Hatshepsut biography timeline info

Hatshepsut's Rise to Power

Hatshepsut was the elder of two kids born to Thutmose I sit his queen, Ahmes. After attendant father’s death, 12-year-old Hatshepsut became queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother Thutmose II, the son of her divine and one of his subsidiary wives, who inherited his father’s throne around 1492 B.C.

They had one daughter, Neferure. Thutmose II died young, around 1479 B.C., and the throne went to his infant son, further born to a secondary mate. According to custom, Hatshepsut began acting as Thutmose III’s prince, handling affairs of state while her stepson came of age.

After less than seven time, however, Hatshepsut took the new step of assuming the give a ring and full powers of out pharaoh herself, becoming co-ruler matching Egypt with Thutmose III. Despite the fact that past Egyptologists held that confront was merely the queen’s bull`s-eye that drove her, more contemporary scholars have suggested that blue blood the gentry move might have been unfair to a political crisis, specified as a threat from alternative branch of the royal descendants, and that Hatshepsut may possess been acting to save influence throne for her stepson.

Hatshepsut as Pharaoh

Knowing that her power grab was highly controversial, Hatshepsut fought make a victim of defend its legitimacy, pointing alongside her royal lineage and claiming that her father had allotted her his successor.

She sought after to reinvent her image, deed in statues and paintings be frightened of that time, she ordered walk she be portrayed as skilful male pharaoh, with a hair and large muscles. In another images, however, she appeared birth traditional female regalia.

Hatshepsut enclosed herself with supporters in muffled positions in government, including Senenmut, her chief minister. Some suppress suggested Senenmut might also take been Hatshepsut’s lover, but around evidence exists to support that claim.

As pharaoh, Hatshepsut undertook energetic building projects, particularly in primacy area around Thebes.

Her set achievement was the enormous cenotaph temple at Deir el-Bahri, advised one of the architectural wonders of ancient Egypt. Another big achievement of her reign was a trading expedition she academic that brought back vast riches–including ivory, ebony, gold, leopard skins and incense–to Egypt from splendid distant land known as Gamble (possibly modern-day Eritrea).

Hatshepsut's Death talented Legacy

Hatshepsut probably died kids 1458 B.C., when she would have been in her mid-40s.

She was buried in blue blood the gentry Valley of the Kings (also home to Tutankhhamum), located effort the hills behind Deir el-Bahri. In another effort to acquit her reign, she had time out father’s sarcophagus reburied in afflict tomb so they could immerse together in death. Thutmose Triad went on to rule portend 30 more years, proving nominate be both an ambitious designer like his stepmother and systematic great warrior.

Late in wreath reign, Thutmose III had apparently all of the evidence custom Hatshepsut’s rule—including the images make out her as king on interpretation temples and monuments she difficult built—eradicated, possibly to erase disgruntlement example as a powerful feminine ruler, or to close position gap in the dynasty’s limit of male succession.

As out consequence, scholars of ancient Empire knew little of Hatshepsut’s universe until 1822, when they were able to decode and peruse the hieroglyphics on the walls of Deir el-Bahri.

In 1903, depiction British archeologist Howard Carter observed Hatshepsut’s sarcophagus (one of couple that she had prepared) however it was empty, like almost all of the tombs imprint the Valley of the Kings.

After launching a new analyze in 2005, a team designate archaeologists discovered her mummy heritage 2007; it is now housed in the Egyptian Museum slope Cairo. A life-size statue be snapped up a seated Hatshepsut that refugee her stepson’s destruction is thoughts display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.

Citation Information

Article Title

Hatshepsut

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/hatshepsut

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 2, 2023

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009