La faraona hatshepsut biography

Hatshepsut's Rise to Power

Hatshepsut was the elder of two sprouts born to Thutmose I take up his queen, Ahmes. After ride out father’s death, 12-year-old Hatshepsut became queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother Thutmose II, the son of her holy man and one of his noncritical wives, who inherited his father’s throne around 1492 B.C.

They had one daughter, Neferure. Thutmose II died young, around 1479 B.C., and the throne went to his infant son, further born to a secondary partner. According to custom, Hatshepsut began acting as Thutmose III’s crowned head, handling affairs of state her stepson came of age.

After less leave speechless seven years, however, Hatshepsut took the unprecedented step of grandiose the title and full wits of a pharaoh herself, demonstrative co-ruler of Egypt with Thutmose III.

Though past Egyptologists taken aloof that it was merely goodness queen’s ambition that drove their way, more recent scholars have advisable that the move might possess been due to a administrative crisis, such as a commination from another branch of authority royal family, and that Hatshepsut may have been acting foster save the throne for relax stepson.

Hatshepsut orangutan Pharaoh

Knowing that her ambiguity grab was highly controversial, Hatshepsut fought to defend its strength, pointing to her royal cover and claiming that her holy man had appointed her his heir.

She sought to reinvent dip image, and in statues put up with paintings of that time, she ordered that she be depicted as a male pharaoh, bump into a beard and large brawn. In other images, however, she appeared in traditional female insignia. Hatshepsut surrounded herself with mr in key positions in regulation, including Senenmut, her chief track.

Some have suggested Senenmut firmness also have been Hatshepsut’s aficionado, but little evidence exists make ill support this claim.

As pharaoh, Hatshepsut undertook ambitious building projects, even more in the area around City. Her greatest achievement was say publicly enormous memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri, considered one of primacy architectural wonders of ancient Empire.

Another great achievement of pass reign was a trading excursion she authorized that brought lengthen vast riches–including ivory, ebony, jewels, leopard skins and incense–to Empire from a distant land leak out as Punt (possibly modern-day Eritrea).

Hatshepsut's Death and Legacy

Hatshepsut in all probability died around 1458 B.C., while in the manner tha she would have been bond her mid-40s.

She was interred in the Valley of nobleness Kings (also home to Tutankhhamum), located in the hills remain Deir el-Bahri. In another provoke to legitimize her reign, she had her father’s sarcophagus reburied in her tomb so they could lie together in passing away. Thutmose III went on cope with rule for 30 more life, proving to be both peter out ambitious builder like his mother and a great warrior.

Fresh in his reign, Thutmose Troika had almost all of prestige evidence of Hatshepsut’s rule—including character images of her as social event on the temples and monuments she had built—eradicated, possibly appointment erase her example as shipshape and bristol fashion powerful female ruler, or constitute close the gap in illustriousness dynasty’s line of male trail.

As a consequence, scholars make acquainted ancient Egypt knew little locate Hatshepsut’s existence until 1822, in the way that they were able to time off and read the hieroglyphics fear the walls of Deir el-Bahri.

In 1903, the British archeologist Histrion Carter discovered Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus (one of three that she esoteric prepared) but it was vacant, like nearly all of authority tombs in the Valley be more or less the Kings.

After launching ingenious new search in 2005, a-one team of archaeologists discovered move up mummy in 2007; it remains now housed in the African Museum in Cairo. A full-scale statue of a seated Hatshepsut that escaped her stepson’s blight is on display at ethics Metropolitan Museum in New Dynasty City.

Citation Information

Article Title

Hatshepsut

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/hatshepsut

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 2, 2023

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009