All you need to know about

HATSHEPSUT
Principal Focus: Students gain an understanding of Hatshepsut in the context of her time.
Students learn about:
1 Historical context
geography, topography and resources of Egypt and its neighbours
historical overview of the early Eighteenth Dynasty
overview of the social, political, military and economic structures of the early New
Kingdom period
relationship of the king to Amun
overview of religious beliefs and practices of the early New Kingdom period
2 Background and rise to prominence
family background
claim to the throne and succession: Divine Birth and Coronation reliefs
political and religious roles of the king and queen in the Seventeenth Dynasty and
early Eighteenth Dynasty
marriage to Thutmose II
3 Career
titles and changes to her royal image over time
foreign policy: military campaigns and expedition to Punt
building program: Deir-el Bahri, Karnak, Beni Hasan (Speos Artemidos) and her
tombs
religious policy: devotion to Amun and promotion of other cults
relationship with the Amun priesthood, officials and nobles including Senenmut
relationship with Thutmose III; co-regency and later defacement of her monuments
4 Evaluation
impact and influence on her time
assessment of her life and reign
legacy
ancient and modern images and interpretations of Hatshepsut.

Hatshepsut is one of the most famous personalities of the ancient world. She was a woman in
a mans world who broke tradition by establishing herself as a pharaoh. She came to power at
a time when Egypt was perhaps at its greatest period of achievement of both internal and
foreign affairs.

Historical context
The fortunes of the dynasty were bound to the state cult of Amun re and a great program of
building works in honour of Amun was a focus of each pharaohs reign. The management of
resources and workforce needed for the products required efficiency from officials. Amuns
importance meant that his priesthood played a dominant role in the religious and secular
affairs of the state.
Hatshepsut found inspiration from previous rulers for her religious and building policies. Her
father was an important influence on her reign. She was mindful of the past but also looking
the future and wanting to stamp her influence on the new kingdom in Egypt through the
developing ideology of kingship and the theology of the state cult of Amun Re.
Early new kingdom Egyptian society was highly stratified and had a complex hierarchy
dominated by the pharaoh and his court. Women in Egyptian society got their status from the
men that they belonged to. They played the role of the wife and the mother. The highest
female was the kings great wife.
Egypts prosperity came from the production and distribution of grain as the staple of the
economy. The construction of temples as part of the building programs came from workers
from all ranks of society. Some of the most important people in the new kingdom belonged to
military or political groups. The military was responsible for the creation and maintenance of
the empire and benefited from high social rank. At the bottom of the ladder was the mass of
the population the unskilled workers who undertook labour as well as servants and slaves
who worked under masters.
Relationship of the king to amun
The king was both the political and religious head of state with the god amun as the chief
god. The king was the major sponsor of the development to promote the cult of Amun to the
position of state cult in order to create a unique relationship with the god known as the
ideology of kingship. This ideology meant that the pharaoh derived his right to rule from
Amun. Hatshepsut originated the concept of divine prophecies or oracles in which the god
made known his choice of pharaoh.
Another feature of the kings relationship to Amun was the warrior pharaoh image cultivated
by the king. Both the victory and spoils of war belonged to Amun as he was the direct
inspiration for them. The priesthood of Amun shared in the glory and wealth of the king. The
relationship between the king and the amun cult was an independent one. The king promoted
amun as the state cult and appointed the chief priest. The kings great royal wife played an

influential role in the priesthood as gods wife of Amun which was an important step in
Hatshepsuts rise to prominence.

Background and rise to prominence

Family Background
Hatshepsut was the third pharaoh of the Thutmosid dynasty that began with her father
Thutmose I. Her mother was his great royal wife Queen Ahmose. It has been suggested that
Ahmose was not of royal blood because the lacked the title kings daughter. Hatshepsut had
four siblings; three brothers and a sister, Thutmose II was a younger half brother.
Marriage to Thutmose II
During her fathers reign, Hatshepsut married her half brother Thutmose who became the
pharaoh Thutmose II when their father died. They had a daughter called Neferure. During her
husbands reign Hatshepsut was a conventional queen consort; her status was to be no more
than a traditional great royal wife. As Gods wife of Amun Hatshepsut played an important
role in the cult of Amun Re, this enabled her to gain the support necessary for her assumption
to the crown.
Claim to the throne and succession: Divine birth and coronation reliefs
Hatshepsuts claim to the throne and accession in its legitimacy has been a subject of debate.
It is one of the most controversial aspects of her reign. Some of the issues concern the
reliability of the coronation inscription and the legality and timing of her accession.
During the reign of Thutmose II she performed the traditional duties of the royal wife and
when Thutmose II died she became regent for the young king Thutmose II managing the
affairs of Egypt on his behalf until he was old enough to rule. The role of regent was one that
was undertaken by Egyptian queens. Between year 2 and yea r 7 Hatshepsut was crowned as
pharaoh and became a co regent with Thutmose III.
As a female pharaoh, Hatshepsut broke tradition where males were seen to be the rulers. The
divine birth and coronation inscriptions constituted a thematic cycle in which Hatshepsut set
out her claim to the throne.
Hatshepsuts divine birth involved the god Amun conceiving Hatshepsut where she was keen
to stress her religious claim as both the spiritual and physical daughter of the god. The scene
depicts the sexual union of Queen Ahmose and Amun (taking the form of Thutmose I) where
Hatshepsut was born and the royal crown being placed on her head.
The coronation inscription is a continuation of these scenes and gives detail of the revelation
of Hatshepsuts royal status and her coronation as pharaoh. Hatshepsut emphasised her
political right to the throne because her father Thutmose I chose her as his heir.

Hatshepsut took the step of crowning herself Pharaoh of Egypt. The issue was the legality
and timing of her accession to the throne. Hatshepsut would have needed support of key men
in the court in her bid to the throne. She was planning a move that violated convention. What
might have made her actions acceptable included;
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Her role as Gods wife of Amun she would have gained the support of the Amun
priesthood
Many had been supporters of her father so therefore they naturally supported her
Thutmose II her husband suffered from poor health so Hatshepsut had been involved
in affairs of government during his reign and would have gained a taste for power
As a regent to Thutmose II she was already managing the affairs of Egypt
The lack of evidence suggesting opposition to Hatshepsut means that she had
considerable support

Gardiner regards the accession of a woman to the throne is illegal in itself whilst Callender
argues that Hatshepsuts succession was unconstitutional both in its timing and the
unconventional nature of the co-regency. Redford suggests that she carefully planned her
move to the throne.

Political and religious roles of the king and queen in the seventeenth dynasty and early
eighteenth dynasty
Egyptian queens played an important role in the dynastic succession as either the mother or
consort of the reigning king. Queens had played an important role in the establishment and
consolidation of the new dynasty they proved to be significant role models for Hatshepsut.

Career
Titles and changes to her royal image over time
-

Kings daughter
Kings sister
Gods wife of amun
Kings great wife

Every pharaoh had five great names or titles. One of these names was the personal or birth
name. The four other royal names were given when they came to the throne most importantly
the throne name. The choice of name indicated the personal agenda the pharaoh wished to
implement during their reign. Hatshepsut was the first pharaoh to include the goddess Maat in
her throne name. Maat represent the concepts of truth, justice and integrity.
As well as royal titles, the royal image in statues and reliefs was presented by iconography.
Features included the royal headdress or crowns, false beard and kilt. The pharaoh was also
shown as the sphinx as both conqueror and protector of Egypt.

Hatshepsut knew the importance of image. A number of statues present her wearing male
clothing; it was assumed that she would cross dress to pass herself off as a male. Her
traditional queenly elements gave way to a more masculine depiction suggesting a change
from female to male features particularly in her statues.
Foreign policy: military campaigns and the expedition to punt
Wilson states that Hatshepsut recorded no military campaigns or conquests. Gardiner regards
her reign to be barren of any military enterprise. Hatshepsut pursued the traditional military
policy of a warrior pharaoh and conducted campaigns in Nubia and Syria. Some of these
were under the command of Thutmose II, her co regent. Hatshepsut depicted herself in full
warrior pharaoh regalia. In her statues and relief she is depicted as a sphinx a symbol of
military might.
Wilson compares the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III her pride was in the internal
development of Egypt, his pride was in external expansion and military enterprise
Trade was an important feature of Hatshepsuts foreign policy. The economy needed a boost
to enable it to bear the cost of the building projects in the financing of the restoration of old
temples and development of new temples. Her trading mission to punt became one of her
most celebrated achievements. The main purpose of the expedition was to attain exotic goods
that Egypt lacked. The main beneficiary of the expedition was Amun and the priesthood but
Hatshepsut knew that the expedition had political and economic value to Egypt.
Building program: Deir-el Bahri, Karnak, Beni Hasan and her tombs
In reign filled with traditional and innovative ideas, the building program was a way of
communicating these ideas to the people both from Hatshepsuts time and into the future. She
carried out a traditional building program including a temple at Dei El Bahri, additions to the
Karnak temple, a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, as well as the building of restoration of
temples to Amun Re and gods throughout Egypt. Many of the buildings incorporated new
architectural features which enabled Hatshepsut to demonstrate her originality and implement
her political and religious agenda.
Deir-el Bahri
Hatshepsuts mortuary temple is composed of three terraces linked by central ramps flanked
by a pair of colonnades. In the open court of the first terrace Hatshepsut created a garden for
her divine father Amun Re. On the walls Hatshepsut instructed artists to paint brightly
coloured scenes that depicted accomplishments of her career including her divine birth and
coronation, the expedition to punt and the transportation of her obelisks. At either end of the
middle colonnade are two chapels one dedicated to the goddess Hathor and the other to the
god of mummification Anubis. The mortuary temple was a completely different type of rock
cut temple, it admired numerous visitors such as Gardiner who states that even now there is
no nobler architectural achievement to be seen in the whole of Egypt.

The paintings on the colonnades at Deir El Bahri are regarded as selected highlights of
Hatshepsuts career. Roberts links the three terraces at Deir El Bahri as an expression of
three key aspects of the nature of Amun Re as defined by Hatshepsuts innovations. The three
aspects of Amun Re are ruler and king of the gods, solar and preserver god and creator god.
The three terraces show a progression from the earthly to the divine and represent the three
aspects of the god.
Karnak
Hatshepsut initiated an emphasis on building at Amun Res temple at Karnak where her
activities were prolific. She was keen to be an innovator allowing her religious and political
policies to inspire her construction. The temple of Karnak was a building that was originally
there before Hatshepsut came to power. She took interest in restoring it to put an emphasis on
the sun god Amun. The area of Karnak was one of the main focus points of her career, many
officials undertook the building process when Hatshepsut was not around.
Beni Hasan
An important building of Hatshepsuts was her temple at Beni Hasan in middle Egypt. The
temple was dedicated to Pakhet, the lioness goddess of the desert. Hatshepsut in dedicating
her temple to Pakhet was continuing her identification with Hathor that was prominent at
Deir El Bahri. Hathor in the form of Pakhet gives Hatshepsut the qualities she needed as
pharaoh of Egypt.
Hatshepsut appears to be the first of the 18th dynasty pharaohs to build in middle Egypt. Her
restoration of the temples in the area was needed as they had been neglected. This restoration
is recorded on the famous speos artemidos inscription located at the entrance of the temple.

Religious policy; devotion to Amun and promotions of other cults

Religion is an important aspect of Hatshepsuts reign. She pursued traditional religious
policies, displaying her devotion to the god amun as well as promoting the cults of other
gods. She used her building program to connect herself with Amun and other gods.
She made a significant contribution through religious innovations by focusing on the cult of
Amun re through public displays of devotion as well as developing new religious ideas. Jan
Assman sees Hatshepsuts reign as the starting point of the revolutionary changes that
occurred in the history of the new kingdom
Her innovations included;
The concept of Amun re
The establishment of the new kingdom brought the merging of the gods Amun and Re to
form a new god Amun re. He was the supreme deity of Egypt. Hatshepsut encouraged the

development of new theological ideas. Amun Re was identified as city god, ruler god,
primeval god, creator god and sun god.
Divine oracles
A new concept in the new kingdom was the emphasis on Amun re expressing his will through
an oracle which meant that gods could intervene in human affairs. The Egyptians were able to
consult with Amun re during festivals in relation to important matters.
Personal piety
The oracles indicated the special relationship between Amun re and the king and also
developed personal piety. By making his will known Amun could establish personal
relationships with the Egyptians. He was a god who expressed his will and instructed people
to display moral behaviour and personal integrity.
Ideology of kingship
Hatshepsut needed to stress her legitimacy of attaining kingship. It was unusual for a woman
to assume the throne at that time. She wanted to strengthen the relationship between herself
and Amun Re by developing the ideology of kingship.
Religious festivals
The development of festivals was a key feature of Hatshepsuts religious policy and served to
promote both herself and her policies. Two festivals the Opet and the beautiful festival of the
valley were first celebrated in Hatshepsuts reign. They provided the people with the
opportunity to participate in ritual and celebration.
The festival of Opet was the major festival in the new kingdom. It was a festival that
celebrated renew and rebirth.
Funerary innovations
Hatshepsut introduced innovations in funerary texts that were used throughout the new
kingdom.
-

Amduat (a royal funerary text recounting the journey of the pharaoh through the
underworld towards rebirth)
King as priest of the sun: a new text detailing the ritual performed by pharaohs to the
sun god
Litany of Re: a hymn of praise to Re
The Book of the Dead (a collection of spells used mostly by commoners)
Relationship with Amun priesthood and other officials

Members of the amun priesthood were supporters of Hatshepsuts claim to the throne. She
would have had to keep this support throughout her reign as well as find new supporters. As

Redford informs us Hatshepsut inherited some of her supporters from her fathers and
husbands administrators.
Senenmut was the most influential vizier that served Hatshepsut loyally and owed his
prominence to her. The Amun priesthood played an active role in supporting and initiating
many of the religious and political innovations of Hatshepsuts reign. Her development of the
theology of Amun and the building program increased the prestige and influence of the cult.
Some of Hatshepsuts officials and nobles included;
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Ineni (overseer)
Ahmose (soldier and treasurer)
Hapuseneb (vizier and first prophet of Amun and overseer of the temples)
User amun (vizier)
Thutiy (overseer)
Nehesi (chancellor)
Amenhotep (chief steward of the royal estates)
Inebni (kings son of kush)
Thutmose (treasurer)
Puemre (second prophet of amun)
Benya (engineer)

Relationship with Thutmose III; co regency and later defacement of her monuments
Throughout the co regency Hatshepsut was careful to show Thutmose III the respect he was
entitled to, even though she was the dominant pharaoh. She played an active role in the
political, religious and economic areas of government in Egypt.
Hatshepsut could have shared the throne with Thutmose III if he was prepared to accept the
co regency. Tyldesley informs us that Thutmose III was in a position to take the power but yet
made no move. He knew his succession was guaranteed however. It is claimed that he was
responsible for the attacks on Hatshepsuts statues, reliefs and monuments in an attempt to
deny her an afterlife. It was assumed that was venting his hatred that he had suppressed
during his reign.
Damage was done to Hatshepsuts name and images which were erased and replaced with
those Thutmose I, Thutmose II or Thutmose III. Thutmose III preferred to be linked with his
male ancestors rather than to a woman which Redford refers to as a political necessity.
It was thought that Hatshepsuts daughter Neferure died at a young age. There was debate
that she would marry her step brother Thutmose III as Hatshepsut had been grooming her to
be the successor.

Evaluation
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Impact and influence on her time

An influence is a modification, the effect or sway a person has on someone or something to
affect a course of events. The following issues determine Hatshepsuts influence on her time;
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The effect of her accession on Egypt

The changes she made to Egypt during her reign (new ideas, concepts and ideologies)
The way in which she built on traditions established by predecessors
The contribution she made to Egypts development

Her achievements in relation to the criteria of traditional pharaoh policy include;

-

The promotion of Amun re

Self promotion
Successful military campaigns
Maintaining prosperity in Egypt
Building programs
Ensuring the succession
Assessment of her life and reign

To assess means to make a judgement of value, quality or results. In assessing the life and
reign of Hatshepsut there are a range of issues including;
-

The legality of her succession

The relationship with Thutmose III and other officials during her reign
The success of her building, religious and administrative policies
The success of her foreign policy (military, trade)
The effectiveness as a new kingdom pharaoh
Legacy

Legacy is anything handed down by an ancestor or predecessor as a consequence. It can

include;
-

Physical traces a person leaves behind such as buildings, monuments, prescriptions

and reliefs erected during a pharaohs reign
The non physical traces such as ideas, concepts and traditions, ideologies and
institutions introduced, developed or sponsored by the pharaoh.

The legacy may be a result of conscious or unconscious actions. In Hatshepsuts time there
was an attempt to leave a mark on the period of her time. A legacy can be viewed in both its
short and long term impact.
Her legacy was an important contribution to the development of the new kingdom ideology
of kingship.
Ancient and modern images and interpretations of Hatshepsut

A variety of images of Hatshepsut came from her reign. She listed the achievements of her
reign in the speos artemidos inscription. Judgements of Hatshepsut came from later reigns
when pharaohs chose to remove her images and inscriptions and eliminate her name from the
king lists inscribed on the walls of the temples. Later pharaohs considered the reign of a
female pharaoh to be a mistake and by the 19th dynasty Hatshepsuts importance and image
had been damaged.
Modern representations reflect a range of changing perspectives. The debate has focused on
her gender and the extent to which she was an effective and legitimate ruler. A range of
modern interpretations of Hatshepsut include;
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A wicked step mother

An ambitious power seeker
A loyal daughter
An intelligent and competent ruler
A visionary and innovative pharaoh

Hatshepsuts place in history depends on the nature of remaining evidence and viewpoints of
historians. Her legacy has been reinterpreted that reflects contemporary interest in the
achievements of a woman in a mans world. Historians only wish to recount of what she has
done and write from different perspectives, asking new questions and reaching new
conclusions.

Quotes/evidence to remember....
As Hatshepsut stated... I have done this with a loving heart for my father Amun
As Breasted describes... Her form was like a god, she did everything as god, and her
splendour was like a god
As Breasted informs us... His son Thutmose III stood in his Thutmose IIs place as king of
the two lands, having become ruler upon the throne. His sister the divine consort Hatshepsut
settled the affairs of the two lands by reason of her plans (Hatshepsut as regent for Thutmose
III)
As Breasted informs us... Thutmose I said before them; This is my daughter, Hatshepsut I
have appointed her, she is my successor upon my throne, she will command the people in
every place of the palace, she will lead you, proclaim her world and unite under her
command (From the coronation inscription, Hatshepsuts succession to the throne)
As Gardiner states... Her ambition was by no means dormant, not many years had passed
before she took the step of assuming the double crown where she adorned a full male titulary

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As Redford informs us... Hatshepsut had a party to support her; her chief supporter was
Senenmut who throughout her reign was the power behind the throne
As Szafranski states... It should be made clear that the Deir El Bahri building is absolutely
unique. It is a creative transformation of the achievements of previous temple construction as
well as new solutions both architectural and decorative that were the basis of new kingdom
temples
As Gardiner describes... Even now there is no nobler architectural achievement to be seen
in the whole of Egypt than that of the mortuary temple at Deir El Bahri
As Tyldesley informs us... Hatshepsuts treatment of Thutmose III indicates she never
regarded his existence as a serious problem... she never attempted to establish a solo reign
and gave him all the respect due
As Tyldesley suggests... We shall probably never know what event precipitated Hatshepsut
into proclaiming herself king. It is of course possible that she had always wanted to seize
power and that she had been merely biding her time since the death of Thutmose II waiting
for the political opportunity to strike

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