Theories of the Disappearance of Quenn Hatshepsut - Essay Example

They named him Tuthmosis II who was named heir. The reign of Queen Hatshepsut was one that was intriguing. There are many mysteries that surround her reign in power. It is suspected that her nephew, Thutmose the Third, overtook his inheritance when he was young to become a king. Further accomplishments of the queen were cut short by her disappearance under mysterious circumstances. This was after rising to power, and her nephew immediately took reign and control of the throne. It has been for long speculated that he assassinated her to take control of the throne.

This paper is a brief summary of the theories that try to explain her mysterious disappearance. The Evil Stepmother Theory There are many speculations as to why her name was removed from all records. They range from a view that Thutmose III took her to be a wicked stepmother in the dynasty struggle between the two families. There is a tale of how the queen seized power; the resistance of Tuthmosis III to her reign is evident in the way he swiftly ordered the destruction of all of her monuments.

The animosity between the two leaders was even present in some early papers that describe the excavations that were produced by the Exploration Society of Egypt in the 1890s. The theory of the wicked stepmother became more dominant in the writing of the queen’s history (Strouhal & Forman, 2006). . This theory comes into play because of the fact that after Thutmose the Third came to power, he ordered any record of his aunt to be removed completely. He did not want anything to do with her, and this is despite the fact that during her reign, she had achieved many accomplishments that helped the Egyptian society to be successful and grow for many years (Egypt Exploration Society, 2001).

The resentment that he had for her could have played a significant part in her disappearance. However, some people believe that he decided to silence everything about his aunt to protect the family’s name. Early scholars, however, believe that Thutmose III had her killed since she had refused to step down as pharaoh when he came of age (Egypt Exploration Society, 2001). Death by Natural Causes Many scholars have speculated that the queen aged and died of natural causes, and after her death, the natural selection of her successor took place, where Thutmose III took charge.

The corpse of the queen was for many years hidden by Tuthmosis III and buried in secret. It was believed that there was nothing that was left of her body, apart from some fragments that were found in a canopic jar. Archeologists did, however, find a mummified body in the Valley of the Kings that was suspected to be the queen’s. This was later confirmed by a lot of evidence and DNA testing. Some scholars believe that she died of natural causes, and this explained why her liver and other internal body parts were found separate from the body and stored in a jar.

Others believe that she died from an abscess after the removal of a tooth (Burgan, 2009). Protection of the Family Name Another accepted theory suggests that Tuthmosis III wanted to cover