Queen Hatshepsut

Summary

The mystery behind the rule and death of Queen Hatshepsut, it was believed that Queen Hatshepsut dressed as a man to gain support of the Egyptians. During her reign she created wealth for Egypt by trading goods and oversaw building projects. Her reign was peaceful without war and was considered very successful. Upon Hatshepsut death, her successor Thutmose III removed as many remnants of her rule as possible by defacing monuments and removing her name from the kings’ lists.

The theories were she was killed by Thutmose III, accidently committed suicide or died of natural causes. Her remains were not identified until 2007, although British Howard Carter had discovered the remains in 1902 in Egypt’s Valley of Kings. Queen hatshepsut Queen Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose and Aahmes, was one of the few female pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. There were other female pharaohs previously, but none had the unprecedented impact she had during her reign. She gained her title as the 5th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, her reign was approximately 21 years. Hatshepsut, the elder daughter of the 18th-dynasty king Thutmose I and his consort Ahmose, was married to her half brother Thutmose II, son of the lady Mutnofret. Since three of Mutnofret's older sons had died prematurely, Thutmose II inherited his father's throne about 1492, with Hatshepsut as his consort. Hatshepsut bore one daughter, Neferure, but no son. When her husband died about 1479, the throne passed to his son Thutmose III, born to Isis, a lesser harem queen.

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As Thutmose III was an infant, Hatshepsut acted as regent for the young king”. For the first few years of ther stepson’s reign, Hatshepsut has acted as guardian performing pharaoh-like duties on Thutmose III’s behalf. After performing the duties for approximately seven years she was crowned king and received full royal duties as a pharaoh. Hatshepsut and Thutmose III became co-rulers of Egypt, with Hatshepsut viewed as the dominant king. She assumed all of the royal privileges and symbols of a King, even dressed in similar attire s a male. During her reign “established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty”. While creating the trade network she created wealth for Egypt Hatshepsut was also a builder. She was responsible for restoring and building as a part of her royal duties the most noted was the Dayr al-bar temple her funeral monument. She led construction projects throughout Upper and Lower Egypt.

Her reign was illustrious and peaceful “…Egyptian kings defended their land against the enemies who lurked at Egypt’s borders. Hatshepsut’s reign was essentially a peaceful one, and her foreign policy was based on trade rather than war.”. Towards the end of her reign, she started to give Thutmose III more royal power as king. She mysteriously died some believe that she died of natural causes. “But in 2007, Egyptian authorities announced that Hatshepsut’s mummy had turned up in a nearby tomb. A CT scan revealed that she had died in her 50s of bone cancer and also suffered from diabetes and arthritis. (4) A vile filled with a poison and lotion was also discovered with the remains of Hatshepsut authorities believed she may have accidently committed suicide. I believe, Thutmose III poisoned her the only way he knew how with her lotion. Hatshepsut was very smart and intelligent she knew she could not trust Thutmose III because he was jealous. Thutmose III was so jealous with the idea a mere woman who had kept him from the throne of Egypt for years that he tried to destroy her most famous accomplishments. He had her beautiful temple at Deir el Bahri smashed and destroyed.

As hard as Thutmose III tried, he could not erase her memory from Egypt. Hatshepsut had ruled as a powerful pharaoh for twenty-one years, had added much wealth to the treasuries of Egypt and had not allowed it to diminish under her rule. During her reign Egypt prospered, economic problems were few and trade flourished. Hatshepsut’s ascended to power defined Ancient Egypt’s conventions, proving she was worthy to be called one of the great pharaohs of Egypt.

References

1. Hatshepsut (ruler of Egypt) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. (n. d. ). Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/256896/Hatshepsut
2. Hatshepsut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n. d. ). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 13, 2012, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hatshepsut Staff. (2011, September 19).
3. Did Skin Cream Kill Egypt’s Queen Hatshepsut? History. com ” History Made Every Day American & World History. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://www. history. com/news/2011/08/19/did-skin-cream-kill-egypts-queen-hatshepsut/

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