Woman on the throne.. Hatshepsut, the most famous queen in Pharaonic Egypt

Just as the history of Pharaonic Egypt is full of secrets, strange tales, tremendous events and things that are difficult to explain, Queen Hatshepsut is one of these strange and great tales at the same time. How was this girl able to rule this powerful state and tighten her grip on power amidst the conspiracies of the priests, the competition of her brother and the traditions of rule in the oldest civilization in history? And how did her era become an example of progress, peace and stability?Hatshepsut's Birth and Family

(Amun's favorite concubine over all princesses) Hatshepsut was born in 1508 BC in the royal palace, where her father was the Pharaoh of Egypt (Thutmose I), and her mother was the queen of the country, which was called (Ahmose) after the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the pursuer of the Hyksos and the liberation hero, King Ahmose, who is considered the great-grandfather of Queen Hatshepsut.

The little girl studied at the royal school inside the pharaonic palace, which adhered to a set of strict rules in educating the sons of the king, princes, senior ministers and the upper class in the country, as it had specific dates, and the teachers in the royal school adhered to justice, equality, reward and punishment without looking at the sons of princes, ministers and nobles with any kind of discrimination or preference; therefore, Hatshepsut learned reading, writing, religious sciences and grammar rules with great strictness, which made her acquire a lot of knowledge and culture at an early age.

Hatshepsut's path to ruling Egypt

Hatshepsut's journey to the throne passed through her half-brother (Thutmose II). Although Hatshepsut was the eldest daughter of King Thutmose I, her brother Thutmose II was the crown prince; and because the Egyptians did not know that a woman would rule the country, Hatshepsut's marriage to Thutmose II was the path for each of them to the throne, a marriage that resulted in a son and two daughters. It is worth noting that the marriage of brothers and sisters was a royal custom among the Pharaonic families.

King Thutmose II was weak in his performance as pharaoh of the country, in addition to his physical weakness and illness that made him weak and unable to keep up with the burdens of rule and impose control; which gave his wife Hatshepsut the opportunity to impose her control over the royal palace, and control the course of events at the political level and issue orders, so she was the one who actually ran the country while her husband Thutmose II was the formal pharaoh before the people.

Hatshepsut went through a number of successive events that made the issue of her ascension to the throne of the country a major battle that required a lot of cunning, strength and luck as well. Her son died young, and in return, Thutmose II gave birth to a son from one of the palace concubines, and named him (Thutmose III), who became a competitor to Hatshepsut in ruling the country after that, as the sick pharaoh Thutmose II died when he was not yet twenty-seven years old, and his young son Thutmose III began to harass Hatshepsut.

The intelligent, aware and cultured woman was able to distance Thutmose III from ruling the country through a set of measures that put Hatshepsut in a position of power, and with her gained the support of the palace men, ministers and high priests, which weakened the position of Thutmose III, and hastened the declaration of Hatshepsut as queen of Egypt.

In 1478 BC, Hatshepsut became queen of both the Delta and Upper Egypt, in addition to the colonies and properties of the Egyptian kingdom outside the borders, which gave her the upper hand in ruling the country. Thus, Hatshepsut's name began to be engraved on the royal walls and temples, and her name was accompanied by the titles (Daughter of the Sun), (Friend of Amun), and (Queen of Upper Egypt). Thutmose III did not remain in the picture for long, which made many statesmen believe that she had gotten rid of him. But Hatshepsut was not inclined to murder and violence, so she pushed him into military life to learn army leadership and the arts of war, while the Iron Lady ruled the oldest kingdom in history for more than 21 years.The most important achievements of Queen Hatshepsut

As we have explained, Queen Hatshepsut was not inclined to violence and fighting, which was reflected in her political dealings; even Thutmose III, who was an obstacle to her assuming power, and perhaps a source of danger to her remaining on the throne of Egypt, brought him close to her and his wife, her daughter (Meryt-Ra Hatshepsut), which made him assume the rule of the country after Hatshepsut, and establish the largest empire in the history of the Pharaonic civilization. Thus, Hatshepsut was not interested in military expansion as much as she was interested in agricultural and commercial projects, and worked to improve the conditions of the country without affecting her great interest in strengthening the army, manufacturing weapons, and preparing soldiers and leaders, as if she were a military man with great experience and skill in military life.

The genius of Queen Hatshepsut appeared in her great interest in trade, mines, quarries, and re-operating the copper mines that stopped during the rule of the Hyksos; This led to the prosperity of the Egyptian economy during the reign of Hatshepsut, which led to an increase in the level of income among all Egyptian classes, and thus the matter was reflected in the Egyptians' love for Queen Hatshepsut despite their initial concern that the lady of the country would rule, especially since rule in Egypt is mixed with religious traditions before political traditions, as the pharaoh represents the son of God.

Queen Hatshepsut reused the Sesostris Canal, which was established by King Senusret III in the Middle Kingdom, which connects the Red Sea to the Nile River, and was a means of trade with the peoples of the south and the north, which also helped her in building large ships; to transport goods on the one hand, and transport stones and obelisks between Egyptian cities north and south, in addition to the missions sent by Hatshepsut; to trade with neighboring countries, where the peoples of the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the land of Punt to the south.

One of the most famous achievements and works of Queen Hatshepsut was the trade mission she sent to the land of Punt, which we now know as Somalia, where she sent Egyptian goods including clothing, leather goods and copper utensils, which were considered a great invention at the time. The ships returned laden with incense, ivory, predatory animals, wood and precious stones. This journey was recorded on the walls of the Deir el-Bahari Temple, which you can see when you visit Luxor, specifically on the west bank of the Nile River, where the temple retains its beauty, and its walls still retain their bright colors. Hatshepsut also ordered the construction of two large obelisks of granite stones found in the cemetery area in Aswan; to place them in the Karnak Temple in glorification and praise of the god Amun. These are the two obelisks that Napoleon stole during the French campaign in Egypt, and which you can see standing tall in Paris, the capital of France, specifically in the Place de la Concorde, which tourists come to from everywhere; To witness the greatness of the Egyptian civilization while engineers and scientists stand trying to explain how the ancient Egyptians carved these series and transported them across the Nile using ancient means of lifting and transportation.Hatshepsut the beautiful woman

As Hatshepsut was a powerful queen who sent military campaigns to preserve the unity of the country and eliminate rebels, sent trade missions to exchange goods, and issued orders to build obelisks; she also wore the clothes of male pharaohs on religious and political occasions and celebrations, and some manuscripts and statues indicated that she also wore a false beard sometimes; to appear in the image of the powerful pharaoh, and with all that Hatshepsut the woman was a woman of captivating beauty and wonderful features, and she was very fond of perfumes and scents, and she loved the sight of trees, gardens and flowers.

In this regard, some rumors spread in history books about a relationship between Queen Hatshepsut and the engineer (Senmut) who was responsible for building the royal temples during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. These rumors indicate that Queen Hatshepsut granted Senmut a number of titles, eventually reaching 80 titles, in addition to granting him permission to build his own tomb in her temple so that his tomb would be close to hers, which is a great thing that indicates the status of the engineer Senmut with Queen Hatshepsut. She also entrusted him with raising her young daughter (Neferu-Ra), but the matter is not confirmed; there is nothing among the manuscripts and inscriptions that indicates a relationship between the engineer and the queen, perhaps it was a relationship of appreciation, which is also considered one of the secrets of the length of Queen Hatshepsut’s reign. Death of Queen Hatshepsut

Queen Hatshepsut died in the fall of 1457 BC after ruling the Egyptian kingdom for about 22 years, according to the inscriptions and evidence that were found. It was also proven that Queen Hatshepsut died naturally, and was not subjected to a conspiracy or murder, as scientists who studied her mummy indicate that she died of cancer, or perhaps due to an advanced case of diabetes. Hatshepsut's mummy was placed next to her father's mummy in his tomb, which she expanded; as she wanted to be buried next to her father, Thutmose I.

After assuming power, King Thutmose III tried to erase all traces of Queen Hatshepsut from the walls, and get rid of all the papyri and correspondence bearing her name, so what we have received from the history of Queen Hatshepsut is a very small part of the history of the most famous queen in the land of the Pharaohs.

Queen Hatshepsut was an exceptional example among women, as well as among the Egyptian pharaohs. The people of Egypt loved her more than they loved her, and they were attached to a number of male pharaohs. Most importantly, and with a greater degree of influence, they loved her rule, which was characterized by peace, prosperity and luxury.