The Story of Hatshepsut

The Story of Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut, who lived between 1508 and 1458 BC, ruled Egypt for about two decades. Among the first female monarchs to reign anywhere in the world, she is regarded as one of the most successful pharaohs in Egypt’s long history. Hatshepsut’s prosperous reign helped shape her country into a stronger power and prepare it for future expansion into a great empire. Thanks to plenty of accounts by contemporaries and historians of the ancient world, her story remains well-known today.

Hatshepsut’s Family:

Hatshepsut was the daughter of King Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. A military leader who served the previous pharaoh, Thutmose I was known for his wartime accomplishments. Of his wife, Ahmose, less is known; whether she was the sister or daughter of the previous pharaoh is not clear. Hatshepsut was close to her parents and held important posts in their court.

 On her temple wall Hatshepsut depicts herself as being presented to the gods.

This picture depicts her mother seated on the birth stool ready to give birth to her baby

 On her father’s death, his young son Thutmose II became pharaoh. Because royal lineage was traced through women, Thutmose II married his half-sister, Hatshepsut. Thutmose II died young, leaving the infant Thutmose III, his son by another wife, his heir. This set the stage for Hatshepsut to become regent and later declare herself pharaoh. Hatshepsut had other half-brothers, and at least one sister – but history does not record many details of their lives.

Her Lovers:

The intimate details of Hatshepsut’s life are sometimes hard to pin down. It is not known, for example, how she persuaded Egypt’s elites to accept her as pharaoh. But one man, Senenmut, may have played a large role – and he is widely believed to have been her lover. Senenmut was of common descent, but he was also one of many officials Hatshepsut selected herself while paving the way to become pharaoh.

 He is referred to in records as the “Steward of the God’s Wife” – meaning Hatshepsut – and other lofty titles. Senenmut was the architect for many of Hatshepsut’s building projects. Hatshepsut also shared a relationship with Thutmose II, but his death makes the specifics mysterious.

Her Children:

Hatshepsut’s only child was Neferure, her daughter by Thutmose II. Neferure was born during Thutmose II’s reign. In her early life she was cared for by Senemut, who was her tutor, and other officials. During her mother’s reign, Princess Neferure was active in the Egyptian court and held many royal titles bestowing important religious duties.

 The time of Neferure’s death and her place of burial are not yet known, though research suggests it may have occurred between 11 and 16 AD. Sculptures suggest Neferure may have married Thutmose III.



Statues of Goddess Hatshepsut

Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor

Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is the focal point of the Deir el-Bahri (“Northern Monastery”) complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Hatshepsut was a rare female pharoah. Her temple, known as Djeser-Djeseru ("Splendor of Splendors "), was designed and implemented by Senemut, the pharaoh's royal steward, for her posthumous worship.

Temple of Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh

History:

Maatkare Hatshepsut or Hatchepsut (late 16th century BC – c. 1482 BC) was the fifth Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She is generally regarded by modern Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, ruling longer than any female ruler of an indigenous dynasty.

Hatshepsut was the daughter of Pharaoh Tuthmosis I and the wife of his successor Tuthmosis II, who died before she bore a son. Rather than step aside for the secondary wife who had borne him an heir, the plucky queen became co-regent of her stepson, the young Tuthmosis III. Soon she assumed absolute power.

To legitmize her powerful position, Hatshepsut had herself depicted with a pharaoh's kilt and beard. She was a prolific builder, commissioning hundreds of construction projects throughout both Upper and Lower Egypt. Under her reign, Egypt's trade networks began to be rebuilt, after their disruption during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.

She is believed to have ruled from 1503 to 1482 BC. Josephus writes that she reigned 21 years and 9 months. Hatshepsut is regarded variously as the earliest known queen regnant in history, as the first known female to take the title Pharaoh, and the first great woman in history, although all of these claims have been contested.

After Hatshepsut's death, Tuthmosis III became pharaoh. Perhaps fearing a challenge to his legitimacy as a successor, he immediately chiseled all images of Hatshepsut off temples, monuments and obelisks, consigning her remarkable reign to oblivion until its rediscovery by modern archaeologists.

  

                                           Upper Terrace of the Temple of Hatshepsut

In more recent history, tragedy struck in November 1997 when 58 tourists and four guards were killed by terrorists on the Middle Terrace. They hijacked a coach to get away, but the driver deliberately crashed it by the Valley of the Queens and villagers chased them down before the police arrived. All the sites in the area are now heavily guarded with multiple fences, security checkpoints and guards. There have been no attacks on tourists in Egypt since then.

      Square pillars and the rocky cliff

What to See:

A 100-foot causeway leads to the temple, which consists of three terraced courtyards covered in sculptural reliefs. Originally, sphinxes probably lined the path from the Nile to the base of the temple. The terraces have a severe, almost Communist appearance now, but in Hatshepsut's time they were softened and cooled by myrrh trees, green gardens, and fountains. The queen herself acquired the trees on a famous journey to the Land of Punt, which is depicted in one of the colonnades of the Middle Terrace.

Pairs of lions flanked the top and bottom of the ramp to the Middle Terrace; one of each survives today.

The right side of the terrace contains the Birth Colonnade, featuring faded reliefs of Hatshepsut's divine origins. From left: her parents Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmosis sit with their knees touching; gods lead Ahmosis into the birth chamber; the god Khnum creates Hatshepsut and her ka (both depicted as boys) on a potter's wheel; Bes and Heqet (a frog deity) look on; goddesses nurse her; and Thoth records details of her reign.

At the end of the Birth Colonnade and down some steps is the Chapel of Anubis, with fluted columns and colorful murals. Over the niche on the right, Thutmosis III is shown offering wine to Sokaris (a sun god with a falcon's head). Hathor is on the facing wall. Other walls depict Hatshepsut (defaced after her death) and Tuthmosis making offerings to Anubis (the dog-headed god).

The left side of the terrace is occupied by the Punt Colonnade, whose faint reliefs depict Hatshepsut's journey to the Land of Punt (the birthplace of Amun) to bring back myrrh trees for her temple. The destination is believed to be in modern-day Somalia. From left: Amun commissions the journey; Egyptian boats sail from the Red Sea Coast and are welcomed by the king of Punt and his very fat wife (maybe afflicted by elephantiasis). The Egyptians offer metal axes and other goods and leave with myrrh trees, ebony, ivory, cinnamoon wood and panther skins. The last relief shows the trees being planted at the temple.

At the end of the Punt Colonnade is the Chapel of Hathor, with capitals in the shape of the goddess' face and sacred rattle (sistrum). In the first chamber, Hathor appears in bovine and human forms and suckles Hatshepsut (not defaced here) on the left wall. The next chamber has remarkably colorful reliefs of festival processions.

Three Hatshepsuts on the Upper Terrace

 

The face of Hatshepsut

 Guardian of the Upper Terrace

 

Thutmosis III gives wine to Sokaris, Anubis Chapel

Inside the gated sanctuary of the Chapel of Hathor are reliefs of Hatshepsut (also preserved from destruction) worshipping the bovine Hathor on the left and a portrait of Senenmut on the right. Senenmut was the queen's favorite courtier, who fell from grace for mysterious reasons after 15 years of closeness with her and her daughter Neferure - whom he may have fathered. When this sanctuary was first discovered, it contained stacks of baskets full of wooden penises, perhaps used in fertility rituals.

On the top terrace is the Djeser-Djeseru ("Splendor of Splendors"), a colonnaded structure built into a cliff face that rises sharply above it. From a distance, the temple looks like the Egyptian hieroglyphic for Nun, a four-step pyramid representing the primordial mound from which Amun was born. The Upper Terrace is reached via a ramp flanked with vultures' heads. This terrace has only recently opened to visitors after years of excavations and restorations by Polish and Egyptian archaeologists. From there is a fine view of the Nile Valley.

The Sanctuary of Hatshepsut is on the left; it bears reliefs of priests and offerings. On the other side is the Sanctuary of the Sun, an open court with a central altar. In the center in the far back is the Sanctuary of Amun, dug into the cliff and aligned so that it points towards Hatshepsut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. In the time of the Ptolemies, this was extended and dedicated to Imhotep and Amenhotep

 

 Detailed and colorful murals in a portico

 Hieroglyphics

Another view of the portico, with starry ceiling

Hatshepsut the Woman Who Was King

Hatshepsut the Woman Who Was King

Hatshepsut (1479 - 1457 BC)

Queen Hatshepsut Queen Hatshepsut (left) was the first great woman in recorded history: the forerunner of such figures as Cleopatra, Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I.

 Her rise to power went against all the conventions of her time. She was the first wife and Queen of Thutmose II and on his death proclaimed herself Pharaoh, denying the old king's son, her nephew, his inheritance. To support her cause she claimed the God Amun-Ra spoke, saying "welcome my sweet daughter, my favourite, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Maatkare, Hatshepsut. Thou art the King, taking possession of the Two Lands." She dressed as a king, even wearing a false beard and the Egyptian people seem to have accepted this unprecedented behaviour.

She remained in power for twenty years and during this time the Egyptian economy flourished, she expanded trading relations and built magnificent temples as well as restoring many others. Eventually her nephew grew into a man and took his rightful place as pharaoh. The circumstances of this event are unknown and what became of Hatshepsut is a mystery.

                                             Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el Bahri
Hatshepsut's successor became the greatest of all Pharaohs, Thutmose III, "the Napoleon of ancient Egypt." He had her name cut away from the temple walls which suggests he was not overly fond of his auntie. But the fact that she was able to contain the ambitions of this charismatic and wily fellow for so many years, hints at the qualities of her character.

                                      inside the temple

Parade' and 'The Army' are etchings made from drawings done at Deir el Bahri. 'The Army' represents a trading expedition to the Land of Punt (thought to be somewhere on the coast of Somalia) and shows Nehsi the Nubian general.

DEFINITION of Hatshepsut

DEFINITION of  Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut (pron.: /hætˈʃɛpsʊt/; also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies; 1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. According to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as "the first great woman in history of whom we are informed."

                       Statue of Hatshepsut on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmes. Her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutneferet, who carried the title King's daughter and was likely a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure. Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset a secondary wife.

king tutankhamun's treasures

 king Tutankhamen treasures

Hundreds of other items were found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Furniture, food,
 jars of beer, clothing, jewelry and other riches. Above right is a gilded divan

Tutankhamun was entombed with 413 shawabtis. Shawabtis are figurines that would assist the deceased when they entered the afterlife.

This marvelous chair was found in the annex of the antechamber among a jumble of furniture, boxes, and objects of alabaster. 

                                Yet another beautiful piece of alabaster 

    Tutankhamun's gilded and gem-encrusted throne

Here are two beautifully carved alabaster items. The one on the left is a perfume jar,
 and the container on the right was probably made to hold ointment or sacred oils.

                                       A gilded and gem-encrusted chest

                                                An alabaster perfume jar

                                          

                                                                    tutpanel

The hammering work on the gold panels on some of the objects is incredible

                                         tutshrine close

 A closer view of the shrine is at the right while a wooden statue of Anubis, the guide of the dead, sits upon a great chest. Both the chest and the shrine are covered in sheet gold and covered with hieroglyphs

tutanubis

King Tutankhamun's Treasures

 King Tutankhamun's Treasures
Pharaoh Tutankhamun's funerary relics occupy a large section of the upper level of the Cairo Museum. This is not surprising, since most of the artifacts are in spectacular condition and many composed of precious metals. But whether they are made with gold, silver, bronze, wood or alabaster, they are all remarkably crafted and beautiful.

King Tut ruled Egypt from 1333 to 1323 B.C., only 10 years, before he was probably murdered and his throne ursurped by his royal vizier, Ay. He came to rule in the midst of political and religious turmoil brought about by his father, Akhenaten.

His funerary mask (at right), is perhaps the most impressive piece
 in the collection. The mask is about 25 pounds of solid gold, inlaid lapis lazuli, carnelian, quartz, turquoise, obsidian, and colored glass. The beautiful mask is extremely lifelike and attracts the most tourists of any other object on the upper level of the museum. 

                                         The back of the mask is engraved with a magic
                                              formula for added protection of the body.

 

                                      Below are a few photos of Tutankhamun's coffins.

                                                                      tutcoffine

                                                                 tutcoffine detail

During the process of mummification, his key internal organs were removed from his body and placed into these protective jars. The jars were housed in a chest and the chest was placed inside a large gilded, wooden shrine.

The jars and the chest were carved from white alabaster, quarried from Hatnub, and then carved and painted with hieroglyphic spells. The shrine, along with many other priceless artifacts, was crammed in the small "Treasury of the Tomb".

His body was encased in a series of three coffins. Two are on display at the Cairo Museum; the outermost coffin still covers the body of the young pharaoh in his tomb in the Valley of Kings.
One of the coffins was almost 300 pounds of solid gold, the other was wood, layered with gold. Both were encrusted with precious and semi-precious gemstones and engraved with protection spells.

                                              The shrine that stored King Tut's canopic jars

                                                   Cabinet that stored a golden statue



Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun

Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun

Exhibitions of artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun, in both permanent and traveling displays, have appeared in museums across several countries, notably the Soviet Union, United States and the United Kingdom.

 The gilded bier from the base of Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus

The artifacts had sparked a furor of interest in ancient Egypt with their discovery in 1922, but most of them remained in the Cairo Museum until the 1960s, when they began to be exhibited abroad. Because of these exhibitions, relics from the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun are among the most travelled artifacts in the world. Probably the best-known exhibition tour was The Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972 to 1981. Other exhibitions have included Tutankhamun Treasures in 1961 and 1967, Tutankhamen: The Golden Hereafter beginning in 2004, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs beginning in 2005, and Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs in 2008. Standing exhibitions include the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester, England.

                            A pectoral belonging to Tutankhamun, representing his Prenomen.

 Ownership and normal display:
 
 All of the thousands of artifacts exhumed from the Tutenkhamun tomb are, by international convention, considered property of the Egyptian government. Consequently, these pieces are normally kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; the only way for them to be shown internationally is by approval of Egyptian authorities. Although journalists and government officials generally support the tours, some Egyptians argue that the artifacts should remain on display in their own country, where Egyptian school-children would have greater access to them, and where the museum's exhibit would attract foreign tourists. 

Decoration of tomb king tut_ tutankhamun

Decoration of tomb king tut_ tutankhamun

Only the burial chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun was decorated which is unusual because in royal tombs almost all of the walls were generally painted with scenes from the Amduat (the Book of the Dead). In this case, the burial chamber had a golden background and was decorated with scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual and the Amduat (Book of the Dead), and with depictions of Tutankhamun with various gods. There is, unsurprisingly, no reference to the Aten.

The apes of the first hour of the Amduat are depicted on the west wall. On the North wall Tutankhamun appears before the goddess Nut and the royal ka embraces Osiris.

                          Ay opning the mouth of tutankhamun in the tomb of tutankhamun

Further along the wall there is a depiction of Ay wearing the blue war crown of a pharaoh (indicating that he became pharaoh shortly after the death of the young king) performing the Opening of the Mouth ritual before the mummy of Tutankhamun.

On the east wall a spell from the Amduat (Book of the Dead) appears, along with a depiction of the funeral procession of Tutankhamun. His mummy is drawn along on a sledge during the funeral procession and he is followed by two of his viziers to the king and a third individual thought by many to be Horemheb.

The decoration on the south wall depicts Tutankhamun with Anubis and Hathor and a further scene depicting Tutankhamun being welcomed into the underworld by Hathor, Anubis and Isis. The ceiling was decorated with a depiction of Nut with her wings spread to embrace the resting place of the pharaoh.

                                           decoration inside the tomb of tutankhamun

layout of tomb_tutankhamun

Layout of tomb _ Tutankhamen

The tomb of Tutankhamun was one of the smaller tombs of the Valley of the Kings as Tutankhamun was a fairly minor king who had a very short reign. The tomb is located in an area not usually associated with royal burials perhaps because it may have originally been intended to be the tomb of his Vizier, Ay. It is suggested that KV 23 or KV 25 (in the West Valley of the Kings) may have originally been intended for his use but as these tombs were unfinished Tutankhamun was buried in KV 62 and Ay later took KV 23 after succeeding Tutankhamun as Pharaoh. Despite its small size, the tomb was crammed with beautiful artefacts, leading many to speculate on the wonders that would have been placed in the tomb of a pharaoh such as Ramesses II or Thuthmosis III. Over three thousand five hundred items were recovered from the burial of Tutankhamun, and many are breathtaking in their beauty and a testament to the skill of Egyptian craftsmen. However, it is now thought that more than half of the jewellery had been stolen from the tomb before it was opened by Howard Carter.

 

                                                   Plan of the tomb of Tutankhamun 

1.Entrance corridor
2.Antechamber
3.Annex
4.Burial Chamber
5.Treasury

The tomb does not follow the design of the other pharaonic burials of the time. However, Howard Carter suggested that the layout, although apparently different from that of other New Kingdom tombs, replicated the lower sections of more traditional royal tombs. Sixteen steps descend to a sealed and plastered doorway (often erroneously alleged to be the location of the Curse of Tutankhamun). Beyond this doorway a single descending corridor led to a second sealed door and a rectangular antechamber with a small chamber leading off from the west wall. The doorway in the north end of the antechamber leads to a small burial chamber, the floor of which is around a metre lower than that of the preceding chamber. Another annex (the treasury) extends from the east wall of the burial chamber back towards the entrance.

Discovery of the tomb _tutankhamun

Discovery of  the tomb _tutankhamun

The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun caused a sensation and raised the profile of Ancient Egypt with modern tourists and scholars. His tomb had been robbed at least twice before its discovery by Howard Carter but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb it is likely that these robberies took place fairly soon after the pharaoh's burial. The tomb was probably saved from further incursions because its entrance was buried under debris and chips of stone excavated during the construction of other tombs (in particular KV 9 the burial of Rameses VI) and washed there during the infrequent floods which occasionally swept the area. It also seems that worker's accommodation was built above the location of the entrance during the Rameside period implying that the Egyptians themselves did not know there was a tomb beneath them.

                                      howard carter opens the tomb of tutankhamun

Tutankhamun's tomb escaped the systematic clearance of tombs in the area conducted during the Twentieth Dynasty motivated in part by a desire to re-house the mummies of pharaohs in a few locations so that they could be better guarded and in part by a rather less worthy desire to recycle their precious grave goods. Thus because Tutankhamun was not included in the Abydos kings list, and his tomb entrance was lost below rubble and later habitations, it was relatively intact when it was re-discovered.

Howard Carter opens the tomb of Tutankhamun 
Theodore M. Davis and his team uncovered a small site (cache of Tutankhamun - KV 54) containing funerary artefacts bearing the cartouche of Tutankhamun in 1907. Shortly after he excavated the tomb of Horemheb (KV 57) which he assumed was also the tomb of Tutankhamun. In his book detailing his findings ("The Tombs of Harmhabi and Touatankhamanou") he famously states "I fear that the Valley of Kings is now exhausted". He was, of course very wrong.

                                                           coffin of tutankhamun

Howard Carter was employed by Lord Carnarvon to search the area for any remaining tombs, but he did not narrow his search to the Tomb of Tutankhamun until he was running out of time. Carnarvon had made it clear that he would only fund one more year of excavations when Carter struck gold with his discovery of the tomb in 1922.