About 1500 BCE Hatshepsut declared herself a Pharaoh and became the personification of the legitimate monarchy. She ruled Egypt for 25 years. She was the only surviving daughter of Pharaoh Tuthmosis I, and his royal wife. She was married to her half brother, Tuthmosis II which made her Queen. Royal sibling custonarily married each other to preserve the linage and to keep the Kingdon from falling into the hands of non-royals.
When Tuthmosis I died, Tuthmosis II became king, Hatshepsut became Queen. She took a back seat as was the custom and allowed her brother/husband to rule. The royal couple had two daughters and the King had a son by a commoner. The King died when his only son, who was half royal, was about 10. Again, a royal marriage took place and the half royal Tuthmosis III was married to the royal daughter who bcame Queen. At this point, Hatsepsut was again denied the power to rule and she became the Queen Mother and Co-regent of the boy Pharaoh.
At age 20, Hatshepsut appeared to submit to the boy King. As the Co-regent, she had some power but not as much as she wanted. One day, Hatshepsut seized power without bloodshed and became the first female Pharaoh. She believed that she was entitled to the throne by blood since she was full royal and the boy king was only half.
To make sure that history would give an account of her reign, she commissioned two oblisks to be erected in her honor. They were transported from Aswan to the capitol at Thebes which was a great engineering accomplishment. The oblisks were 150 feet high and covered in gold and silver.
During the reign of the first female Pharaoh, many temples were erected and many of the existing ones were re-done. She continued many of her father's projects and established foreign trade, inproved the economy, strengthen defenses, and established a magnificant standing army. During her reigh, she led her army in four successful campaigns.
Her greatest accomplishments were in trade, art, and architecture. Her nephew/son, became her heir upon the death of her daughter. Tuthmosis III who was only half royal, was given full power upon her death. It is not clear why the daughter died. Some think she died of natural causes and some believed that Tuthmoses III was responsible.
According to James Breasted, Queen Hatshepsut was the "...first great woman in history...."
Posted By: Thomasena Martin-Johnson
Saturday, October 9th 2010 at 7:04PM
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