Within the society of ancient Egypt, having a good Pharaoh was considered to be absolutely vital for the functioning of the country; and it was for this reason that Egypt had been ruled by these supposedly half gods half humans for over three thousand years. The position of the Pharaoh was auspiciously passed down through the royal family and traditionally to the eldest son when his father died. Hatshepsut was a significant individual who thwarted this convention by depicting herself as a male so that after her husband/brother Thutmosis II died suddenly she could become Pharaoh instead of the rightful successor, who was Thutmosis III. Because of the male-governed society of which she had lived in, Hatshepsut had to indeed subvert the …show more content…
This inequality extended further to who could hold positions of power. Apart from the two most distinctly famous female Pharaohs Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, most other known monarchs of ancient Egypt were male. Furthermore, Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh of ancient Egypt while Hatshepsut ruled more than a millennium before her. The fact that even today, the term ‘Pharaoh’ normally has connotations with being male is suggestive that Egypt was essentially a male dominated country where a position of such high power was distinctly reserved for men. According to the highly acclaimed National Geographic journalist Chip Brown (2009), “kingship was meant to be passed down from father to son, not daughter”. From this it is evident that Pharaonic power was strictly reserved for men and thus that Hatshepsut would have subverted the patriarchal order to some extent for her to rule Egypt.
Through the propaganda she used and hoodwinking of the general populace into believing that she was a man when she was quite obviously a woman, Hatshepsut was able to subvert the patriarchal order to become Pharaoh of Egypt in 1473 BC. By becoming the monarch, Hatshepsut forfeited her representation as a beautiful woman and instead “chose to be represented as a man in both statues and illustrations on temple walls” (Thomas, 2003, p. 9). In doing this she shifted the predominantly male-based system into one that accepted her as a female ruler. An ancient
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I, the ruler of Egypt at the time. Hatshepsut’s brother and sisters had died, so her step-brother, Thutmose II was proclaimed pharaoh of Egypt by her father. She had to marry Thutmose II, the purpose of this being to keep the royal blood pure. Thutmose II, however ruled for a mere 2 years before dying, and since Hatshepsut did not yet have a son with Thutmose II she had to give the role to her nephew, Thutmose III.
The conceptions of Hatshepsut have been altered over time due to a wide range of archalogical site interpretations, and modern historians. These ideas of a prosperous image must also take into consideration the legacy she is determined in leaving behind. Some of these renditions include her transformation into a pharaoh and how her own propaganda can create the image she is so determined in leaving behind; to be viewed for both past and present. Hatshepsut’s own interpretation of herself are highly important to understand her motivation and ambitions. Not all views of Hatshepsut’s life can be seen in a positive light, as many modern historians have documented a power struggle with Thutmose the 3rd. This negative connotation can be demonstrated
Hatshepsut was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh who used powerful pieces of art and architecture to justify her reign. Most Ancient Egyptians did not agree with her rule because she was a woman so she had to act fast in order to secure her position and to be seen as a valid ruler. At first, Hatshepsut as a co-ruler on behalf of her stepson, Tuthmosis, until he was old enough to assume the role of pharaoh. She astounded everyone by claiming the title of pharaoh for herself. She was only the third female ruler in 3,000 years. In order to persuade the Egyptian people of her legitimacy and her royal lineage, she used propaganda to make her seem as genuine as possible. She made sure that all depictions of her resembled that of a male instead of a
For over 22 years, the most powerful man in all of ancient Egypt was, in fact, a woman. That woman was Pharaoh Hatshepsut, one of the first female pharaohs in Egypt’s long history. During her reign she built great monuments both in Egypt and Nubia. Egypt also thrived while she ruled, proving that she was a strong and powerful leader even though she was a woman instead of a man. Hatshepsut was an amazing woman who had some incredible accomplishments.
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty her throne name was "Maatkare", which means “the truth in the soul of the sun”. The new kingdom consists of dynasty 18th, 19th and the 20th. Hatshepsut ruled in the 18th dynasty and she was one of the few female pharaohs in Egypt. She was a member of the Thutmosid line of kings of the early new Kingdome with her father being Thutmose the first who married into the family to become pharaoh (wasn’t royal blood). Hatshepsut married her half-brother Thutmose the second who was named pharaoh. Marrying Hatshepsut (the daughter of the king) confirmed his right to rule despite the fact that his mother was not of royal blood and neither was his father originally.
In my point of view, I feel that Hatshepsut made the right decision of crowning herself king. There were many reasons why I support this idea. One reason was because Hatshepsut husband Thutmose ||| had died and the person who was supposed to be king was Hatshepsut’s son who was a bit too young to be a king of a country. Also, since her son was too young Hatshepsut had made herself qualified and worthy of being the king of a country. In the text it said that since Hatshepsut’s husband had died too early it was traditional to have her son become the next pharaoh. But the problem was that he was too young to become the next pharaoh of Egypt. The text states “ Unfortunately, after a short reign of three years, Thutmose ll died, and his son by
Hatshepsut was said to be born in 1507 BC. Her name means foremost of noble ladies. She was the 5th pharaoh of Egypt and the second historically confirmed female pharaoh. Hatshepsut started ruling Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she was just there to help thutmose III who was the heir to the throne at just two years old. She was the only child of thutmose I and his primary wife. Her husband, Thutmose II, was thutmose I's son from a secondary wife who is thought to be the primary wife’s daughter. Some people say that hatshepsut was “the first great woman in history”
Hatshepsut and her sister Nefrubity were daughters of Thutmose the 1st. As young and very beautiful women, Nefrubity married King Solomon and Hatshepsut wedded her brother, Thutmose the 2nd. After only a short amount of time, Hatshepsut became a widow and Egypt was without a pharaoh for seven years. Finally, Hatshepsut decided to make herself queen. I admire her courage when she did this, knowing how hard it could be to rule. But later on, she discovered she was the one who needed to take charge.
Kara Cooney’s book The Woman Who Would Be King, Cooney follows Hatshepsuts life from childhood to after her death. Hatshepsut was the daughter to the pharaoh Thutmose I, later becoming wife to Thutmose II. Hatshepsut is famous for being Egypt’s second female pharaoh. Hatshepsut used religious idealologies and portrayed herself as male to maintain her position of pharaoh. Years after her death images of Hatshepsut as pharaoh were destroyed by Thutmose III. Cooney uses speculation to both build her biography of Hatshepsut and challenge the fact that it is society’s nature to be drawn to the flaws of a female in power.
Yes, I believe a woman could be a successful pharaoh. Why? Back in Ancient Egypt most women were considered equal to men, they worked at the peasantry carrying out agricultural work alongside their husbands and sons. While the upper class women worked as perfume-makers or in courts and temples dancing and entertaining guests, and noblewomen could be members of the priesthood linked to either a god or goddess. Even though there was equality in this period of time women could not exercise all powers of a king particularly those of high priest of Egypt. Hatshepsut was one of the several women pharaohs to rule Egypt and probably the most successful woman pharaoh. With not having the same power as men would have, during her reign Hatshepsut depicted
Hatshepsut is another Egyptian god which can be classified as a hero she believed that joy and happiness were legitimate goals of life and regarded home and family as the major source of delight.” Because of this belief, women enjoyed a higher respect in Egypt than in many other cultures of the ancient world. While the man was considered the head of the house, the woman was head of the home. She raised the children of both sexes until, at the age of four or five, boys were taken under the care and protection of their fathers to learn their profession (or attend school if the father’s profession was that of a scribe). Girls remained under the care of their mothers, learning how to run a household, until they were
In the ancient history of Egypt, Hatshepsut had been a controversial figure. She was born in the New Kingdom at around 1500 BCE. She was the fifth pharaoh in the 18th dynasty and her reign lasted for about 20 years, making her the longest reigning female pharaoh in the ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and Ahmose. She was married to Thutmose II, whom they had the same father. There were generally two theories: Old Egyptologists in 1920’s who believed Hatshepsut was evil and power hungry, while the Modern Egyptologists disagreed with many concepts of the Old Egyptologists. However, neither of these theories are wholly true. It is more logical to conclude that Hatshepsut ascended the throne
They did this by either having her face on a sculpture, writing certain inscriptions, and using female body parts to make people identify Hatshepsut as a female pharaoh. The Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut’s composition is very important because it contains a nemes headdress, a fake beard, and the uraeus which signifies a pharaoh, yet this is the first time in Egyptian history where a woman’s face appeared on a sphinx. Another important part of The
A long time ago, women didn’t have much say in the social or political. In Egypt however, women were given more freedom than other women in other civilizations. It was normally king ship but there were very little queens who had authority as a pharaoh and the most successful and famous female pharaoh was Hatshepsut. She was the eldest of two sisters, daughter of Thutmose I and his wife Ames was the queen of Egypt, she married her half-brother, Thutmose II, at the age of 12. Thutmose II took the throne in 1492 B.C. but died about 13 years later (1479 B.C.). After her husband’s death, Hatshepsut acted as regent for her son, Thutmose III until he came of age. Thutmose III’s parents were Thutmose II and Iset, Thutmose’s secondary wife but Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter together called Neferure. In 1473 B.C. after 7 years Hatshepsut stepped up to the title and full power of Pharaoh. When Thutmose III came of age, he became co-ruler of Egypt with her for 22 years. During her reign Hatshepsut extended Egyptian trade, made building projects, restored old temples, fought for her place and launched the Punt expedition.
Queen Hatshepsut (meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies) is considered one of the most successful Egyptian pharaohs. History remembers her as the fifth pharaoh of XVIII dynasty. She was the daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmes. Pharaoh had a son, Thutmose II with Mutnefert, sister of Queen Ahmes, this has been strengthened position at the beginning of his ruler