Hatshepsut – A woman with unprecedented power
Hatshepsut reigned in her own right from approximately 1473–58 BCE. She was the elder daughter of Thutmose I, the 18th-dynasty king, and his consort Queen Ahmose.
Notably, Hatshepsut was also the granddaughter of Pharaoh Ahmose I, who is celebrated for expelling the Hyksos from Egypt and restoring the rule to the Egyptians. This act reestablished Egypt’s national pride. Ahmose I wasn’t Hatshepsut’s only influential ancestor; she was also the great-granddaughter of Queen Aahotep. Hatshepsut took pride in her lineage and immortalized it on public buildings and monuments. Queen Aahotep’s history undoubtedly had a significant influence on Hatshepsut.
Hatshepsut married her half-brother, Thutmose II. They had one daughter, Neferure. Although the couple had no sons, Thutmose II fathered a son, Thutmose III, with a lesser consort named Isis. Thutmose III would later be known as the ‘Napoleon of Ancient Egypt’.
Hatshepsut’s rise to power began when Thutmose II died around 1479 BCE, leaving his infant son as the heir to the throne. With Thutmose III too young to rule, Hatshepsut acted as regent. After serving as a conventional regent for the first few years, by Thutmose III’s seventh regnal year, she ascended to the throne as Pharaoh. She adopted full royal titles and became a co-ruler with the young king, although Hatshepsut held the real power. Having a woman on the throne was a deviation from ma’at – the Ancient Egyptian concept of order. The Pharaoh had always been male, symbolizing the god Horus.
For Hatshepsut to establish legitimacy, she needed the endorsement of Amun-Ra, the king of the gods. In an inscription carved on the ‘Red Chapel’ at Karnak, built by Hatshepsut, she recorded that during a festival procession in the Luxor temple, Amun-Ra had prophesied her ascent to the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt through ‘a very great oracle.’ Scenes in the same chapel depicted Amun-Ra crowning her as king – an iconographic programme designed to confirm her legitimacy.
She also had carved into the chapel walls a scene of the god Amun and her mother together on the night of her conception. This served to further legitimize her reign and right to the throne.
To display her new authority, her formal portraits began to show her with a male body, wearing the traditional regalia of a kilt, crown or head-cloth, and a false beard. The public art of her reign systematically excluded Thutmose III from images of significant political symbolism, such as coronation scenes. However, when both co-regents were depicted together, Hatshepsut always took precedence.
Thutmose III on the left and Hatshepsut on the right, she wore the trappings of the greater role.
Her power base consisted of loyal officials, many handpicked by her, who held key positions in her government.
Hatshepsut’s reign was characterized by an explosion of artistic creativity. Ancient Egyptian traditional art was reinterpreted, and architecture showcased more originality, evident in her temple at Deir el-Bahri.
While the typical reign of an Egyptian Pharaoh was filled with military expeditions and conquests, Hatshepsut’s reign is chiefly known for its trade expeditions. Most notably, a seaborne trading expedition to Punt, a now-vanished trading center on the East African coast beyond the southernmost end of the Red Sea. Gold, ebony, animal skins, baboons, processed myrrh, and living myrrh trees were brought back to Egypt. The trees were planted in the gardens of Deir el-Bahri. She also developed ties with the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, introducing new resources and artistic motifs.
She was a prominent builder in one of the greatest Egyptian dynasties. She constructed and renovated temples and shrines from Sinai to Nubia.
She commissioned hundreds of statues of herself and preserved her genealogy, titles, history, and thoughts in stone. Her exploration and trade activities brought prosperity to her people, leading to a successful reign.
As her reign came to an end, Hatshepsut allowed Thutmose III to play an increasingly prominent role in state affairs. After her death, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for another 33 years.
After Hatshepsut’s death, almost all the images of her as Pharaoh were systematically chiseled off temples, monuments, and obelisks.
Bibliography:
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Hatshepsut — National Geographic Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2017, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/hatshepsut/brown-text/2
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