Ancient History - Hatshepsut - Essay Example

Ancient History: Hatshepsut “Divine of Diadems; splendid part of her father, Amon-Re, lord of heaven, who has not been far removed from the father of all gods, shining in brightness like the Horizon-God she illuminates like the sun, vivifying the hearts of the people, who is exalted in name so that it hath reached heaven." Breasted, 1962: 137 Introduction: Images of Hatshepsut from female to male Hatshepsut is known as one of the most significant figures in ancient Egyptian history for her role as a pharaoh and the first co-regent as well as for her remarkable yet controversial rise to power as the ‘King’ of Egypt.

Ancient Egypt, as in most cultures during that time was steeped in a tradition where the concept of kingship was profoundly masculine and the throne was passed down from the father to the son. The rise and transformation of Hatshepsut from a princess to queen and ultimately to a king is hence an incredible feat, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the social and political fabric of ancient societies. Hatshepsut’s ascendancy to the throne: Traditional Egyptians followed a custom of marrying within the family as a move to preserve their 'pure bloodlines'.

Hatshepsut's father Thutmose I had a son - Thutmose II, by a concubine who had greater right over ascendancy to the throne as compared to Hatshepsut despite her true royal bloodline. Hence after the demise of her father, she was married to her half-brother Thutmose II and was conferred the title of the Great Royal Wife. Hatshepsut's husband Thutmose II who died eventually had a son, Thutmose III born to a lesser wife who was to succeed the throne after his death, since Hatshepsut had no male heirs with her husband.

However when her husband died, Thutmose III was too young to assume the responsibilities of a pharaoh which ultimately led Hatshepsut to become his regent. This event eventually changed the course of history. Hatshepsut deliberately circulated a story of her mother being visited by the state-god Amun-Ra who seduced her mother in the guise of her father Thutmose, with his divine fragrance, thus entailing that she was born of a divine union and presented herself to the people of Egypt as the daughter of the God Amun-Ra.

This practically sealed her status as a demi-god and enhanced her public image to instant fame enabling her to gather public support and acceptance (Coulter-Harris, 2012; History, n.d.). Transformation in image over time: Most of the representations of Hatshepsut discovered so far, depict her in the guise of a male. This is attributed to the fact that she consciously chose to be perceived as a male during her reign as a monarch (Capel & Markoe, 1996). According to some scholars, she insisted on being portrayed as a male complete with "bulging muscles and the traditional pharaonic false beard".

This act on her part was viewed by some scholars as an act of defiance implying that she was outrageous, insolent, as well as deviant (Wilson, 2006). Early monuments of that time describe her as dressed as a Queen standing demurely to one side. However with passage of time there was dramatic change in the manner in which she was portrayed. By the time she was in her seventh year of her regency, she shed her modest feminine and graceful image as a queen to be replaced by that of a "full-blown, flail-and-crook-wielding king" highlighting typical male features of broad bare chest and a false beard (Wilson, 2006).

Modern vs. Traditional Historians: The interpretations and images of Hatshepsut are varied and scholars are divided in their opinion regarding her personality and rulership during her reign. According to Egyptologists from nineteenth and early twentieth century, she is often described as highly demonic and as an usurper who deliberately transgressed conventional Egyptian cultural and religious boundaries and manipulated those around her in her lust for power. Others however described and perceived her as a submissive woman who was manipulated by her male subjects and advisors (Roehrig, Dreyfus, and Keller 2005).

Older traditional historians have consistently described Hatshepsut's rise to power as filled with deceit, trickery, lust, and ambition. In the year 1963, Egyptologist William Hayes described Hatshepsut's rise to kingship as theft by a vain, ambitious, and unscrupulous woman who 'showed her true colours by becoming the pharaoh through devious means. Similar views were shared by other well-established historians. James Breasted described the period of her reign as "the conventions of the court were all warped and distorted to suit the role of a woman" (Dell, 2008: p.79). There was however a dramatic change in the manner in which she was perceived and interpreted with subsequent discoveries and emergence of new evidence.

Modern historians perceive her as a rightful heir, an efficient and intelligent ruler, a loyal and dutiful daughter, and a visionary (Brown, 2009). Donald Redford (1967) describes her as an imaginative planner and as someone with a 'rather original taste' (p. 78). Dr. Joyce Tyldesley (1996), referring to the deliberate destruction her images by Thutmose states that the remnants of Hatshepsut's images make it abundantly clear that her reign as a ruler of Ancient Egypt was highly eventful and that she was never hated contrary to what is generally believed based on her negative descriptions by various previous historians (Coulter-Harris, p.

2012: 163; Tyldesley, 1996). Hatshepsut's legitimacy to rule was established by the Red Chapel at Karnak which described the oracle of Amun as expressly proclaiming her as the rightful heir (Graves-Brown, 2010). Further evidence of her role as a pharaoh was found in the tomb of Sennemut's parents where a pottery jar or amphora found among the various goods contained the inscription ‘Year 7’. Similar evidence from the same tomb was found by the Metropolitan Museum of Art expedition near Thebes, where a jar was stamped with the seal of "God's Wife Hatshepsut" and other two jars bore the seal "Good Goddess Maatkare" (Coulter-Harris, 2012).

Peter Dorman described her as an effective ruler of Egypt. He stated that her transformation from God's wife to the King of Egypt was remarkable and indicated her strong leadership which eventually compelled the people of the land to serve her. Her reign as a successful and able ruler was described in a passage inscribed on the tomb of Ineni which stated ". his sister the Divine Consort, Hatshepsut settled the affairs of the Two Lands by reason of her plans. Egypt was made to labour with bowed head for her, the excellent seed of the god, which came forth from him" (Ancient Egypt Online, n.d.).

In conclusion, the above discussions indicate the change in interpretations of Hatshepsut by traditional historians as a deceitful, conceited, and power hungry queen who manipulated her way to the throne to a more positive image perceived by the modern historians who described her as an ambitious, powerful and efficient leader. References: Breasted, J., 1962. Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest. Kent, UK: Russell & Russell Publishers.

http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html Capel, A., Markoe, G., 1996. Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt. New York: Hudson Hills Publishers. http://www.amazon.com/Mistress-House-Heaven-Women-Ancient/dp/1555951295 Coulter-Harris, D. M., 2012. The Queen of Sheba. North Carolina: McFarland Publishers. http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6969-7 Dell, P., 2008. Hatshepsut: Egypt's First Female Pharaoh. Capstone Publishing. http://www.alibris.com/Hatshepsut-Egypt-s-First-Female-Pharaoh-Pamela-Dell/book/10574243 Graves-Brown, C., (2010). Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt.

New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group. http://www.ebay.ca/ctg/Dancing-Hathor-Women-Ancient-Egypt-Carolyn-Graves-Brown-2010-Hardcover-/77898028 Redford, D., 1967. History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Toronto: Toronto University Press. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40000646?uid=3738256&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102362887127 Roehrig, C., Dreyfus, R., Keller, C., 2005. Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://catalog.

anythinklibraries.org/Record/595970 Tydesley, J., 1996. Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh. London: Penguin Books Publication. http://www.amazon.com/Hatchepsut-Female-Pharaoh-Joyce-Tyldesley/dp/0140244646 Ancient Egypt Online. Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh [Online] Available at: [Accessed: 4 June, 2013] Brown, C., 2009. Hatshepsut: The King Herself. National Geographic [Online] Available at: [Accessed: 3 June, 2013] History, n.d. Hatshepsut's Rise to Power. History Channel [Online] Available at: [Accessed: 3 June, 2013] Wilson, E., 2006. The Queen who would be King.

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