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.