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Hatshepsut
(1508-1458 BCE)
The Unforgettable Pharaoh
Forget Cleopatra, King Tut, or Nefertiti—Hatshepsut was quite possibly the greatest pharaoh in history. She didn’t come to power through assassinations or war, nor did she even engage in violence. She just ruled, and ruled brilliantly.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing about her, though. Thanks to a sustained campaign by her successors to erase all traces of her reign (more on that in a bit), it was not until fairly recently that she came back to historical prominence. She was rediscovered because her time in power saw such an incredible proliferation of architecture, statues, and art that it proved impossible to scrub mention of her from everything. So many of her artifacts have survived to the present day that almost every major museum in the world has at least one artifact from her reign. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has an entire room devoted to her.
All this out of a reign of only 22 years, 1,500 years before the birth of Jesus.
In fact, speaking of Jesus—you know the myrrh that the wise men brought to his birth? That gift was almost certainly made possible by Hatshepsut’s import of myrrh to Egypt, 1,500 years earlier, in the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees. While this may not sound impressive on its face, she had brought them in from the land of Punt—an act that, for the time, was akin to going to the moon. Many talked about doing this, but she was one of only a handful to ever pull it off. This was just one of the many nigh-miraculous acts she pulled off in order to legitimate her claim on the throne.
Like many ancient female rulers, Hatshepsut was never meant to be in power. She ascended to rule when her father and brothers died suddenly and the heir to the throne was too young to rule. She spent much effort on her own PR—besides the aforementioned trip to Punt, she oversaw the creation of multiple statues of herself as pharaoh (in various androgynous guises, including with the pharaoh’s false beard). These building efforts culminated in a 10-story-tall stone obelisk that displayed her official history. In it, she is portrayed as divinely conceived and the rightful ruler as appointed by the gods. Essentially she was saying, “I’ve always been king.”
Eventually, she stepped aside, and the young ruler Thutmose III—with whom she’d, strictly speaking, been co-ruling, although she’d been doing everything herself—went about establishing his own legitimacy, as a man who didn’t need a woman’s help. A large part of that was taking credit for all of Hatshepsut’s accomplishments by attempting to erase her name from everything. This damnatia memoriae went on for decades, but he could never erase her entirely.
(enjoy the art? you can get it as a poster, shirt or phone case!)Art Notes
- She’s got the pharaoh’s beard, flail, and crook here.
- This is the front entrance of The Temple of Hatshepsut, an actual temple that survives to this day. Thutmose III is off smashing stuff in the background.
- All of the hieroglyphs are actual ones from her reign, although they’ve been shuffled around to display as many as possible in one place. On the ceiling, you can find some of the tales of her ships that went to Punt.
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I think the artwork is just fine…
One of my favorite historical women!
The flail in Pharaohonic imagery is for threshing wheat, not driving slaves… it represents Pharaoh’s dominion over agriculture, the crook is about Pharaoh’s dominion over livestock… both are indications of Pharaoh’s earthly wealth and power.
…The Uraeus (the serpent on Pharaoh’s headband/crown) is representative of Pharaoh’s divine power on earth.
I like the view that she’s looking down on us all and the world is bending to her will.
Mmm, you should read the story of Popocatetl and Iztaccihuatl (a Mexican folk legend), i think it would be quite a good story to be used by Disney, although it has a sad ending…
Okay I finally got around to going through every RP on this site and after three weeks I finally have! Now to wait for the next update….
It’s up tomorrow! Although man, this one is a real beast to get out…
Are you going to feature any other female pharaohs? Like Nitokris, who is supposed to have avenged her brother’s murder by having an underground banquet hall built and using it to drown their enemies.
Have you seen the hint for next entry?
I had not, at the time I wrote that comment. I shall look forward to next week’s entry most eagerly.
There is far more on her as well, if you enjoy this, continue researching her. She cared deeply for her people, was most likely murdered by being given a poisoned salve for (likely, psoriasis, very common). I’m very tired, but there is so much more to her.
Interesting. Do you have a source you’d recommend? I read Kara Cooney’s book on her, which seemed to be one of the most recent, but it didn’t make much mention of a potential murder, to my recollection.
Not sure if you know yet, but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvc9tfnptBs took a lot of your art and didn’t credit either.
They did credit at the beginning of the video but seriously WHAT THE FUCK.
I mean it’s not in their description at all, and considering that reaction I’m doubting they asked your permission so idk man, figured you’d want to know at least.
Oh, totally! Thank you for telling me. The WTF was in response to them not asking. If they’d asked and provided a link, I would be fine with it. As is, I’m going to be sending a cease and desist.
she is my favorite ruler
I’m just so, so, so loving this site.
Two small things about this entry: 1. You’ve written *damnatia* memoriae, but the Latin phrase is actually *damnatio* memoriae. “Damnatia” isn’t a Latin word. (“Damnatio” means more or less “condemnation.”) 2. In Hatshepsut’s day, the rulers of Egypt were still called “kings” rather than “pharaohs.” So she was “King Hatshepsut.” It’s fascinating—on at least one Egyptian monument, the hieroglyphs referring to her use the masculine word but with feminine endings, which is basically impossible in ancient Egyptian. So she didn’t bend just the kingdom and the royalty to her will, but also the language! (I have photos of the glyphs somewhere but I seriously doubt I’ll be able to find them. If I ever do I’ll send them on.)
WOW!…I hope you find (and share) your photos…
regards from Mexico