It was a hot, dusty day in early , and Herbert Winlock was staring at a scene of brutal destruction that had all the hallmarks of a vicious personal attack.
Signs of desecration were everywhere; eyes had been gouged out, heads lopped off, the cobra-like symbol of royalty hacked from foreheads. What could this one have done to warrant such blasphemy? In the opinion of Winlock, and other Egyptologists of his generation, plenty. The statues were those of Hatshepsut, the sixth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, one of the few—and by far the most successful—women to rule Egypt as pharaoh.
Evidence of her remarkable reign c. The widowed queen of the pharaoh Thutmose II, she had, according to custom, been made regent after his death in c. But so much of what was written about Hatshepsut, I think, had to do with who the archaeologists were Hatshepsut was born at the dawn of a glorious age of Egyptian imperial power and prosperity, rightly called the New Kingdom. Her father, King Thutmose I, was a charismatic leader of legendary military exploits.
Hatshepsut, scholars surmise, may have come into the world about the time of his coronation, c. Hatshepsut seems to have idolized her father she would eventually have him reburied in the tomb she was having built for herself and would claim that soon after her birth he had named her successor to his throne, an act that scholars feel would have been highly unlikely.
There had been only two—possibly three—female pharaohs in the previous 1, years, and each had ascended to the throne only when there was no suitable male successor available.
Cleopatra would rule some 14 centuries later. Thus the son of a secondary wife, Mutnofret, was crowned Thutmose II. Historians have generally described Thutmose II as frail and ineffectual—just the sort of person a supposedly shrewish Hatshepsut could push around. Public monuments, however, depict a dutiful Hatshepsut standing appropriately behind her husband. But while she bore her husband a daughter, Neferure her only known child , Hatshepsut failed in the more important duty of producing a son.
Beginning in B. She served as queen alongside her husband, Thutmose II, but after his death, she claimed the role of pharaoh while acting as regent to her step-son, Thutmose III. She reigned peaceably, building temples and monuments, resulting in the flourishing of Egypt. After her death, Thutmose III erased her inscriptions and tried to eradicate her memory.
Hatshepsut was born circa B. The only child born to the Egyptian king Thutmose I by his principal wife and queen, Ahmose, Hatshepsut was expected to be queen. After the death of her father at age 12, Hatsheput married her half-brother Thutmose II, whose mother was a lesser wife — a common practice meant to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline.
During the reign of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut assumed the traditional role of queen and principal wife. Thutmose II died after a year reign, making Hatshepsut a widow before the age of Hatshepsut had no sons — only a daughter, Neferure — and the male heir was an infant, born to a concubine named Isis. Initially, Hatshepsut bore this role traditionally until, for reasons that are unclear, she claimed the role of pharaoh.
This was not an attempt to trick people into thinking she was male; rather, since there were no words or images to portray a woman with this status, it was a way of asserting her authority.
One of her most important advisors was Senenmut. Unlike other rulers in her dynasty, she was more interested in ensuring economic prosperity and building and restoring monuments throughout Egypt and Nubia than in conquering new lands. The successful campaign significantly enhanced her reputation and popularity. Hatshepsut did not banish Thutmose III, who technically served as her co-ruler, but she clearly overshadowed him.
Her year reign—15 as principal monarch—was a time of peace and prosperity for Egypt. She undertook grand building projects, including two pairs of imposing obelisks at Karnak and at her mortuary temple, Djeser-Djeseru.
Before his own death, Thutmose III moved to erase Hatshepsut from the historical record by defacing her monuments and removing her name from the list of kings. Statues of Osiris, god of the afterlife, were carved into portico pillars. A life-size statue showed her in the traditional attire of a pharaoh, making an offering to the gods—a role usually reserved for men.
When it came to the afterlife, religion was personal for Egyptians. By the Middle Kingdom — B. That is, if at a tribunal of the dead they earned a favorable judgment from Osiris, god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. Wealthy Egyptians lavished so much on funerary preparation because they believed it would ease their passage. Upon arrival in the netherworld, Egyptians believed, the heart of the deceased would be weighed on a balance against an ostrich plume.
If the scales balanced, the deceased would pass on to the fields of the blessed. If not, he or she would be consumed by the Eater of the Dead. All rights reserved. Culture Reference. Who was Hatshepsut? As a sphinx, Hatshepsut displays a lion's mane and a pharaoh's beard. Djeser-Djeseru, fit for a queen. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
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