Hatshepsut | Biography, History, Reign, & Facts

Highlights of Hatshepsut :

Biography:

The Princess

Hatshepsut was a princess of Egypt at birth. Thutmose I, the Pharaoh, was her father. She was raised alongside her sister and two brothers in Egypt’s grand royal courts. Hatshepsut’s siblings and brothers tragically passed away while they were little. She was now an only child.

Thutmose I was concerned about who would rule Egypt when he passed away because he lacked a son to take the throne. One of Hatshepsut’s stepbrothers was chosen to be the heir. Suddenly, things start to go strange. In an effort to maintain the purity of the royal dynasty, Hatshepsut wed her stepbrother. Although it seems incredibly bizarre to us today, Egyptian aristocracy did this frequently.

A Queen

Shortly after Hatshepsut wed and her husband was crowned pharaoh Thutmose II, Hatshepsut’s father passed away. At this point, Hatshepsut ruled Egypt. But Thutmose II was a sickly man. He only held power for a short time before passing away. Hatshepsut had started to play a more active role in leading the nation at this point. However, Egypt had a problem. Thutmose II and Hatshepsut had no son. What would Egypt do in the absence of a ruler?

Regent

Thutmose III, a little boy who was Hatshepsut’s nephew, was the only male heir to the throne. At an early age, he was proclaimed the future pharaoh of Egypt, but Hatshepsut was appointed regent. For him, she would run the nation.

Becoming Pharaoh

Hatshepsut was a capable and wise ruler. In the government, she had some staunch supporters. She made the decision to become pharaoh after serving as regent for a while. She gave herself the throne of Egypt. She assumed leadership of the nation.

Governing Egypt

Hatshepsut was a talented and astute ruler. As a woman pharaoh, she had to be able to hold onto power for 20 years. She built up commercial ties with numerous foreign nations rather than start a conflict. She made Egypt wealthy through trade. She ruled during a peaceful and prosperous period.

Building

By erecting several structures and monuments across Egypt, Hatshepsut was able to maintain her position of authority. At these locations, she had several statues of herself. In this way, the populace kept considering her to be their pharaoh and leader.

Her mortuary temple at Djeser-Djeseru is one of her most well-known structures. One of the greatest works of Egyptian architecture is this temple. It represented a significant shift in Egyptian architecture and was comparable to the classical style that the Greeks would create about a thousand years later.

Dressing like a Pharaoh

Hatshepsut started dressing like a pharaoh so that people would recognize her as the ruler. She donned a cobra-adorned pharaoh’s headpiece. She mimicked what the males were wearing down to the false beard and short kilt.

Death

Hatshepsut passed away after 22 years in power. Although the cause of her death is unknown, it could have been cancer. Then Thutmose III assumed complete control as Pharaoh on his own. Later on, he would be regarded as a great Pharaoh in his own right.

Hatshepsut Facts That Are Interesting

“Foremost of Noble Ladies” is the meaning of the name Hatshepsut.

Due to the previous pharaoh’s lack of a son, her father Thutmose I—who had previously served as a general—became pharaoh.

The majority of the statues and references to Hatshepsut, according to archaeologists, were demolished by Thutmose III.

She asserted that she was the god Amun’s daughter in order to gain the throne.

Thutmose III, her nephew, was dubbed the “Napoleon of Egypt” for using war to enlarge the Egyptian Empire.