The Mighty pharaohs ruled Ancient Egypt the same as Kings and Queens ruled other countries around the world. The pharaohs were mighty warriors and went to battle to protect their kingdom. Ancient Egypt was a powerful country and many civilizations feared them.
Pharaohs were more than just rulers they were considered to be nswt, in English that means King or Hm meaning majesty.
They were the legal rulers of the kingdom of Egypt and they were considered to stretch further than their own boundary to rule the world.
Shenu, was another name for Pharaoh. It was written in ancient picture writing called hieroglyphics. The shenu was engraved in stone inside an oval. These oval stones were called cartouches. The band or oval shape was symbolic of eternity. The names of kings and Queens were written on cartouches. These cartouches were gold plaques that could be worn as jewelry. Today people can buy cartouches and have their own names put on these pieces of jewelry.
Eternity was very important in Egyptian religion, Pharaohs were the intermediaries between humans on earth and God. They were believed to give messages and makes rules for the people to follow that came directly from God. When Pharaohs died they lived once more for all of eternity among their God.
The Importance of Women
The great Pharaohs of Egypt were chosen from a matriarchal lineage, a ruling family that was decided according to the Mother’s side of the family. Women were important to the culture and the religion of Ancient Egypt. They were often seen at the side of the Pharaoh during important business. Pharaohs were Queens and chief rules of the country and they were all men.
The Lady Pharaoh
When we think of the great pharaohs of Egypt, we think about men. However not all the Pharaohs were men. Hatshepsut was an exception for she was indeed a woman; the first woman pharaoh. Sometimes history shows her as the beautiful Queen Pharaoh in pictures but they also show her as wearing a beard and looking like a man. In sculptures you will see her wearing the Pharaoh headdress called a nemes, which is a striped head cloth, and the popular fake long thin beard that was customary for the times. Pharaohs also wore a double crown. The Pharaoh’s red crown represented Upper Egypt and the blue crown Lower Egypt. You can find a famous clay sculpture of Hatshepsut at the Metropolitan Museum.
Another important part of the crown was called the uraeus and it is the head of a striking cobra, which represented sovereignty, absolute rule, and divine authority; the authority given by God. This cobra was also the symbol for an ancient female god known as Wadjer. She was known as the protector of Lower Egypt.
Hatshepsut served as pharaoh for about 22 years. She lived during the 18th dynasty from 1498 – 1479 B.C. A great temple is dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut and is located in Deir Al – Bahri near Thebes.
How Hatshepsut Became Pharaoh
Hatshepsut parents were Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. Pharaoh Hatshepsut married her half brother Thutmose II. They had a daughter together they called Neferure. Thutmose II had several harem wives. They also gave him children. His son Thutmose III was the son one of the wives in the harem. Thutmose III became Pharaoh when his father died. However, Thutmose III was only a child under eleven years old at the time and so he needed a regent who is someone to rule for him until he became of age. The logic choice for regent was his father’s wife Queen Hatshepsut.
For two years Hatshepsut acted as regent to the young Pharaoh and then she declared herself Pharaoh. In order to do this she had to enlist the help of court members such as the very influential Hapseneb and the high priests of Amun. Hatshepsut declared that it was her divine right to be Pharaoh because her father, Thutmose I was Amun-Re the King of the Gods.
Hatshepsut claimed that her father the deceased Pharaoh crowned her Pharaoh when he was still alive. Seven Years after her co-rule with the young boy Pharaoh, Hatshepsut became the only official ruling Pharaoh. She dressed like a man and was often referred in the masculine form “he” even though everyone knew she was a woman.
Hatshepsut didn’t stop there, she called herself a God; she claimed she was the female Horus. Horus was the most important God in ancient Egypt and If Hatshepsut was the female Horus she was not only a Pharaoh but a God as well. This would make her all powerful and feared throughout all of Egypt.
What Happened to Thutmose III the Boy Pharaoh?
Thutmose III became the pharaoh only after the death of Hatshepsut. He destroyed many of the shrines and temples that were dedicated to her.
What did Pharaoh Hatshepsut do for Egypt?
The pharaohs who reigned before Hatshepsut concentrated on having a powerful army and showing the ancient world how very strong and mighty they were. Pharaoh Hatshepsut was not that interested in building up the military. Pharaoh Hatshepsut concentrated on making her country better in other areas. She was interested in trading with other countries to get the precious commodities; things she needed from other countries. She made trading expeditions to Byblos for wood, to Sinai for some turquoise and she went to a very mysterious land called Punt for Incense. No one knows for sure where Punt is but historians believe it could be the either the country of Syria, in the Middle East, or Eritrea, or Uganda in Africa.
Building Program
Hatshepsut built temples and restored sacred buildings and sanctuaries in the Middle East but her greatest accomplishment was the creation of her mortuary temple, the place her body would rest after she died, at Deir el-bahri.
The End of Her Life
Thutmose III was the general of the army under Hatshepsut. He lead the Egyptians into battle with some Asiatic peoples who revolted in the city of Kadesh, against Hatshepsut’s rule. Hatshepsut accompanied him into that battle but she disappeared never to be seen again.
Where did Hatshepsut go?
No one really knows what happened to Pharaoh Hatshepsut, her body has never been found. Some archeologists believe that they have found the mummy of Hatshepsut. They have found seven mummies and with modern DNA testing and CT Scan they believe that one of these mummies is Hatshepsut.
There is still a big mystery of what happened to Hatshepsut and why.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaoh
http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn;=womenshistory&cdn;=education&tm;=4&f;=20&tt;=14&bt;=1&bts;=1&zu;=http%3A//members.tripod.com/%257Eib205/hatshepsut.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/hatshepsut/gr/hatshepsut.htm
