Hatshepsut was born in the 18th Dynasty. This Dynasty is also
referred too as the New Kingdom. Hatshepsut entered this world as
the daughter of royal parents. Her father was Tuthmosis I and ruled
Egypt for approximately 12 to 14 years. Her mother was Ahmes. Ahmes
was the sister of Amenophris I (Pharaoh who ruled Egypt for 21
years). In addition to Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis I and Ahmes had a son.
They named him Anenemes. By birthright, Anenemes should have
inherited the throne as the son of Tuthmosis I and Ahmes; however,
he never became king. Hatshepsut, on the other hand, went on to rule
Egypt in later years for approximately 21 years. Hatshepsut ruled
Egypt between 1479-1458/57. She ruled in a time when women were
allowed to own property and to hold official positions. They were
given rights to inherit from deceased family members and were
allowed to present their cases in court. Women of Ancient Egypt had
more freedom then other ancient cultures such as Greece where women
were expected to stay home.
After the death of Hatshepsut’s father (Tuthmose I), her half
brother (Tuthmose II) succeeded the throne. As it was customary in
royal families, the oldest daughter of the pharaoh would marry a
brother to keep the royal blood lines intact. Therefore, Hatshepsut
married her half brother. Tuthmose II was the son of one of her
father’s lesser wives (Mutnofret); however, his reign would be short
and his life short-lived. It may have been that Tuthmose II died of
an illness and thus held the throne only for 14 years.
During their marriage, Hatshepsut and Tuthmose II were not able to
produce a male heir but rather had a daughter whom they named
Neferure. In later years, it appears that Neferure may have been
married to her half brother (Tuthmose III); much like her mother had
married a half brother in previous years. Tuthmose III was the son
of Tuthmose II (Hatshepsut’s husband) and one of his royal
concubines named Isis. This blood line made Tuthmose III a stepson
to Hatshepsut. Because Tuthmose III was very young when his father
died, Hatshepsut became a co-regent and ruled right along side the
young stepson. It appears that within the second or third year of
this co-regency reign, Hatshepsut proclaimed herself king with
complete titles. She would be known as Maatkare (Matt is the ka of
Ra) and also Khnemet-Amun-Hatshepsut (She who embraces Amun, the
foremost of women). After this proclamation, Tuthmosis III would no
longer reign as co-regent with Hatshepsut. In order to make
Hatshepsut’s proclamation to king more official and more accepting
to the Egyptian citizens, she invented a co-regency with her father
Tuthmosis I. She even went as far as incorporating this fabricated
co-regency into texts and representations. These were found
decorating her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. In addition, and
also to make things still more official, Hatshepsut dedicated a
chapel to her father in her mortuary temple. She hoped to acquire
more acceptance as the new ruler of Egypt by changing the beliefs of
her people.
Hatshepsut was a very unique and intelligent individual. She used
various strategies to legitimize her position as pharaoh. Not only
did she proclaim herself as pharaoh and fabricate a co-regency with
her father (Tuthmose I), but she also tried to make herself more
god-like by the invention of stories with the attachment to gods.
She did this by making it appear as if the gods had spoken to her
and her mother while in she was still in her mother’s womb.
Hatshepsut misled her subjects and the uneducated public by
indicating that Amon-Ra had visited her pregnant mother at the
temple in Deir el-Bahri in the Valley of the Kings.
Hatshepsut was unique because she took on several male adornments
while she ruled Egypt. Unlike most women of that time, she attached
a false beard, wore male clothing, and was depicted in statutes as a
pharaoh. She might have done this to make her transition to kingship
and the acceptance of the priesthood more convincing. It may be that
if she had ruled strictly with a more feminine-looking disposition
she may not have been so readily accepted by the masses. Her
strategy seemed to work and the priests supported her reign as
pharaoh.
There were many prominent figures during her reign but there appears
to be one person in particular who was probably foremost in her
circle. This prominent person was Senenmut who was born of a humble
family in Armant. He came to be known as Hatshepsut’s spokesman and
steward of the royal family. In addition, he was known as
superintendent of the buildings of the God Amun. During the later
years, Hatshepsut had obelisks installed in the Temple of Amon-Re at
Karnak. Senenmut supervised the transport and erection of these
obelisks as well as the mortuary temple that was built for
Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri.
It appears that he must have been very well favored by the Queen as
he had a separate tomb constructed close to Hatshepsut’s tomb for
himself. He had this second tomb dug out in front of Queen
Hatshepsut’s tomb in spite of owning another tomb at Sheikh Abd
el-Qurna. During Hatshepsut’s reign, gossip followed the pair as it
was suggested that his good fortune was due as a result of his
intimate relations with the Queen. To add to this deduction, it was
further fueled by the fact that he played a heavy role in the
education of Hatshepsut’s only daughter Neferure. His brother,
Senimen, also acted as nurse and steward to Neferure and this caused
more gossip to run rampant. Several statues were found associating
Senenmut with the Princess Neferure. History shows that Senenmut was
a prominent figure during three-fourths of Hatshepsut’s reign and
possibly after the death of Neferure (it appears that she died
around the 11th year of Hatshepsut’s reign), that he fell out of
graces with the queen for unknown reasons. Speculation has it that
he may have had some kind of alliance with Tuthmosis III
(Hatshepsut’s stepson) and this could have led to the demise of
their relationship.
History also shows that the construction of the famous temple of
Deir el-Bahri was most probably started by Tuthmose II and later
finished by Queen Hatshepsut. The walls of the temple depict major
achievements such as the expedition to Punt near the Red Sea. This
trading expedition brought back many riches for the country.
To this day, the death of Hatshepsut remains a mystery. It appears that she reigned for fifteen years and her stepson took the throne after her disappearance. It’s also believed that the hatred for his stepmother pushed him to erase the memory, existence, and any depictions of Queen Hatshepsut by destroying any monuments erected during her reign. She has now come to be known as having been the only female pharaoh to erect the most monuments during her reign.
