Hatshepsut Flashcards
“Stated briefly, ma’at is the order, the just measure of things, that underlies the world; it is the perfect state of things toward which one should strive and which is in harmony with the creator god’s intentions”
Hornung
While temples owned much of the land and High Priests were high ranking in the administration, they were subordinate to the king who was the sole link with the gods
O’Connor
To ensure a smooth transition, the god Amun was gradually combined with another god Re, to form a new god Amun-Re
Hornung
The Egyptians perceived kingship as fundamental to society and the cosmos. The main role of the king was to maintain ma’at (cosmic order) and prevent disarray or chaos.
O’Connor and Silverman
She oversaw the bureaucracy of state, was the theological leader of the country and chief officiant to the gods and commander-in-chief of the military .
Silverman
Royal women in ancient Egypt derived their importance from their relationship to the king.
Robins
It is possible Hatshepsut’s political power was derived in part from this priestly office (Gods Wife of Amun) and Thutmose III later deliberately reduced the importance of the office
Robins
Her father was not descended from the founding kings of the 18th Dynasty and may have had a military background.
Redford
Some historians believe Hatshesput’s mother was a sister of the previous King Amenhotep I.
Redford, Lawless
Some historians argue that the royal line was passed through the royal females – the so-called ‘heiress theory’ – so if Hatshepsut’s mother was an ‘Ahmosid’ then she had more royal blood and a greater claim to the throne than her brother.
Redford
The proper successor was the surviving first born son of the king regardless of the mother – thus Hatshepsut’s claim to the throne did not include having more ‘royal blood’ than her brother or her step-son Thutmose III (i.e. the Heiress Theory is not true).
Robins
It appears Thutmose II died prematurely. His mummy appears to be no more than 30 years old and has a ‘scaly’ appearance which could indicate he had been a sickly man.
Callender
The regency was unprecedented because Thutmose III was not her son – she was his step-mother and aunt.
Callender and Tyldesley
There is no evidence for Thutmose III ever marrying Neferure, but this Egyptologist believes they did.
Grimal
Most historians agree Hatshepsut probably ‘consolidated her position’ to become king during the regency.
Robins and Redford
The careful planning she shows during the regency indicates that she already had a group of people supporting her, including Senenmut, Ineni, Ahmose-pen-nekhbit and Hapuseneb.
Redford
The coronation scenes may have occurred before Thutmose II was born. If Thutmose I had no male heir at the time, he could have designated Hatshepsut as his successor. This would have been ruled out once he was born.
Callender
Hatshepsut was actually appointed coregent of Thutmose I. These historians point out that later NK kings use the same scenes it is accepted as historical, but these are assumed fictional because Hatshepsut was a woman.
Hornung and Helck
The Divine Birth and coronation scenes are “wholly fictitious”
Kemp
Hatshepsut and Thutmose III’s coregency lasted at least 13 years.
Lawless
The timing of her claim was “unconstitutional” as she delayed her assumption to the throne until after Thutmose III was legitimately crowned.
Callender
She “usurped the throne of a reigning king”
Callender
The Queen and queen mother had much influence over the heir presumptive and husband presumably in the 17th and early 18th Dynasties.
Redford
“The matriarchal streak is one of the most striking features of the early Eighteenth Dynasty. The stubbornness and driving ambition of the queens could not help but precipitate a conflict with the males of the family, at least if the women persisted in grasping after what logically mast have been the ultimate aspiration, viz. the crown”.
Redford
“Hatshepsut was made of the same fibre as her grandmother”.
Redford
She wanted to revive the line of queens and was outraged by the accession of Thutmose III. She clearly had supporters such as Senenmut behind her.
Redford
The early queens may have paved the way for Hatshepsut to claim the ultimate power. These queens had power via the ‘God’s Wife of Amun’ position first used by Ahmose-Nefertari.
Lawless
She seems to have wanted to make Neferure her direct heir to the throne and exclude from the succession Thutmose III and any children she might have. Neferure held the title ‘Lady of the Two Lands’ on her own and not because of marriage to Thutmose III (but Neferure died before her mother anyway…)
Bentley
She has to consolidate her position at the head of the administration first as regent, proving she could do a better job than her nephew.
Bentley
She may have used the title ‘King’ to prepare Egypt for a matrilineal succession and rule followed by Neferure as the next king.
Bentley
Thutmose II was only a ‘falcon in the nest’ when he became king. Might Hatshepsut have been designated heir apparent before his birth, but this was nullified after his birth? Then after his death she mulled over the opportunity that had been denied her and decided it was rightfully hers?
Callender
“There is no documentation indicating the reasons why Hatshepsut made her bid for the throne, and when exploring this avenue it must be realised that by doing so we enter the realm of speculation.”
Callender
“Hatshepsut’s accession, within a few years of his [Thutmose III] may have been as much a dynastic defence mechanism as an act of personal ambition.”
O’Connor
“We can never be sure why Hatshepsut defied tradition and became a king, nor why the male bureaucracy tolerated this aberration, but we can suggest some hypotheses”:
Robins
She probably possessed a strong character and made the most of the power she accrued as regent. She probably carefully chose the officials who served her, especially Senenmut—their fortunes became linked with hers.
Robins
She probably found the prospect of giving up power unpleasant, but could not prolong the regency when Thutmose III came of age.
Robins
She made the use of the institution of coregency.
Robins
In a scene at Karnak Hatshepsut stands behind Thutmose II in the traditional subordinate position for a queen.
Tyldesley
The regency was “customary”.
Lawless
Hatshepsut used the time as regent to consolidate her support in the administration.
Redford and Robins
The gradual erasure of feminising body and facial features from the statues of the queen occurred, and the numbers of male pharaonic attributes gradually increased.
Tefnin
Later in the reign, Deir el-Bahri statues and reliefs cover the full range of kingly iconography and further changes include alterations to the face of Hatshepsut—more asexual/ asensual image of ruler.
Tefnin
By causing herself to be depicted as a traditional pharaoh in the most regal and heroic form, Hatshepsut was making sure that this is precisely what she would become.
Hayes
