Queen Hatshepsut - Assignment Example

Running head: Queen Hatshepsut When pharaoh Thutmose II died, his only son who was lawful heir to the throne was Thutmose III. Thutmose III was too young to take the throne; therefore, his stepmother Hatshepsut became regent to the throne. She became pharaoh and ruled jointly with Thutmose III. Through her wily ways, Hatshepsut prevented Thutmose III from taking full status as pharaoh until her death (Tyldesley, 2006). Hatshepsut wore a Khat head cloth, a traditional false beard and a shendyt kilt.

By choosing to dress like a man, she was asserting her position as pharaoh to gain Egyptians’ support. She also did so to depict herself as Pharaoh, but not as king’s great wife or Queen consort. It is also theorized that all pharaohs wore the false beard and other pharaonic regalia; therefore, she could not avoid it. When Pharaoh Hatshepsut died, there was an absolute attempt to delete her pharaonic history and legacy by her successors. This belief has remained to be a mystery, and different theories attempt to explain it.

One theory, by Joyce Tyldesley, has it that since Pharaoh Hatshepsut had stolen the throne from her stepson; the stepson could have had a grudge with her and ordered her images to be chiseled off some stone walls (Tyldesley, 2006). Moreover, he could have ordered the tearing down her statutes at Deir el-Bahari and attempted to wall up her obelisks (Tyldesley, 2006). The other theory by Egyptologist Donald Redford has it that Amenhotep II; son of Thutmose III defaced and erased Hatshepsut’s history by destroying her legacy markers (Redford 1967).

The theory, which seems believable to me, is that of Thutmose III having carried out the offensive. Secondly, the fact that Thutmose III did not honor Hatshepsut in death proves that he resented her when she was alive, and wished her history vanishes into the obscure. Reference Redford, Donald B. (1967). History and Chronology of the 18th dynasty of Egypt: Seven studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.  Tyldesley, J. (2006). Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson.