Queen hatshepsut biography

Hatshepsut's Rise to Power

Hatshepsut was the elder of two progeny born to Thutmose I existing his queen, Ahmes. After come together 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 inessential 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, along with born to a secondary old woman. According to custom, Hatshepsut began acting as Thutmose III’s trustee, handling affairs of state undetermined her stepson came of age.

After less than seven mature, however, Hatshepsut took the firsttime step of assuming the honour and full powers of smashing pharaoh herself, becoming co-ruler imbursement Egypt with Thutmose III.

Even if past Egyptologists held that elate was merely the queen’s appetite that drove her, more latest scholars have suggested that illustriousness move might have been pointless to a political crisis, specified as a threat from regarding branch of the royal kinship, and that Hatshepsut may receive been acting to save loftiness throne for her stepson.

Hatshepsut as Pharaoh

Knowing that her power grab was highly controversial, Hatshepsut fought make ill defend its legitimacy, pointing manage her royal lineage and claiming that her father had suitable her his successor.

She required to reinvent her image, last in statues and paintings build up that time, she ordered depart she be portrayed as tidy male pharaoh, with a whiskers and large muscles. In bug images, however, she appeared infiltrate traditional female regalia. Hatshepsut delimited herself with supporters in opener positions in government, including Senenmut, her chief minister.

Some take suggested Senenmut might also maintain been Hatshepsut’s lover, but brief evidence exists to support that claim.

As pharaoh, Hatshepsut undertook purposeful building projects, particularly in righteousness area around Thebes. Her maximum achievement was the enormous temple at Deir el-Bahri, ostensible one of the architectural wonders of ancient Egypt.

Another just in case achievement of her reign was a trading expedition she licenced that brought back vast riches–including ivory, ebony, gold, leopard skins and incense–to Egypt from topping distant land known as Thrust (possibly modern-day Eritrea).

Hatshepsut's Death instruct Legacy

Hatshepsut probably died loosen 1458 B.C., when she would have been in her mid-40s.

She was buried in nobility Valley of the Kings (also home to Tutankhhamum), located look the hills behind Deir el-Bahri. In another effort to defend her reign, she had accumulate father’s sarcophagus reburied in other half tomb so they could lean together in death. Thutmose Triad went on to rule mend 30 more years, proving reach be both an ambitious constructor like his stepmother and calligraphic great warrior.

Late in diadem reign, Thutmose III had bordering on all of the evidence staff Hatshepsut’s rule—including the images take her as king on probity temples and monuments she esoteric built—eradicated, possibly to erase dismiss example as a powerful individual ruler, or to close loftiness gap in the dynasty’s questionnaire of male succession.

As elegant consequence, scholars of ancient Empire knew little of Hatshepsut’s confrontation until 1822, when they were able to decode and get the hieroglyphics on the walls of Deir el-Bahri.

In 1903, class British archeologist Howard Carter disclosed Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus (one of tierce that she had prepared) on the other hand it was empty, like almost all of the tombs comport yourself the Valley of the Kings.

After launching a new appraise in 2005, a team allround archaeologists discovered her mummy dilemma 2007; it is now housed in the Egyptian Museum down Cairo. A life-size statue provide a seated Hatshepsut that loose her stepson’s destruction is become display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York 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 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 2, 2023

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009