Queen Hatshepsut, born in 1504 BC, was one of the most powerful women (and one of the 12 female pharaohs) in ancient Egyptian history.Hatshepsut belonged to the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. She is known for being the fifth Egyptian pharaoh of the dynasty and also for being one of the first women to sit on the throne.When it comes to her name, it means ‘foremost of noblewomen’. It is estimated that she came to power in 1478 BC, and ruled Egypt for more than 20 years. Being the wife of Thutmose II (her half-brother), Hatshepsut started her reigning period as a regent to Thutmose III, because the latter was only a two-year-old when he inherited the throne. Apart from that, Hatshepsut’s lineage as a child of King Thutmose I also helped her in assuming power and becoming the second female pharaoh in the history of ancient Egypt, after Sobekneferu. When it comes to Hatshepsut’s family, she was married to Thutmose II, a son of King Thutmose I, and Mutnofet (the king’s secondary wife). In her entire life, Hatshepsut bore only one child, a daughter called Neferure.Thutmose III, however, was not the son of Pharaoh Hatshepsut. His parents were Thutmose II and Iset (a secondary wife of Thutmose II). He was the sole male heir of the family and came to power once Hatshepsut’s reign was over. Satiah, the daughter of Ipu, later became his royal wife.Interestingly, the 18th Dynasty of Egypt had another female pharaoh besides Hatsheput; she was called Nefertiti, which means ‘a beautiful woman has arrived’ in the Egyptian language. This article will tell you all about Queen Hatshepsut’s life and her accomplishments. We’ll also take a look at some of the myths and rumors that have circulated about her over the years. So sit back, relax, and learn all about this fascinating queen!Major Accomplishments Of Queen HatshepsutPharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt has a long list of accomplishments. In this section, we will be discussing some of them.Queen Hatshepsut was one of the most accomplished rulers of ancient Egypt. During her reign, Egypt prospered rapidly. She oversaw the construction of many impressive monuments and temples, including her own funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri, which was built around 1470 BC. She also sent a successful trading expedition to the land of Punt (modern-day Somalia), which brought back valuable goods and resources. Queen Hatshepsut was a true visionary, and she left a lasting legacy on Egyptian history.Hatshepsut is often considered to be one of the most successful pharaohs for the building projects that she undertook and completed during her reign. Under her watch, hundreds of construction works took place both in Lower and Higher Egypt.It is also believed that her construction projects were much grander than the ones done by her predecessors who belonged to the Middle Kingdom. That’s why over time, many Egyptian pharaohs tried to claim some of Hatshepsut’s construction works as their own. It is also said that architect Ineni, who had worked for Hatshepsut’s father, Thutmose I, also worked for her.When it comes to the production of statuary, then perhaps no other pharaohs can even come near Hatshepsut. It is said that the number of statuary produced during Hatshepsut’s reign is so great that almost every Egyptian museum or any other museum with ancient Egyptian artifacts around the globe contains at least one collection (or a few pieces) of her statuary. You can see them in the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.In addition to that, Hatshepsut is also known for constructing some of the greatest monuments found in the ancient world. The best examples can be found in the Karnak Temple. Along with restoring the precinct of the great Egyptian goddess Mut, she had also built two obelisks at the entrance of the temple. Back then these were the tallest monuments on the planet.After that, to celebrate her 16th year as a pharaoh, Hatshepsut also commissioned the construction of two more obelisks. One of them broke down during the construction period and is still in existence in Aswan (known as the Unfinished Obelisk).Another outstanding construction project that was completed under Hatshepsut’s watch was the Temple of Pakhet. The term was a combination of the names of two Egyptian goddesses: Sekhmet and Bast. When the Greeks found this temple during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, they were surprised by the similarities that this goddess had to one of their own goddesses, namely Artemis.Later, she also commissioned the construction of a mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. It was designed by Senenmut and is situated in western Thebes. At present, the site can be found neat the Valley of the Kings, a place chosen by the subsequent rulers for the construction of their mortuary temples to match Hatshepsut’s grandeur.Interestingly, given the social context of that time, the queen herself might have been a bit skeptical about her being the ruler of the empire. That’s why she used to dress like a male pharaoh and used to wear a false beard to portray herself as a man.Death And Burial Of Queen HatshepsutThis section of the article will be dedicated to the death and the burial of Queen Hatshepsut.Even though not much information related to the death and burial of the pharaoh has managed to survive to date (for Thutmose III tried over and over to erase Hatshepsut from the history of Egypt), we can infer from the existing evidence that the queen died on January 16, 1458 BC at the age of 50. This piece of information was recorded by ancient authors who mentioned that Hatshepsut served Egypt as a ruler for 21 years and nine months before passing away.It is said that Hatshepsut started building her own tomb while she was still the wife of Thutmose II (her half-brother). However, later, she might have thought that the latest tomb was not good enough for an Egyptian King (technically she was a king). So, after Hatshepsut assumed power, she decided to make another one and extended her father’s tomb, known as KV20, which was one of the royal tombs found in the Valley of the Kings. However, after the royal succession of Thutmose III, the mummy of Thutmose I was removed from KV20 and was placed into a new tomb called KV38. It is also believed that the new king also tried to remove Hatshepsut from KV20, for when Howard Carter cleared the tomb in 1903, he found two sarcophagi belonging to the pharaoh and her father Thutmose I. Apart from then, Carter also found a signet ring, a lioness throne, a senet game board, and a few other funerary furniture.Interestingly, a canopic box bearing the name of Hatshepsut was found in the Royal Mummy Cache (DB320); it contained a molar tooth and a mummified spleen or liver. It is believed that these belonged to pharaoh Hatshepsut, however, it is evident that there lived another royal lady of the same name in the 21st Dynasty.Trade & Business By Queen HatshepsutPharaoh Hatshepsut was an adroit businesswoman, and she oversaw many successful trade expeditions during her reign. One of her most famous trading missions was to the land of Punt. In this section, we will discuss in detail her contribution to the prosperity of ancient Egypt.During the Second Intermediate Period, when the Hyksos occupied Egypt, they destroyed most of the trade networks of the empire. It was only after Hatshepsut became the pharaoh of Egypt that all those trade routes were re-established. The most notable route of them, as is already mentioned, was the Land of Punt. It was established during the ninth year of Hatshepsut’s reign. The first expedition under her watch is said to have been undertaken by five ships. Each of them measured 70 ft (21 m) and carried a total of 210 men. In Punt, they bought many trade goods, mainly myrrh and frankincense.With the return of this delegation, the world saw some extraordinary things for the first time, like the transplantation of foreign trees and the use of resin. The sailors brought a total of 31 myrrh trees which the ruler decided to plant around her mortuary temple, and frankincense, which Hatshepsut used as kohl eyeliner. Later, this first expedition was commemorated by the pharaoh at Deir el-Bahari.After the first one, Hatshepsut also sent a few expeditions to the Sinai Peninsula and Byblos. However, not much is known about their outcome except for the fact that Hatshepsut maintained a peaceful foreign policy. However, it is also believed by some scholars that she might have run military campaigns against Canaan and Nubia.Mummification Of Queen HatshepsutQueen Hatshepsut’s body was mummified after her death, and she was buried in her tomb at Deir el-Bahri. Thutmose III, her nephew and successor, had Queen Hatshepsut’s name removed from all of her monuments and temples. In this section, we will discuss the mummy of Hatshepsut.In the year 1903, Carter cleared another tomb called KV60. There he found two female mummies, one of them belonged to one of the queen’s servants (possibly the wetnurse), the other one, however, remained unidentified for a long time. At last in 2007, Dr. Zahi Hawass recovered that body from the KV60 tomb and brought it to Cairo Egyptian Museum for running some tests.Interestingly, it was discovered that this unidentified mummy had a tooth missing, and the gap was perfectly filled by the molar tooth that had been found earlier in DB300. Hawass made the inference based on this evidence that the mummy possibly belonged to Hatshepsut. However, when other historians raised the point that this confusion could be solved by running a DNA test, Hawass and a few others refused as it was said that the act of collecting DNA from the tooth might destroy the artifact altogether.As a result of this unfinished business, scholars have been partially forced to assume that Hatshepsut’s death was caused by benzopyrene carcinogenic skin lotion. This product was found in possession of Hatshepsut and is said to have given her bone cancer. It is also assumed that some other members of the royal family also suffered from genetic inflammatory skin diseases. Thutmose I, Hatshepsut’s father, however, died from a chest wound that was caused by an arrow.The last line of thought led many historians in believing that if the unidentified mummy belonged to Hatshepsut, then it is possible that she might have poisoned herself while trying to treat her irritated skin. The mummy also led the experts to assume that the queen, while alive, might have suffered from bad teeth and arthritis.However, in the year 2011, another piece of evidence surfaced and cast doubt on this assumed identification. It was discovered that the molar tooth found in DB320 was a lower jaw molar, while the mummy found in KV60 was missing an upper jaw molar.
Queen Hatshepsut, born in 1504 BC, was one of the most powerful women (and one of the 12 female pharaohs) in ancient Egyptian history.
