Anyone who has taken a world history class or is familiar with the history of ancient Egypt would be familiar with the name Hatshepsut. However like most ancient history there are great stories behind great names. With Hatshepsut came a shocking story, the pharaoh was a woman ruling the country as a man. In the article from April 2009’s National Geographic, writer Chip Brown dives in to the mysteries and tales surrounding Egypt’s she-king. In 1903 Howard Carter discovered the empty tomb of this puzzling king in the Valley of the Kings. Just two years ago her body was discovered. Forty rooms over in the Valley of the Kings Hatshepsut’s body lay in a small unimportant tomb, unclothed and with no treasures like the other kings had. She had been
spending eternity with nothing, forgotten.
Strange that her tomb was so forgotten when we look at all the enhancements Hatshepsut made to the new kingdom during her reign. Beautiful temples and shrines were erected during her time and yet when her tomb was discovered she was left with nothing. Hatshepsut’s rise to power was an interesting one. After marrying her half-brother Thutmose II her husband became ill and died of a heart disease leaving Hatshepsut to assume the throne. Her reign was unlike any other queen’s regency as she began to perform kingly duties like making offerings to the gods. In a few years Hatshepsut assumed the position of king and ruled a lengthy twenty-one years. Many people still question her motives. It is also important to know that Hatshepsut was a true blood heir as a pharaoh while her step-son, Thutmose III, was not. But why was she king, not queen? It certainly took prudence to get over this obstacle but Hatshepsut preferred the title of God’s Wife of Amun. Even as a woman king her statues and shrines were not completely feminine. She had many statues erected with her standing in an open stance symbolizing her kingship. After a while she gave up on feminism all together portraying herself fully as a male with traditional pharaoh headdresses. After a long prosperous rule Hatshepsut died in 1458 B.C. leaving her step-son to rule as a warrior and military champion. As he was a great ruler to follow Hatshepsut you wouldn’t expect that after his reign he decided to wipe out his stepmother from history.
Chip Brown interviewed an archaeologist named Zahi Hawass who was one of men on the mission to locate the body of the she-king. Hawass was sure when they discovered the body that it couldn’t be her but sure enough there was the king herself. With much mishap as to who she was and how she got there, in previous decades much was happening with her discovery. Even in the years when no one knew who this lady on the chamber floor was, but no one could just leave her their either. No mummy deserves to go unclaimed or without a coffin for that matter. After all the work that Thutmose III must have made to destroy the image of his step-mother it seems crazy to think his doings lasted this long anyway.
When I thought I knew the story of Hatshepsut I was certainly mistaking. Behind one pharaoh lies so much history. All the events that led up to her magnificent reign then all the centuries of history after that led historians today to discover her body. Her great reign is just a taste of the time she has impacted. When you think of the time period and consider the leap of faith it must of taken to do such a thing as rule as the first female king I consider Hatshepsut a regular heroine. To step up to the throne in her country’s time of need after the death of her pharaoh husband is a great task and Hatshepsut did it with compassion. All the buildings, statues and temples erected during her reign and then consider the beautiful obelisk mounted in her honor that defies the ruins of Karnak by one hundred meters. It all sounds great until we look at this from her step-son Thutmose III point of view. Imagine your father dies and soon you believe you would become king like it has been for centuries. But to your dismay you find out you are not the biological heir. In your place you expect a man that you could butt heads with to certify your place as rightful king but instead in the throne sits your own step-mother claiming herself as king of Egypt. When I look at it from another point of view I begin to understand the reasoning that Thutmose III had for wiping his step-mother off the face of the earth. All the anger that must have built up in him in her twenty-one years of reign, no wonder he was a great military leader.
Even as her story still unfolds it is hard to say whose side to take in the matter. Do we side with the first she-king who changed the face of Egypt forever, or do we sympathize with the battered step-son of the reigning king. It is certain though that this is one of the most thought provoking articles on the ancient times I have read. Brown’s description of the king herself dives right into the dirty details of her limestone smell and hairless head, and to think that over three thousand years ago she was a living breathing woman king.
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I think this article just goes to show how women’s rights or lack of rights date back to the beginning of time. Discrimination of women is something that unfortunately all societies have gone through and will probably always deal with. Yet it is surprising in a time when women had almost zero rights that they would let a woman rule, not only as a queen and a figurehead, but eventually as a full pharaoh without restrictions. Yet even when Hatshepsut acted exactly like a pharaoh she was still given a inadequate burial for someone who was supposed to be the leader of Egypt.
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing that Hatshepsut was able to maintain such a firm grip on her Egyptian kingdom. Even though she was discarded as if she were garbage upon her death, she was certainly a respected figure in her life. It is great to see a that she was accepted assuming that her inadequate burial was due to her stepson, and not the demand of the people.
ReplyDeleteI love learning new things about Egypt and other ancient cultures; someone always seems to come across new facts. I hope that there is never a day in which all there is to know about Egypt is known.