Hatshepsut/Maatkare (1491-1479)


Figure 1.--This is a 19th century drawing copy a bas-relief found in Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahari mortuary temple showing her parents, Pharaoh Thutmose I with his first wife, Queen Ahmes/Ahmose. Thutmose is wearing the shenti and Ahmes/Ahmose a transparent tunic. Thutmose and Queen Ahmose had two daughters Hatshepsut and Neferubity/Nefrubity. The child here is Neferubity. Her cartouche is in the lower right-hand corner. She is naked, but wears decorative necklaces and bracelets. Notice the flowes in her hair and how her hair is done. The image shows that nakedness in ancient Egypt was not only the condition of slaves and low-condition people, but also the normal condition of high class children and even of the kids of the royal family. We are not sure why only one daughter is pictured here, especially the more important daughter. The inference is that she died as a child. She may have been the royal couple's first child.

Hatshepsut's father was Tuthmosis I, a powerful pharaoh. Her mother was Ahmes/Ahmose,, a sister of Amenophris I--another powerful pharaoh. Thus her bloodlines were the bluest of the blue, very important in Pharonic Egypt. She had a sister named Neferubity/Nefrubity, but virtually nothing is known about her. The general assumption is that she died as a child. She may have been the royal couple's first child. After the death of her father, her half-brother (Tuthmose II) succeeded to the throne. Some sources describe Tuthmose II and Hatshepsut as co-regents. This is difficult to assess because Tuthmosis III would later destroy so many of the records. As it was the tradition in Egyptian royal families, the oldest daughter of the pharaoh would marry a brother to avoid non-royal marriages. This kept the keep the royal blood intact. The future European expedient of marrying foreign royals was not practiced in Egypt. Tuthmose II was the son of Mutnofret, one of her father’s lesser wives. Tuthmose II seems to have died of a hear-attack or other illness. Thus his reign was relatively short, about 14 years. Thutmose II was succeeded by his sister Hatshepsut. It appears that she emerged as a force even before he died because he was sick. Almost all Egyptian rulers were men. There were, however, a few women pharoahs. Hatshepsut was the most important of the female pharoahs. Her importance emerged because not only was Thutmose II apparently sick, but his bloodlines were not as strong as his half-sister. Hatshepsut and Tuthmose II did not produce a male heir, but a daughter whom they named Neferure. Neferure may have married her half-brother, the future Thutmose III. Hatshepsut was the chief wife or queen of Thutmose II, but apparently not the mother of Thutmose III. [Aldred, p. 39.] Tuthmose III was the son of Tuthmose II and probably with a royal concubines named Isis. Tuthmose III was thus a stepson to Hatshepsut whose bloodlines were not as pure as her's were, but as a male was in line to inherit the throne. Tuthmose III was, however, still very young when his father died. Hatshepsut who may have been ruling as a co-regent while her husband was stiil alive, became a co-regent and ruled with her stepson. After a few years of the co-gengency, Hatshepsut appears to have proclaimed herself pharoah in her own right. She did not harm her step-son, but did move him out of the way. Her dynastic name was Maatkare. Matt in Egyptian is the ka of Ra. She was also known as the Khnemet-Amun-Hatshepsut--She who embraces Amun, the foremost of women. After this proclamation, Tuthmosis III would have no longer reigned as co-regent with Hatshepsut, but he was still very young. Hatshepsut in an effort to mase her proclamation more in line with Egyptian traditions, she justfied it as a co-regency with her father Tuthmosis I. Texts and representations decorating her unique mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in western Thebes atest to this. Hatshepsut also took on male adornments to substabntiate her authority while she ruled Egypt. Hatshepsut had many achievements. There were some military successes early, but she is best remembered as a pharaoh who began a long peaceful and prosperous era. She moved to rebuild the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation (Second Intermediate Period). This was a major factor in building the wealth of the 18th dynasty. She also inituiate many building projects. Hatshepsut died as she was approaching middle age. As she left only a daughter. her step-son suceeded her as pharoah. Thutmose III became one of the most important pharaohs in Egyptian history. Apparently he came to dislike the idea that his father's wife ruled as pharaoh. About 20 years after her death, Thutmose III ordered that her name and image be obliterated on temples and public places throughout Egypt.

Sources

Aldred, Cyril. Akhenaten: Pharaoh of Egypt--A New Study (McGraw-Hill: New York, 1968), 272p.






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Created: 12:25 AM 7/12/2011
Last updated: 12:25 AM 7/12/2011