does she mean by this statement?
SOURCES https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hatshepsut https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hatshepsut https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-queen-who-would-be- king-130328511/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/hatshepsut_01.shtml https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/politics/woman-who-would-be-king
CLASSROOM RESOURCES https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/27/egypt.science https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/africa/egypt/luxor-tem- ple-of-hatshepsut-theban-necropolis/ https://www.pbs.org/video/to-the-contrary-womens-history-month-hatshepsut/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/women_01.shtml https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/history/egypt/hieroglyphics-uncovered/ https://www.si.edu/spotlight/ancient-egypt/mummies
Larry Marotta: Larry Marotta is a writer and editor with 20 years of experience in the K-12 educational publishing industry. He has extensive experience preparing educational materials for students with disabilities. He is also an active musician, composing and performing regularly. He enjoys reading, traveling, and drawing.
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