Hatshepsut Flashcards
Family Background
- Daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose
- Direct descendent of King Ahmose
- Thutmose II was born of lesser wife Mutnofret
- Thutmose III was born of concubine or lesser wife Isis
Marriage to Thutmose II & Sources
- Conventional queen consort with regular queenly titles during his reign
- God’s Wife of Amun
- Portrayed behind him and Thutmose III
- Regent for Thutmose III after Thutmose II’s death
- Daughter named Neferure
- Stela: Hatshepsut wearing great royal wife regalia with Thutmose II and Queen Ahmose standing before Amun statue
- Ineni tomb: Thutmose II’s “sister, the royal wife Hatshepsut, discharged the office of regent of the land”
Claim to the Throne and Succession & Sources
- Conventional queenly duty to become regent for Thutmose III upon king’s death
- Crowned as pharaoh in between Year 2 and 7 of Thutmose III’s reign
- Ruled as unconventional co-regent for 20 years
- Conventional co-regencies involved the reigning pharaoh and an uncrowned junior partner, and the pharaoh took seniority
- In Hatshepsut’s co-regency with Thutmose III, she unconventionally made herself a crowned pharaoh while he was reigning and she took seniority
- Transferred God’s Wife of Amun title to Neferure
- May have believed she had stronger claim to the throne as she had royal bloodline from both parents
- May have been attempting to protect Thutmose III from other Ahmosids
- May have been attempting to establish matriarchy by consolidating throne for Neferure
- Heb Sed festival 30 years after Thutmose I’s death
- Divine Birth and Coronation Reliefs: Amun-Re was spiritual and biological father, Hatshepsut was born with male ka, Thutmose I appointed her as successor and she journeyed with him around Egypt to be presented to gods as future pharaoh, she was coronated by gods and Thutmose I declared “she is my successor upon my throne … you will be united under her command”
- Ineni tomb: during the conventional regency, Hatshepsut “settled the Two Lands … Egypt was made to labour with bowed head for her”
- Inscription from Year 2 in Hatshepsut’s Red Chapel: oracle of Amun predicted her accession
- Funerary amphora from Year 7 in Senenmut’s parents’ tomb: undated seals stamped with her royal name Ma’at-ka-re
- Stela from Sinai: Neferure making offering to Hathor and having “stability and dominion like Re”
- Statues of Neferure as crown prince in pharaonic regalia
Gae Callender’s quotes on Claim to the Throne and Succession
- The “timing of her claim itself was unconstitutional”
- Thutmose II was likely born after Hatshepsut so “Hatshepsut would have been named heir-apparent” but after the birth of Thutmose II “the normal practice of male primogeniture would have prevailed”
Juliette Bentley’s ideas on Claim to the Throne and Succession
- Hatshepsut wanted to be pharaoh and establish matriarchy from the beginning
- She had her Heb Sed festival 30 years after Thutmose I’s death, suggesting she had been the heir all along
Catherine Roehrig’s quote on Claim to the Throne and Succession
“Hatshepsut may have had to declare herself king to protect the kingship for her stepson”
Joyce Tyldesley’s idea on Claim to the Throne and Succession
It is possible “she had always intended to seize power … waiting for the politically opportune moment to strike”
James Breasted’s idea on Claim to the Throne and Succession
The coronation of Hatshepsut is “an artificial creation, a fiction of later origin, prompted by political necessity”
Titles and Changes to her Royal Image Over Time & Sources
- Contestability regarding dates and chronology
- Believed to be depicted as female during queenship and beginning of co-regency, but evolved to male
- Originally recognised as king’s daughter, sister, great wife and God’s Wife of Amun
- Throne name of Ma’at-ka-re identified her with goddess Ma’at
- Inscription from regency describes her as Lady of the Two Lands: feminine of Lord of the Two Lands
- Commissioned first pair of obelisks during regency
- Pink granite statue: queenship, feminine appearance with soft features and womanly figure, uraeus
- Painted limestone sphinx at Deir el-Bahri: co-regency, feminine appearance but sphinx has masculine connotations, false beard, nemes, uraeus
- Red granite sphinx at Deir el-Bahri: co-regency, feminine appearance but with hardened features, false beard, nemes, uraeus
- Kneeling statue at Deir el-Bahri: co-regency, masculine appearance, false beard, nemes, uraeus
- Colossal striding statue: co-regency, masculine appearance and body, false beard, nemes, uraeus, kilt, striding pose
Roland Tefnin’s idea on Titles and Changes to her Royal Image Over Time
There were three stages to the changes of her royal image, from feminine to androgynous and finally masculine
Peter Dorman’s quote on Titles and Changes to her Royal Image Over Time
“experimentation with iconography was prompted by the necessity of effective rule” and the “strictures of functioning solely as a queen were inconsistent with that role”
Michael Hayes’ quote on Titles and Changes to her Royal Image Over Time
Her emphasis on masculine ka meant she “could be a woman and a king simultaneously”
Building Program & Sources
Djeser Djeseru at Deir el-Bahri
- Mortuary temple carved into cliffside
- Three terraces linked by central ramps, each with pair of colonnades
- Garden for Amun on first terrace
- Divine Birth, Coronation, Punt, transportation of obelisks reliefs on second terrace
- Chapels dedicated to Hathor, Anubis and Aten on second terrace
- Chapels dedicated to funerary cults of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I on third terrace
- Sanctuary for Amun on third terrace
- Hypostyle hall on third terrace
Karnak
- Built Red Chapel barque sanctuary for Amun: scenes of her coronation, obelisks, Opet and Valley festivals, and Heb Sed
- Erected two pairs of obelisks: inscriptions that they were gifts for her divine father Amun in memory of her earthly father Thutmose I
- Built eighth pylon: Opet festival procession route
Speos Artemidos at Beni Hasan
- Temple carved into cliffside
- Dedicated to Pakhet, the local lioness form of Hathor and local representation of Sekhmet
- Inscription that Hatshepsut had “restored that which was in ruins” and “raised up that which was unfinished since the Asiatics were in the midst of Avaris”
- Reliefs of Hathor in form of Pakhet giving Hatshepsut terrifying and protective qualities to be pharaoh
- Reliefs of her restoring temples that had been neglected since Hyksos
- Inscription that she had “built anew” the Temple of Cusae and Temple of Thoth
- Inscription that “Amun has decreed that [her] decree remain like the mountains”
Tombs
- Tomb as queen was built in Valley of the Queens
- Built new tomb in Valley of the Kings after she was crowned pharaoh: two sarcophagi in burial chamber, one for her and one for her father, but neither mummy was found
- Her mummy was eventually found without coffin, clothes, headdress and treasures and without signs of foul play in death (obese, diabetic, bone cancer)
- Originally wanted tomb to be linked to Amun sanctuary at mortuary temple through passageways
Barry Kemp’s quote on Building Program
“ideology needs architecture for its fullest expression”
Herbert Winlock’s quote on Building Program
“everlasting propaganda through stone”
Donald Redford’s quote on Building Program
“Hatshepsut’s top priority appears to have been her building program”
Steindorff and Seele’s quote on Building Program
“in order to justify her usurpation, the ancient dogma of the divine origin of the king was produced and applied to her own birth”
Foreign Policy & Sources
Military Campaigns
- Conducted in Nubia and Syria-Palestine
- Some were commanded by Thutmose III on her behalf
- Inscription at Deir el-Bahri: Nubian god named Dedwen presenting captives to Hatshepsut
- Tiy the treasurer’s inscription at Hatshepsut’s temple at Sehel: “I saw when [Hatshepsut] overthrew the Nubian bowmen, and when their chiefs were brought … as living prisoners”
- Djehuty the scribe’s stela: “I saw the collection of booty by [Hatshepsut] … from the vile Kush”
- Broken block at Karnak: “[Asiatics] being in fear and the land of Nubian submission”
- Deir el-Bahri inscription: “her arrow is among the Northerners”
- Gaza inscription: “the town which [Thutmose III] had taken” on behalf of Hatshepsut
- Statue of Inebni: Thutmose III had “journeys in the South country and the North country” on her behalf
Trade Expedition to Punt
- Occurred in Year 9 and was led by Nehesy
- Equated to successful military campaign
- First pharaoh to connect with Puntites since Middle Kingdom
- Hatshepsut wanted to maintain trade relations rather than occupy or settle
- Dedicated to Amun’s oracle
- Obtained exotic goods, particularly myrrh, ivory, precious metals like gold, ebony, animal skins, live animals and slaves
- Goods used for temples, tombs, furniture and furnishings
- Hatshepsut seen as traditional and successful pharaoh who provides for people
- Boosted economy for financing building programs
- Ensured continued support of Amun priesthood
- Highlighted prosperity and good government
- Inscription at Deir el-Bahri: “never was the like done before,” portrayed as tribute to Hatshepsut, Hatshepsut offers gifts to Amun as she wears Osirian atef crown, Thutmose III offers myrrh to Amun, planted 31 myrrh trees at mortuary temple for Amun
Alan Gardiner’s quote on Foreign Policy
“the reign of Hatshepsut had been barren of any military enterprise except for an unimportant raid into Nubia”
John Wilson’s quote on Foreign Policy
“her pride was in the internal development of Egypt and in commercial enterprise”
Donald Redford’s quote on Foreign Policy
“the evidence for foreign campaigns is more plentiful than is sometimes thought”
Religious Policy & Sources
Devotion to Amun
- Originally wanted tomb to be linked to Amun sanctuary at mortuary temple through passageways
- Introduced divine oracles
- Personal piety between people and Amun through oracles and as he was god of ethics
- Developed divine birth myth
- Variety of epithets ascribed to Amun solidified concept of Amun-Re
- High Priest Hapuseneb was Overseer of the Prophets of Upper and Lower Egypt, and also vizier
- Deir el-Bahri: reinforced her legitimacy through divine birth, coronation and Punt expedition
- Red Chapel
- Obelisks
Promotion of Other Cults
- Emphasis on sacred feminine principle of Hathor, Isis and Pakhet
- Built and repaired temples of other gods
- Re-established regular worship at these temples
- Speos Artemidos: dedicated to Pakhet
- Speos Artemidos: “built anew” the Temple of Cusae and Temple of Thoth
- Deir el-Bahri: Hathor chapel
- Deir el-Bahri: Anubis chapel
Festivals
- Opet Festival: celebrated during annual inundation for rebirth and renewal, statues of Amun-Re and Mut transported in barques from Karnak to Luxor
- Beautiful Festival of the Valley: Amun transported in barque with procession to royal cemetery, mortuary temples of previous kings and Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple
- 6 barque stations along Opet processional route
- Red Chapel: Open processional route
Funerary Innovations
- Amduat: royal funerary text recounting pharaoh’s journey on barque through underworld to rebirth
- King as Priest of the Sun: detailed ritual performed by pharaoh to Ra
- Litany of Re: hymn of praise to Re
- Book of the Dead: collection of funerary spells
- Deir el-Bahri: Amduat
- Deir el-Bahri: King as Priest of the Sun
- Tomb of User-amun the vizier: Litany of Re
- Tomb walls and scrolls: Book of the Dead
Relationships with Amun Priesthood, Officials and Nobles & Sources
Amun Priesthood
- Increased prestige and influence through link to kingship in divine birth ideology and Punt expedition
- Introduced role of High Priest as Overseer of the Prophets of Upper and Lower Egypt
- Hapuseneb the High Priest of Amun and vizier
- Puemre the Second Prophet of Amun, built Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple
- Hapuseneb’s funerary cone in his tomb: “Overseer of the Prophets of Upper and Lower Egypt”
Officials
- User-amun the vizier
- Hapuseneb the High Priest of Amun and vizier
- Nehesy the Chancellor, led Punt expedition
Nobles
- Thutiy the Overseer of the Treasury
- Ineni the Overseer of the Treasury and Overseer of the Works for the King (architect since Amenhotep I)
- Djehuty the scribe
- Tiy the treasurer
- Djehuty the scribe’s stela: “I saw the collection of booty by [Hatshepsut] … from the vile Kush”
- Tiy the treasurer’s inscription at Hatshepsut’s temple at Sehel: “I saw when [Hatshepsut] overthrew the Nubian bowmen, and when their chiefs were brought … as living prisoners”
Senenmut
- Chief Steward of Amun
- Chief Steward to the King
- Overseer of the Two Granaries of Amun
- Overseer of the Works of Amun
- Responsible for economic affairs of Karnak
- Responsible for building programs, but not architect
- Hatshepsut’s main advisor
- Tutor of her daughter Neferure
- Rumoured to have affair with Hatshepsut
- Disappeared from records after Year 16, either died or was removed from office
- Inscription from Deir el-Bahri: “with a favour of the King’s bounty… letting his name be established on every wall”
- Senenmut’s graffito at Aswan: records quarrying of pair of obelisks before Hatshepsut became king
- Senenmut’s tomb: richly and elaborately decorated, in proximity to Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple
- Statue of Neferure seated on Senenmut’s lap
- Senenmut never occupied tomb under Deir el-Bahri and his sarcophagus was smashed
- Senenmut’s name taken off inscriptions and statues, chiselled out from Punt reliefs
Peter Dorman’s idea on Relationship with Senenmut
Hatshepsut gave Senenmut permission to place his images at Deir el-Bahri, his images were desecrated by different people over time
Steindorff and Steele’s idea on Relationship with Senenmut
Thutmose III launched a campaign to remove Senenmut’s images due to his influence in the co-regency
Relationship with Thutmose III & Sources
Co-regency
- Thutmose III was depicted alongside Hatshepsut, but she is portrayed as dominant
- He led military campaigns on her behalf, had the chance to challenge her
- May have disliked the co-regency and Hatshepsut’s superiority but was helpless as she was well supported
- May have liked the co-regency and welcomed Hatshepsut’s guidance as he would have outlived her anyways
- Punt reliefs in Deir el-Bahri: Thutmose III offers incense from Punt to Amun
- Stela at Wadi Marghara in Sinai: Thutmose III and Hatshepsut make offerings to local gods
- Red Chapel: Thutmose III shared Hatshepsut’s Heb Sed festival but stands behind her
- Gaza inscription: “the town which [Thutmose III] had taken” on behalf of Hatshepsut
- Statue of Inebni: Thutmose III had “journeys in the South country and the North country” on her behalf
Defacement of her Monuments
- Damnatio memoriae
- Hatshepsut disappeared from historical records and future king lists
- Replaced references to her with the Thutmosids
- Scratched off her feminine pronouns and suffixes
- Chiselled out images of her as male king
- Smashed statues and buried them in pit beside mortuary temple
- Obelisks were enclosed behind wall to be hidden
- Chiselled out Karnak relief of Hatshepsut receiving divine water and life from Horus and Thoth
Gae Callender’s idea on Relationship with Thutmose III
She shared sovereignty with Thutmose III but was the senior regent
Joyce Tyldesley’s quote on Relationship with Thutmose III
Hatshepsut “did not hide him away”
Barbara Mertz’s quote on Relationship with Thutmose III
“Thutmose did away with Hatshepsut”
Alan Gardiner’s quote on Relationship with Thutmose III
“much of these scenes has been erased by the later malice of Thutmose III”
Donald Redford’s quotes on Relationship with Thutmose III
- “no evidence to suggest that she was either murdered or deposed by her co-ruler”
- “his own legitimacy stood in need of demonstration” as Hatshepsut’s reign would invite “comparison with his own accomplishments”
Gay Robins’ quote on Relationship with Thutmose III
“political expediency” made him remove “all traces of the unnatural female king” as it “did not conform with Ma’at”
Bill Petty’s idea on Relationship with Thutmose III
Thutmose III wanted to protect Amenhotep II’s accession to the throne, as Hatshepsut had done for him
Edouard Naville’s idea on Relationship with Thutmose III
As many inscriptions of Hatshepsut and Amun have been defaced, it was likely the work of future pharaoh Akhenaten, and the Ramesses had also ordered the destruction of her monuments
Impact and Influence on Her Time
- Led to prosperity and stability in Egypt
- No evidence to suggest opposition to her assumption of power
- Opened permanent trade to Punt
- Mass employment for her building programs
- Allowed Amun priesthood to gain more power and influence as she reinforced her relationship to Amun, becoming king makers
- Introduced new religious innovations including oracles, divine birth ideology, concept of Amun-Re, personal piety, new festivals and new funerary texts
- Ensured strong army to defend Egypt, which was vital at the Battle of Megiddo
- Imposing threat of the Mitanni was ignored
- Did not focus as much on military unless necessary
Joyce Tyldesely’s quotes on Impact and Influence on Her Time
- “period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monumental building”
- “stable government, successful trade missions and impressive architectural advances”
Steindorff and Seele’s quote on Impact and Influence on Her Time
“Egypt enjoyed a period of economic prosperity”
Assessment of her Life and Reign
- WARBF achieved
- Upheld Ma’at
- Accession was not conventionally legal but possibly justified
- No evidence to suggest opposition to her assumption of power
- Well supported by officials
- Successful internal policies of building programs and religious innovations
- Trading expedition to Punt was incredibly successful
- Did not focus as much on military unless necessary
- Ensured strong army to defend Egypt, which was vital at the Battle of Megiddo
- Ignored threat of Mitanni
Legacy
- Building programs still stand, although additions to Karnak were attempted to be hidden
- Statues were beheaded, defaced and buried
- Inscriptions and reliefs were chiselled out
- Name replaced with Thutmosids
- Omitted from King Lists
- Amun priesthood gained more power and influence, becoming king makers
- Title of God’s Wife of Amun was eradicated
- Later pharaohs including Amenhotep III and Ramesses II adopted Divine Birth reliefs and inscriptions
- Theology of Amun-Re lasted
- Festivals she introduced continued to be celebrated
- Ensured strong army to defend Egypt, which was vital at the Battle of Megidd
Joyce Tyldesley’s quote on Legacy
“Had Hatshepsut been born a man, her lengthy rule would almost certainly be remembered for its achievements … Hatshepsut’s gender became the most important characteristic and almost all references to her reign have concentrated not on her policies but on the personal relationships and power struggles”
Images and Interpretations & Sources
Ancient
- Good king
- Changes to royal image
- Well-supported by officials of her time
- Detested by future pharaohs
- Ineni tomb: during the conventional regency, Hatshepsut “settled the Two Lands … Egypt was made to labour with bowed head for her”
- Tiy the treasurer’s inscription at Hatshepsut’s temple at Sehel: “I saw when [Hatshepsut] overthrew the Nubian bowmen, and when their chiefs were brought … as living prisoners”
- Djehuty the scribe’s stela: “I saw the collection of booty by [Hatshepsut] … from the vile Kush”
Modern
- Traditionally seen as wicked, usurping stepmother
- Historians of mid-20th century focused on her character and relationships with others to achieve power, including Senenmut
- Contemporary historians focus on her abilities as an effective ruler and the innovations she introduced
Roland Tefnin’s idea on Images and Interpretations
There were three stages to the changes of her royal image, from feminine to androgynous and finally masculine
Edouard Naville’s idea on Images and Interpretations
As many inscriptions of Hatshepsut and Amun have been defaced, it was likely the work of future pharaoh Akhenaten, and the Ramesses had also ordered the destruction of her monuments
Alan Gardiner’s quotes on Images and Interpretations
- “unnatural and scheming woman with a virile character … deliberately abused a position of trust by stealing the throne from a defenceless child”
- “it is not to be imagined, however, that even a woman of the most virile character could have attained such a pinnacle of power without masculine support”
Margaret Murray’s quote on Images and Interpretations
Regarding Hatshepsut’s foreign policy, “Her records, as might be expected from a woman, are more intimate and personal than those of a king”
Joyce Tyldesely’s quotes on Images and Interpretations
- “period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monumental building”
- “stable government, successful trade missions and impressive architectural advances”
- “Had Hatshepsut been born a man, her lengthy rule would almost certainly be remembered for its achievements … Hatshepsut’s gender became the most important characteristic and almost all references to her reign have concentrated not on her policies but on the personal relationships and power struggles”
Jan Assmann’s idea on Religious Policy
Amun had new epithets such as city god, ruler god, primeval god, creator god, sun god and ethical authority
Jan Assmann’s quote on Religious Policy
Her reign was the “starting point of the revolutionary changes that occurred in the religious history of the New Kingdom
