queen

Voltaire said it best...
"Every man is the creature of the age in which he lives; very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time".
This is a woman who had indeed rose above
the ideas of the times."

Her co-regent was her step son Thutmosis III. Great Royal Wife and God's Wife of Amun.

Sometime after her death he ordered the destruction of all references made to her. He even had her colossal obelisk (330tons) hidden behind a wall of sandstone and left only the tip of the gold plate exposed. An inscription on the base says that it was built in 7 months... an astonishing feat for our young Queen.

Her reign would be one of awesome architecture, artistry and restorer of Ancient Temples. She was the 3rd Queen to rule, but she also was the first woman to rule alone as a Pharaoh! She is shown above with the Pharaonic beard.

She was the daughter of Thutmosis I and Queen Ahmose. At fourteen years old her father died. She ruled from 1479-1458 B.C. This was determined by the third-century B.C. historian, Manetho. We know her death occurred in 1458 B.C., Manetho calculated that she reigned for twenty one years and nine months, which implies that she became pharaoh around 1479 B.C.

She was the fifth ruler of the eighteenth dynasty and the first woman to rule Egypt alone as a Pharaoh.

She also held another title of, "God's Wife of Amun "as was apparently her Grandmother, who was the first of the "God's Wife". "Even though men had a close relationship with this particular God, there seems to be a cult of woman who were even closer"...One depiction in Thebes, the God Amun and one of his wives are in quite a unique position. They are embraced in each others arms with their bodies pressed together. He has his foot between her legs.

Photo taken by Dora

It is said that she was a peaceful Queen. She had brought peace and there are no indications of conflict recorded during her reign except for a little sibling rivalry, or was there? Now it seems that our Queen had married her half brother Thutmosis II who apparently was weak, frail and a bit of a wet noodle. But he did manage to impregnate one of his harem girls and she gave birth to a son, Thutmosis III. When the boy was six his father died. Too young to rule Egypt alone, Hatshepsut seizes the opportunity to gain the throne of Egypt.

After some time had lasped and she had been co-ruling for about two years, she has enough of a following to declare herself Pharaoh of Egypt. She completely ignores ThutmosisIII 's right to the throne. Technically she could not rule as Pharaoh. This is where the title of "God's Wife of Amun" comes in handy. She has depictions made of herself showing that the god Amun is having intercourse with her mother on the night of Hatshepsut's conception. One story goes; "One night Amun takes on the form of King and finds the Queen sleeping in her room. When the pleasant odours announce his presence, she awakes. He gives her his heart and shows himself in all his godlike splendor. As he approaches the Queen, she weeps for joy at his strength and beauty. And he gives her his love!"...Divine lineage is the key to divine approval.

All in all, Hatshepsut proved to be entitled to be called Pharaoh.

Found this on photobucket.

Hatshepsut before Horus implying her elevation toward kingship

Pic by Dora

On the walls of her temple, Hatshepsut describes how Thuthmose I made her his heir:

Then his majesty said to them: "This daughter of mine, Khnumetamun Hatshepsut - may she live! - I have appointed as my successor upon my throne...she shall direct the people in every sphere of the palace; it is she indeed who shall lead you. Obey her words, unite yourselves at her command." The royal nobles, the dignitaries, and the leaders of the people heard this proclamation of the promotion of his daughter, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ma'at-ka-Ra - may she live eternally!

To cover up her female gender or maybe even to confuse people, she is often depicted as flat chested, wearing king's clothing and wearing the Pharaonic beard. It is written that the poor scribes were in a quandary as what they should refer to her as, "she" or "he".

Another scribe wrote, "Egypt was in submission... for she was a dictator excellent of plans." Her main priority was restoring Egypt to it's former glory and wealth.

Expedition to Punt

She would set forth a precedent in her 9th year of reign. Hatshepsut re-established the tradenetworks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty. She sent out trading missions to the wondrous land of Punt.They sailed the Red Sea, five huge cargo ships that landed on the shores of Punt. Each measuring 70 feet long with over 200 men onboard. The Captain's and their crews would receive a warm welcome by the Prince and his wife. The Egyptians invited them to partake of banquet held for them of "bread, beer, wine, meat, fruits, and all good things of Egypt." When the festivities were over the bartering began. And what a trade off. They traded for rings, beads, and " all kinds of beautiful plants,...heaps of live myrrh trees carefully bagged, ebony, ivory, gold, costly woods, incense, eye cosmetics, apes, monkeys, grey hounds and leopard skins..." and I assume there was much more for it is said that the cargo ships were fully loaded. The return of the ships was an occasion for Hatshepsut to turn to her more feminine side. For it is also said "her limbs fragrant as the dew of the God's...with ointments and myrrh." Now we know she was an outstanding woman of power. Someone who left a legacy to women who followed in her footsteps for wanting more for Egypt than bloodshed.

Prince of Punt and his wife

One of the wall reliefs related to the Punt expedition.

Punt was a legendary land, previously known as the "Land of the God", as mentioned in the "Book of the Dead".

"The Lands of the Gods see thee, they could write [concerning thee]; the Deserts of Punt could count thee."

After the death of Hatshepsut, trade continued with Punt during the 18^th dynasty by "Thotmos III", "Amon-Hotep III", and "Horemheb". Puntite officials were even depicted in wall reliefs of the temple of "Ramses II" at Abydos. The last king known to record a trading expedition to Punt was "Ramses III" during the early 20^th dynasty.

Interesting to note here; apparently no one knows the exact location of this mysterious land. According to an article on Tour Egypt;

"The actual location of the Land of Punt is still mysterious. As the trip was assumed to have been heading through the Nile then southward through the Red sea, most historians believe it lies at the western African coast near what is today Somalia or Ethiopia. Such assumption is based upon the African features of the queen of Punt (at el-Deir el-Bahary temple) and the ornaments around her legs. The location was described as a sand coast with heights covered by ebony and incense trees. Upon its return, the expedition has bought back ivory, silver and gold too. Giraffes, which are purely African animals, and monkeys were shown to live there."

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On to her more feminine side. As for all of the woman I write about, they have husbands or lovers, Hatshepsut was no exception. From what I can make of it, Senenmut was her lover, who held over 80 titles including, "Companion and Chief Steward",Overseer of the Works, Overseer of the Fields, Overseer of the Double Gold House, Overseer of the Gardens of Amun, Controller of Works, Overseer of the Administrative Office of the Mansion, Conductor of Festivals, Overseer of the Cattle of Amun, Steward of the King's Daughter Neferura, Chief of the King, Magnate of the Tens of Upper and Lower Egypt, Chief of the Mansion of the Red Crown, Privy Councilor, Chief Steward of Amun, Overseer of the Double Granary of Amun and Hereditary Prince and Count.. He was apparently her favorite and assumed a position of great power and supervised the obelisks, the triple terrace funerary Temple at Deir el Bahari also known as "Djeser Djeseru", "Most Holy of Holies" or "Splendor of Splendors" which is being restored today with ancient techniques. He also supervised the restoring of the Ancient Temples. One inscription that Senemut himself left behind;

"Companion greatly beloved, Keeper of the Palace, Keeper of the Heart of the King, making content the Lady of Both Lands, making all things come to pass for the Spirit of Her Majesty."

I believe the two of them became secret lovers and brought about a daughter, Princess Neferure (�The Beauty of Re� ) of whom he tutored.

As Hatshepsut took on the role of pharaoh, so Neferure took on the role of queen in public life. Many depictions of her in these roles exist. She was given the titles Lady of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mistress of the Lands, and God's Wife of Amun. The latter title being one that Hatshepsut had to abandon upon becoming pharaoh. These offices had to be filled by a royal woman in order to fulfill the religious and ceremonial duties, normally of the queen, in the government and the temples. Scenes showing Neferure on Hatshepsut's "Red Chapel" in the Karnak temple depicts her fulfilling the rituals required of God's Wife of Amun.

Among the authorities of Senemut was the "Overseer of Private Chambers", including the queen�s own bedroom and bathroom.

Look at the picture below and notice how he is not just balancing Neferure, he is embracing her. Some believe other wise. I believe that Hatshepsut could not stand her husband, so why would she want to bear his children? In one book I read, it is written that he was "mentally flaccid".

Several statues at Cairo Museum show him with the princess. One of which shows her sitting on his lap with his chin touching her head. The princess is shown with a ponytail and her finger in her mouth. Another statue shows him hiding the princess with his arms and knees, and another statue at Chicago Museum show Senenmut standing, while the princess was seated on his arm, and touching his shoulder. Moreover, the tomb of Senenmut�s parents show his mother with a scarab ring given to her by Hathor, and among her furniture was a sarcophagus bearing the name of the princess.

This statue depicts Senenmut on a high, four sided base. His legs are crossed. He holds Princess Neferure in his lap. A column of hieroglyphs is inscribed along the hem of Senenmut's skirt. It reads, "Chief Steward of the princess Neferure, Senenmut".

Senenmut was the most powerful and loyal man in her court, who was a descendant of a family known to be loyal to the Thotmosid house. He was born to literate provincial parents, Ramose and Hatnofer. Senenmut is known to have had 3 brothers, Amenemhet, Minhotep and Pairy, and 2 sisters, Ahhotep and Nofrethor. However, only Minhotep is named outside chapel TT71 and tomb TT353 in an inventory on the lid of a chest found in the burial chamber of Ramose and Hatnofer. More information is known about Senenmut than many other non-royal Egyptians because the joint tomb of his parents were discovered intact by the Metropolitan Museum in the mid-1930's and preserved, the construction of which Senemut supervised himself. Christine Meyer has offered compelling evidence to show that Senenmut was a bachelor for his entire life: for instance, Senenmut is portrayed alone with his parents in the funerary stelae of his tombs; he was depicted alone, rather than with a wife, in the vignette of Chapter 110 from the Book of the Dead in tomb 353 and, finally, it was one of Senenmut's own brothers, and not one of his sons, who was charged with the execution of Senenmut's funerary rites.

When Ramose died he was a man aged 50-60 (based on the dental evidence). Hatnofer was an elderly lady, with grey or even white hair.They are believed to have been born at Armant, a town only ten miles south of Thebes within Upper Egypt presumably during the reign of Ahmose I.

Senenmut became a talented architecture, and has left his fingerprints at her mortuary temple. The Louvre Museum in Paris displays his statue carrying his architectural tools.

So many statues of Senenmut were built by Hatshepsut at Thebes and Karnak. His name was also inscribed with the queen�s at the Temple of Hathor in el-Deir el-Bahary. However, the most unusual privilege was his figure that he depicted in small niches of this temple, which were hidden behind the doors. Once the doors were closed at night, his figures would appear worshipping her and Amon in the darkness of the temple, an act that no other architect in history has ever dared to do. He was also permitted an unprecedented honor, which was his burial within the courtyard of the queen�s temple. In this tomb, her images were depicted everywhere, with Senenmut in a worshipping position. A cartouche of "Maat-Ka-Ra" (Hatshepsut) was also placed over the symbol of gold.

An unfinished tomb above el-Deir el-Bahary was found with some graffiti. One of these shows a drawing of Senenmut, and on another wall there is a sketch showing a female Pharaoh in passive submission to a male figure. It was unverified if this was a contemporary comment on their relationship, a later satire, or simply a fantasy.

Suddenly in the 16^th regal year of Hatshepsut, Senenmut was replaced two officials, a vizier (prime minister) and an overseer of the royal palace. It is uncertain whether he resigned after the death of "Nefru-Ra" or was deposed. Few months later, he disappeared from all documents, and it is not confirmed if he died naturally, or was assassinated by "Thotmose III" associates. From then onwards, "Thotmose III" started to acquire more authorities. In either case, Senenmut was buried in dignifying necessary for a noble who and his family have served the Thosmosid House since Queen "Ahmose", Hatshepsut�s mother. "

Apparently there were two tombs he built for himself. I have found a few pics from the Tour Egypt site. But for an indepth research, info and pics, click below. This will open a new window. It's amazing.

TT71

TT35

Photobucket