Hatshepsut was the strongest and most successful female Egyptian pharaoh. She was born in the 18th Dynasty (the 15th century BC). She was the daughter of Tuthmose I and Queen Ahmose and was their second daughter. When her two younger brothers passed away Hatshepsut was in the position of getting the throne after her fathers death. But when Tuthmose I passed away his son with the commoner Moutnofrit, Thumose II, also half brother and husband to Hatshesput, took the throne instead.

Thumose II only ruled for a few years before he died - probably from a skin disease - and left the throne to his son Thumose III. Due to Thumose III's young age, Hatshepsut was allowed to reign as a queen.

But Hatshepsut was tired of other people taking the throne from her, and wouldn't let that happen again. She turned out to be a very strong-willed, charismatic queen and eventually managed to take control as the pharaoh. She ruled the empire from ca 1503 to 1480 BC.

This wasn't the easiest job. With propaganda and her strong political skills she managed to keep the throne. She tried to look as posed as a real king to reduce the fear of her people. She even dressed in the traditional clothes of male rulers. Montet (1964) stated the possibility that Hatshepsut staged the beginning struggles for women's rights and set the stage for many to follow her.

When Hatshepsut gave birth to her daughter, Princess Neferune, she wasn't just a queen and pharaoh over a big empire, but also a mother. All this required a lot of patience and devotion from her, and the people loved her, probably because she was able to open and increase trade expansion and keep a country at peace for the whole length of her time on the throne.

Today no one knows what happened to the mighty Hatshepsut. Some think she was poisoned by her bitter nephew, Thumose III, while others think that she left the country.

The forgotten Pharaoh...brilliant, defiant, and a woman..ruled Egypt for more than 20 years in it's Eighteenth Dynasty (c.1490 B.C.).


Hatchepsut was the daughter of Tuthmosis I and eventually married his son and her half-brother, Tuthmosis II. She then became a regent for the infant Tuthmosis III, whose mother was part of the harem of her own husband (Tuthmosis II). Approximately seven years in, Tuthmosis II died and Hatchepsut became pharoah, thus, the King of Egypt. It was here that she established herself as the female embodiment of a man, dressing in male clothing and wearing the traditional false beard.

Continuing to raise Tuthmosis III in the proper manner, allowing him to finish his pharaonic military education, and eventually ruling with him as co-regent, Hatchepsut's reign was characterized by "economic prosperity and extensive monument building." There was some evidence of military conquest on her behalf and many achievements in exploration and trade. Some scholars speculate her death was one of design by Tuthmosis III and others argue, it was natural. However, after seeing her funerary temple (http://www.alovelyworld.com/webegypt/htmgb/egy34.htm), one can only allow that Hatchepsut was highly regarded by some contemporaries; Built into the side of a cliff, it's touted as "one of the most remarkable monuments of Egyptian architecture."



Sources:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/566/13068
http://www.alovelyworld.com/webegypt/htmgb/egy34.htm
http://hallworldhistory.com/africa/199.shtml

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