Hatshepsut, the daughter of Thutmose I, was one of the most powerful queens of the ancient world, but has often fallen into the shadows of more famous queens like Cleopatra and Nefertiti. However, few queens can boast with the power and success that Hatshepsut conveyed. She reigned for 20 years (1478-1458 BCE) during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE) and can boast being the longest reigning indigenous Egyptian female in the entire Ancient Egyptian history (Cleopatra was of Macedonian ancestry).
The reason Hatshepsut is one of the most famous women in Egyptian history is because she was not a queen, but a pharaoh which is what made her famous - the female pharaoh. After Thutmose I died, his son (Hatshepsut’s half brother and husband) Thutmose II took the throne. Thutmose II died without any male heirs born to Hatshepsut, so one of his sons with a minor Queen became the next monarch in line. However, Thutmose III was still too young to rule by himself. So Hatshepsut declared herself the daughter of Amun and as such it was her birthright to rule Egypt. While her political and religious connections allowed her to get away with it, it was certainly unconventional to have a female ruler. Since the title of Queen generally indicated the WIFE of the ruler, and she was Amun’s daughter, her title became Pharaoh. Today’s equivalent might be to be called the “White House '' in the USA, as pharaoh means “great house” in ancient Egyptian.
At her mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahri, which is built into the cliffs on the west bank of the Nile, she depicted her divine conception with scenes of Amun visiting her mother and “seeing to her conception”. She often had herself depicted like the male pharaohs before her with the double crown of Egypt on her monuments, statues and in her temples.
She also built a very early part of the temple Medinet Habu in Luxor, as well as a speos (a small shrine) on the west bank in Gebel el-Silsila, north of modern-day Aswan. She is also often given credit for the first expedition to Punt, a land we do not actually know where it is located, but scenes from this expedition are also depicted in Deir El Bahri, and Punt is mentioned in several written documents from the New Kingdom.
Hatshepsut died during her 22nd regnal year, and her mummy was lost to history and her mummy remains a mystery. Some claim that her mummy was identified in 2007 as one out of two mummies found in KV60, the most important archaeological find since Tutankhamun's tomb was found in 1922. She was identified by a canopy jar with her name inscribed on it in the Royal Mummy Cache at DB320 - which is in a different tomb. It contained her liver or spleen, intestines and a molar with a broken root. The root of a broken tooth was then found in the jaw of one of the unnamed mummies in KV60. It was thus argued that the broken tooth fragment from the canopy jar with her name directly connects to the other tooth fragment still in the mummy’s mouth. Identifying mummies is difficult work that can sometimes feel like pulling teeth!
An x-ray of the mummy established that she suffered from osteoporosis, had cancer in her left hip, arthritis and perhaps diabetes. The cancer in her left hip may have been caused by a skin lotion found in her possession. It contained a benxopyrene carcinogenic (an organic compound that can cause cancer). It is also known that other members of her family are thought to have suffered from a genetic skin condition, so the pharaoh might accidentally have poisoned herself whilst trying to keep her skin from itching! However, it is also possible that she may have died due to very poor dental health. There was evidence of an infection which likely led to sepsis which can eventually kill. A reason to check your teeth and double check the skin lotion you use.
No DNA testing has been conducted as of this writing due to the fact that it would require the destruction of a tooth which Egyptologists are not willing to do. Additionally, in 2011 the tooth was identified as a molar from a lower jaw - not the upper jaw which is what it was thought to be originally and thus casts doubt on the previous theory. Therefore the identification of Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s mummy is still in doubt.
Now, not everyone was happy with her reign and after her death her name and depictions were erased on monuments and in temples, sometimes replaced with succeeding pharaohs’ names and images in order to take credit for her work. Being forgotten was a horrible fate and the only widely known pharaoh to have been purposefully erased was Akhenaten, the heretic king. A fate no one in Ancient Egypt wanted.
Text: Josefin Percival. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2023.
Images:
1. Tim Pendemon through Flickr
2. Anna Sunneborn Gudnadottir
Further reading: Shaw, I., ed. (2002). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Thimes, J. L. 2008. "A Dental Observation". In: KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt. 19/3, p. 6–7.
"Deadly ancient Egyptian medication? German scientists shed light on dark secret of Queen Hatshepsut's flacon” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110819131513
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