“As a ruler, Hatshepsut inaugurated building projects that far outstripped those of her predecessors,” Bryan writes, noting that in conquered Nubia, she built monuments at a number of sites, including Qasr Ibrim, Semna, Faras and Buhen. (Image credit: Mirek Hejnicki Shutterstock) Building program The Temple of Hatshepsut in the Valley of Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Bryan notes that there was a “sudden increase in large decorated private tombs” at Luxor and Saqqara, and an inscription carved in her temple at Deir el-Bahari reads “he who shall do her homage shall live he who shall speak evil in blasphemy of her Majesty shall die.” In addition, Hatshepsut appears to have taken care to cultivate loyalty and obedience among officials. "Even though she was portrayed as a man in her, oftentimes they did give a nod to her female physique by making her waist narrower," she is quoted as saying in a LiveScience article. In addition, University of Toronto Professor Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner, whose team found a wooden statue at Abydos that may be of Hatshepsut, notes that her waist was depicted as being somewhat slimmer than her male counterparts. “Although for most of her reign Hatshepsut was depicted with the traditional image of a male king, the names that she used as king were formed with grammatically feminine participles, thus openly acknowledging her female status,” write Gay Robins in a 1999 article in "The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology." However, she did allow some feminine traits to come through.
Egyptian female pharaoh full#
She took on a full throne name, and statues were created depicting her as a male king, right down to the beard. She did this for three years until, for reasons unknown, she became a pharaoh in her own right (although technically a co-ruler with Thutmose III). He was, however, a child and unable to rule Egypt, leaving Hatshepsut to serve as regent. With the death of Thutmose II, the throne fell to Thutmose III, a step-son and nephew of Hatshepsut. She “appears during her mother’s reign officiating as ‘God’s Wife of Amun’.”writes Michael Rice in "Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt" (Routledge, 1999). In their personal life, the couple had a daughter named Neferure who would go on to assume royal duties. “The Egyptian army continued to quell uprisings in Nubia and brought about the final demise of the kingdom of Kush at Kerma,” writes Betsy Bryan in a section of "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt" (Oxford University Press, 2000). Like his predecessor, he fought in Nubia. In ancient Egypt, it was not unusual for royalty to marry within their family. Queen to Thutmose IIĪfter the death of her father, the Egyptian throne passed to Thutmose II, Hatshepsut’s half-brother and husband. “Underscoring her claim, one of the reliefs decorating Hatshepsut’s enormous funerary complex depicts Thutmose I crowning her daughter as king in the presence of the Egyptian gods,” write Helen Gardner and Fred Kleiner in "Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective" (Cengage, 2010). She also claimed that Thutmose I had named her as his successor before his death.
However, even if Nefertiti did not reign as a king, she undoubtedly remains one of ancient Egypt's most famous queens.After Hatshepsut became co-ruler of Egypt, she claimed to be of divine birth, the result of a union between her mother and the god Amun. This text indicates Nefertiti was alive late into her husband’s kingship and could have been in a position to succeed him. This inscription dates to Akhenaten’s regnal year 16, which was his second to last year on the throne. This theory was further supported in 2012 when the Leuven Archaeological Mission discovered a graffito at Deir el Bersha naming Nefertiti as Akhenaten’s chief queen. Early on, scholars suspected Nefertiti and Neferneferuaten were the same person because Nefertiti used the name Neferneferuaten when she was queen. However, consensus now holds that Neferneferuaten was not the same person as Smenkhkare and that she actually was a female pharaoh based on the feminine endings on some of her epithets and the feminine spelling of her prenomen. Confusingly, these two kings shared the same prenomen when Nefeneferuaten’s was abbreviated, which led scholars initially to believe they were the same person. Between Akhenaten’s last year on the throne and the time that Tutankhamun became pharaoh, we know two distinct kings briefly reigned under the names of Neferneferuaten and Smenkhkare. Many scholars suggest she even was one of Akhenaten’s successors and reigned under the name Neferneferuaten. Nefertiti may have maintained a position of influence even after her husband’s death.