Hatshepsut Biography - Age, Career

Introduction:

Hatshepsut was one of the most influential and successful female rulers of ancient Egypt. She reigned for over 20 years during the 18th Dynasty, from around 1479 BCE to 1458 BCE. Hatshepsut came to power during the New Kingdom period, when Egypt was at the height of its power and prosperity. Even though women in ancient Egypt had more rights and power than in many other ancient civilizations, it was still highly unusual for a woman to ascend to the role of pharaoh. 

Yet Hatshepsut defied tradition and claimed the throne for herself, adopting the full titulary and regalia of Egyptian kingship. Over the course of her reign she oversaw ambitious building projects, successful trading expeditions, and brought long-term peace and economic growth to Egypt. She helped restore the wealth and stature that Egypt had attained during the height of the Middle Kingdom, after the foreign rule of the Hyksos had interrupted Egypt’s prosperity.

Accomplishments as Pharaoh

Once in power, Hatshepsut proved to be an ambitious and adept leader. She appointed officials loyal to her and built a strong power base, successfully keeping the priesthood and noble class on her side throughout her reign. She largely continued the military campaigns into Nubia started by her predecessors, ensuring Egyptian access to valuable gold, ivory and ebony from the south.

Hatshepsut focused much of her efforts on large-scale building projects that brought jobs and wealth into Egypt. Her most famous and iconic achievements are her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri and the numerous obelisks and monuments erected at the Temple of Amon-Ra at Karnak. Her mortuary temple honoring Amon-Ra was built alongside the valley temples of the former kings her father and husband. This temple featured multiple terraces, open courtyards, and colonnades of graceful columns. The walls were decorated with intricate reliefs and statues lining the ramps and terraces. Obelisks were an important part of Egyptian religious complexes, symbolizing the sun god Ra. The pair of obelisks commissioned by Hatshepsut at the Temple of Amon-Ra was unrivaled; one still stands today as the tallest surviving ancient obelisk in Egypt.

Alongside these construction projects, Hatshepsut undertook ambitious trade missions to the Land of Punt along the Red Sea Coast. These expeditions brought back wealth in the form of gold, aromatic resins, ebony wood, ivory, and wild animals like monkeys and panthers. These materials were then used to build temples and furnish tombs. This trade provided increased work and revenue for Egyptians from all social classes. Her successful leadership brought back the prosperity that existed under Ahmose I and the early part of Thutmose I’s reign. 

Her peaceful foreign policy avoided unnecessary military campaigns and instead focused on re-establishing the economic ties abroad that had been cut in the Hyksos era. The long period of peace and abundance enabled her to complete ambitious construction projects, engage in leisurely pursuits like attending festivals and hunting, and perform duties expected of the pharaoh like maintaining ma’at, or order and balance. Under Hatshepsut’s reign, the priests’ oracle declared that the deities were pleased with Egypt, a sign that the gods approved of her divine rule.

Relationship with Thutmose III

For most of her reign, Hatshepsut’s stepson Thutmose III was considered co-ruler beside her but remained fairly removed from power. As Thutmose III reached adulthood, Hatshepsut allowed him to play a more active role in the military campaigns abroad, likely as preparation for him to take full power after her death. There is no indication of hostility or conflict between them, and in reliefs they are shown as equals working together to complete ritual duties. After Hatshepsut’s death and Thutmose III’s assumption of pharaonic power, he did order a systematic erasure of her image from temples and monuments. Rather than a vindictive act, this destruction of images was likely an attempt to neutralize a potential challenge to his legitimacy. With her strong claims to the throne and distinct kingly iconography, memories of her successful female reign could have threatened his own unequivocal authority as pharaoh. Any hostility he felt was probably towards protecting the tradition of male kingship rather than personal animosity toward his stepmother.

Death and Legacy

No records exist about the circumstances or exact date of Hatshepsut’s death. Based on the timelines of her reign and Thutmose III’s sole rule, she likely died around 1458 BCE, when she would have been around 50 years old. She served as pharaoh until her death based on records of her continuing building projects and diplomacy. Hatshepsut had successfully overseen Egypt at a critical time and ushered in a period of wealth that paved the way for the following New Kingdom pharaohs to expand Egypt’s empire. She proved that a female could become pharaoh and rule with the legitimacy and success equal to any male king. Her legacy lived on even after thousands of years, making her one of the most well-known and respected pharaohs of ancient Egypt.