Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt between 1503 to 1480 B.C. She was born into the 18th Dynasty of the Egyptian royalty as the daughter of the Pharaoh Tuthmosis1 and Queen Ahmes. Her lineage is also traced, on the maternal side, to the powerful pharaoh Amenophres.
Queen Hatshepsut ruled over the mighty Egyptian kingdom in an age when the position accorded to women was far superior in Egypt than in several other civilizations. During the long years of her reign, Queen Hatshepsut proved herself worthy of the title bestowed upon her and ruled as a responsible and successful monarch.
As per royal customs, she married her half-brother, Tuthmose II. Tuthmose ruled for a very short period of about, 14 years. After the death of Tuthmose II, Tuthmose III, Hatshepsuts stepson, ascended the throne of Egypt. However, due to the young age of Tuthmose, Queen Hatshepsut became the co-regent.
Two to three years into this arrangement Queen Hatshepsut assumed all the powers herself and declared herself Pharaoh. She invented a co-regency with her father Tuthmosis I. As the ruler of Egypt, Hatshepsut also adopted several other titles; the most notable, among them, were Maatkare (Matt is the ka of Ra) and Khnemet-Amun-Hatshepsut.
Queen Hatshepsut was a very receptive individual. She could well discern the questions raised about the legitimacy of her ascendance to the position of Pharaoh. In order to consolidate her position, she saw to it that the co-regency arrangement that made her the real ruler of Egypt, found itself documented into various texts and even significant institutes like the Temple of Deir el-Bahri.
Despite the fact, that Egypt in these days was a far liberal society, for women, than others, there is archeological evidence, which suggests that Queen Hatshepsut adopted 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.
Queen Hatshepsut might have done this to make her transition to kingship and the acceptance of the priesthood more convincing. Perhaps, she would not have found as much favor as she did with the masses, had it not been for this move of hers. The Queens strategy seemed to have worked and the priests supported her reign as pharaoh.
Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a good administrator, and has been credited with having encouraged commerce. In 1493 B.C., she sent an expedition to the land of Punt, near present day Somalia. The expedition returned with huge quantities of myrrh, fragrant ointments, resins, ebony and ivory.
This expedition to Punt has been extolled as a mark of Queen Hatshepsuts interest in peace and the welfare of her people. Much information about her reign may be gathered from the murals on the walls of the Temple of Deir el-Bahri, whose completion she personally looked into after the death of her father.
Queens/hatshepsut
