beware the Serpent

oooo, Tori got deep...but yes. I'm gonna just copy and paste the summary I used for Gaia, 'cause I'm lazy. XP

"Yes, I am a Christian, please resist the urge to stone me to death. Iunno, I honestly had fun using rich colors, and considering how little I know about what a snake's face looks like, I'm pretty okay with how it came out. ^.^ Praise be to God, comments make me smile, and flames are used to toast marshmallows. Luv y'all! (blowkiss)"

Annnnd that just about sums it up. I think people on Gaia are a little crazier, and a little more hostile about the suggestion of religion, so I don't think that first comment was quite nessecary. Still, you heard me, I'm lazy.I had no real passion for this drawing, I just use whatever ideas that come to me. (shrugs) ALSO!!! I'm posting the research I'm doing on Hatshepsut for a story that I'm doing for Governor school. Pay no attention, I just need a place that I can access from both here and school so I can copy and paste and use it there, jaja? ^.^






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Hatshepsut, the fifth ruler of the 18th Dynasty, was the daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose.
As was common in royal families, she married her half-brother, Thutmose II, who had a son, Thutmose III,
by a minor wife. When Thutmose II died in 1479 B.C. his son, Thutmose III, was appointed heir.
However, Hatshepsut was appointed regent due to the boy's young age. They ruled jointly until 1473 when she declared herself pharaoh.
Dressed in men’s attire, Hatshepsut administered affairs of the nation,
with the full support of the high priest of Amun, Hapuseneb and other officials.
When she built her magnificent temple at Deir el Bahari in Thebes she made reliefs of her divine birth as the daughter of Amun.
Hatshepsut disappeared in 1458 B.C. when Thutmose III, wishing to reclaim the throne, led a revolt.
Thutmose had her shrines, statues and reliefs mutilated.




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Ma'at-ka-Ra Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh of Egypt

Ma'at-ka-Ra - 'Truth/Order/Balance ("Ma'at") is the Spirit/Double ("ka") of Ra' Hatshepsut - 'Foremost of Noble Women'

Although not the only female ruler of Egypt, Ma'at-ka-Ra Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty) is one of the best known (next to Cleopatra).

She was an 18th dynasty Pharaoh, daughter of Thuthmose I and Ahmes. When her father died her half brother, Thuthmose II, ascended to the throne. He was young, apparently younger than Hatshepsut herself.

The Egyptian tradition of having the Pharaoh marry a royal woman led Thuthmose II to marry Hatshepsut. (The women in Egypt carried the royal blood, not the males. To become Pharaoh, the man had to marry a female of royal blood, often a sister, half sister or other near relative. Usually it was the eldest daughter of the previous Pharaoh.) Thuthmose II died soon after becoming Pharaoh, leaving the widow Hatshepsut, a daughter Neferura... and a son by another wife - Thuthmose III.

Due to the young age of the Pharaoh, Hatshepsut became his regent. They ruled together for a number of years until she proclaimed herself Pharaoh (perhaps when Thuthmose III was reaching manhood) - something almost unheard of, despite the higher status of women in Egypt compared to women in other cultures at the time. Women could own land, inherit from family members, and even go to court to defend her rights. But before Hatshepsut, there were queens who had ruled Egypt... but not a female Pharaoh.

She managed to rule for about twenty years, before disappearing from history... coinciding with Thuthmose III's becoming Pharaoh in his own right.

But what happened in those twenty years?

Inscriptions on the Walls of Hatshepsut's Temple

Hatshepsut, with the backing of the temple of Amun, proclaimed that she was the divine Wife of the god Amun:

Amun took the form of the noble King Thuthmose and found the queen sleeping in her room. When the pleasant odours that proceeded from him announced his presence she woke. He gave her his heart and showed himself in his godlike splendour. When he approached the queen she wept for joy at his strength and beauty and he gave her his love...
On the walls of her temple, Hatshepsut describes how Thuthmose I made her his heir:
Then his majesty said to them: "This daughter of mine, Khnumetamun Hatshepsut - may she live! - I have appointed as my successor upon my throne...she shall direct the people in every sphere of the palace; it is she indeed who shall lead you. Obey her words, unite yourselves at her command." The royal nobles, the dignitaries, and the leaders of the people heard this proclamation of the promotion of his daughter, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ma'at-ka-Ra - may she live eternally!
Hatshepsut began to adopt several male attributes, after the Oracle of Amun pronounced it Amun's will that Hatshepsut should be Pharaoh. She gradually took on the new role, rather than appearing all at once as the Pharaoh. That would have been a drastic step - she was rather cautious. She dropped her titles relating to those only a woman could hold, and took on those of the Pharaoh, and slowly started the trend towards appearing like a male, wearing the shendyt kilt, nemes headdress with its uraeus, khat head cloth and false beard. She even, eventually, dropped the female ending from her name ('t') and became His Majesty, Hatshepsu.
Hatshepsut's Daughters

On becoming Pharaoh, Hatshepsut had to give up her title - not just a title, but a special job with specific duties - of "God's Wife". She granted her daughter Neferura (Thuthmose II's daughter) this title. Unfortunately Neferura died young, but Hatshepsut apparently was grooming her daughter as a prince, rather than a princess, despite the title. There is a beautiful block statue of Senmut, holding the child Neferura enfolded in his arms. Neferura is wearing the royal false beard, and the side lock of a youth.

One of Neferura's tutors was a soldier, Ahmose, who wrote:

Hatshepsut gave me repeated honours. I raised her eldest daughter, Princess Neferura, while she was still a child at the breast.
Merira-Hatshepset, Hatshepsut's second daughter, became the wife of Thuthmose III, and married him just before or during his coronation after Thuthmose II died. Little else is known about her, other than she may have been the mother of Amenhotep II.
Senmut and Other Officials

When Neferura was still a child, Senmut was her tutor. It is unknown as to his relationship with Hatshepsut, but he was one of her strongest supporters, probably even one of her top advisers... During his time, he gained over 40 titles, including chief architect. He disappeared some time before the end of Hatshepsut's reign, and it is unknown what actually happened to him.

The backing of the priesthood of Amun was very important to raise and keep Hatshepsut in power. Hapuseneb was the High Priest of Amun, and Hatshepsut also put him in charge of her monuments at Karnak. He may have even been vizier to Hatshepsut, but she certainly gave him power.

Nehsy was one of her Chancellor, known for leading Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt.

One inscription that Senmut himself left proclaimed of himself:

Companion greatly beloved, Keeper of the Palace, Keeper of the Heart of the King, making content the Lady of Both Lands, making all things come to pass for the Spirit of Her Majesty.
But, from his titles, it may be a true statement. Senmut was a lowly born man who rose to power with Hatshepsut. Some of his many titles included Overseer of the Works, Overseer of the Fields, Overseer of the Double Gold House, Overseer of the Gardens of Amun, Controller of Works, Overseer of the Administrative Office of the Mansion, Conductor of Festivals, Overseer of the Cattle of Amun, Steward of the King's Daughter Neferura, Chief of the King, Magnate of the Tens of Upper and Lower Egypt, Chief of the Mansion of the Red Crown, Privy Councillor, Chief Steward of Amun, Overseer of the Double Granary of Amun and Hereditary Prince and Count.
Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple and Other Works

After becoming Pharaoh, Hatshepsut ordered many works, carrying on from her father's works. Her first were two obelisks, cut at Aswan and transported to Karnak. There is not much left of these, as most of her things were vandalised after Thuthmose III took over. She later ordered three more to be cut (one of which cracked before it was carved from the rock, so it still remains at Aswan till this day!). These were to celebrate her 16th year as Pharaoh.

At Karnak, she carried out many repairs to the temples, assuring herself the favours of the priests. It was a continuation of the works of her father, but her own restorations included a pylon to the temple and obelisks. Somewhat further north, she built a small temple in the rock, with more inscriptions of her reign. This is a most beautiful temple, again.

She also ordered a tomb (KV20) made for herself, while married to Thuthmose II. It was a queen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, but it was never completed. Supposedly she and her father, Thuthmose I, were actually buried there until the priests moved the bodies elsewhere, to stop thieves from desecrating the tombs. (There was a first, small tomb that was also unfinished, built behind the Valley of the Queens, but this was abandoned when Hatshepsut married Thuthmose II and became queen.)

After the Valley of the Kings tomb was abandoned, work at beautiful Deir el-Bahri was started. This was to be her famous Mortuary Temple - Djeser Djeseru. It was built at the site of an even older temple - Mentuhotep I's mortuary temple from the 11th Dynasty. This is the place where the inscriptions of her life and achievements can be found, although they, too, were vandalised.

It was modelled on Mentuhotep I's temple, but Senmut, the architect, improved on the design, blending in with the cliffs around the area. It is a three-terraced building with porticoes, with chapels to the gods at the top - one to Hathor, Anubis, Ra-Horakhte and, of course, Amun-Ra.

Inscriptions at the temple say:

When you rest in your building where your beauties are worshiped, Amun-Ra, the Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands, give Hatshepsut Ma'at-ka-Ra life, duration and happiness. For you she has made this building fine, great, pure and lasting...
It most certainly is lasting.

Her temple was filled with many beautiful scenes that prove herself as Pharaoh. There was even some reference to military activity at the temple, even though she is often portrayed as a peaceful queen. She did, in fact, have some conquest, like the rest of her seemingly war-loving family.

This refers to a campaign in Nubia. She even sent Thuthmose III out with the army, on various campaigns (many of which little is known at all!). One inscription even says that Hatshepsut herself led one of her Nubian campaigns. The inscription at Sehel island suggest that Ty, the treasurer of Lower Egypt, went into battle under Hatshepsut herself. She had to prove herself as a warrior Pharaoh to her people.

It also depicts her expedition to the Land of Punt.

The Expedition to Punt

Hatshepsut ordered a trading expedition, her ships reaching the Land of Punt (perhaps to present day Somalia), as commanded by the god Amun-Ra. This was a land rich in products Egyptians desired - myrrh, frankincense, woods, sweet-smelling resin, ivory, spices, gold, ebony, ivory and aromatic trees. Even animals and fish, many of which can be identified today.

There are also reliefs of the homes and people of Punt. The huts of the people, and the native flora, resemble the huts of the Toquls (according to some) near Somalia. The fish and other animals are not natives of Egypt, leading to evidence that Hatshepsut's people had actually visited such a place. Even the people are shown - the most obvious of the people, though, would have to be the ruler of Punt's wife - she is depicted as an obese woman. But their outfits and the fashion shown of the people seem to describe the ancient peoples of Somali.

The chief and his wife, quoted on Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, say:

How have you arrived at this land unknown to the men of Egypt? Have you come down from the roads of the Heavens? Or have you navigated the sea of Ta-nuter? You must have followed the path of the sun. As for the King of Egypt, there is no road which is inaccessible to His Majesty; we live by the breath he grants to us.
On the return of the expedition, Hatshepsut held a procession to the Temple of Amun-Ra, where her inscriptions stated that the god himself, and Hathor (Lady of Punt), guided the expedition to the new lands. After the appropriate sacrifices had been made, tributes from the Land of Punt were transferred to the temple.
She recorded this on the walls of her temple at Deir el-Bahri, and many of the scenes can still be seen today. (Unfortunately many were damaged or destroyed when someone - most likely Thuthmose III - tried to erase her name and image from every monument that may have had her name.)

Though this seems a little drastic, there was obviously bitter feelings against Hatshepsut. No-one knows if she was murdered, died or retired from politics to let Thuthmose III and her second daughter rule, but she disappeared when Thuthmose III became Pharaoh in his own right. Her body has not been found, so it is difficult to prove one way or another.

But, despite all the damage, the people of today still know of Egypt's first female Pharaoh - Hatshepsut.

Caroline Seawright is a full time worker, part time traveler, anime and manga lover and HTML programmer! She writes many articles on or about Egypt.




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Ancient Egypt’s view of women was extremely liberal for the time, but it was rare for a woman to become pharaoh. Hatshepsut’s desire for power led to her becoming one of only three female pharaohs in 3000 years, and her need to legitimise her role as pharaoh would dominate her reign.

To support her claim to the throne she turned to her royal background – her father Tuthmosis I had been pharaoh and she had been queen to his successor, Tuthmosis II (her half-brother).

Hatshepsut put words into her dead father’s mouth, claiming he had publicly appointed her as his successor and not as co-regent. She then gained support by appointing new officials who were reliant on her for their position.

Hatshepsut mostly relied on propaganda and self-aggrandizement to increase her notoriety. On her temple walls Hatshepsut carved a tale of how the god Amen took on her father’s appearance the day she was conceived – making her the daughter of the chief of all gods.


To further enhance her status, Hatshepsut also made use of her army, not in battle but for a trading trip to the land of Punt, where no Egyptian had been for more than 500 years. This mission was highly successful. Hatshepsut returned with exotic goods such as ivory, leopard skins and incense. As well as legitimising Hatshepsut’s position as pharaoh, the expedition set her apart as a ruler who had reached out to distant foreign lands.

After 22 years of reign, Hatshepsut died and her son, Tuthmosis III, gained the throne that had rightfully been his. Years later, his resentment toward Hatsheput became evident. So that people would soon forget the reign of the female pharaoh had ever happened, Tuthmosis III deleted her name from the “kings list” and monuments attributed to her.

It was not until 1903 that British archaeologist Howard Carter came across the name of Hatshepsut and the mystery of the unknown pharaoh was solved.



Hatshepsut ordered many obelisks in her reign to be carved with her name and propaganda. Weighing more than 300 tons and standing 30 metres tall, obelisks became the defining monument of the New Kingdom.

Hatshepsut ordered carvings that praised her beauty but in an attempt to strengthen her position as pharaoh, also had herself depicted as a man.

Hatshepsut’s architect, Senenmut, had a meteoric rise to fame, which led to questions about their relationship – even more so when his tomb was built next to hers. Some of the crude 3,000 year-old graffiti suggests these rumours were rife.

The name Hatshepsut roughly translates to “the most noble of ladies”.










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Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmosis I, the wife (probable half-sister) and Queen of Thutmosis II and step-mother and co-regent of Thutmosis III. She was Pharaoh, and was pictured as such in her mortuary temple and other monuments. She ruled for twenty-two year. When she died, Thutmosis III supervised her burial in the Valley of the Kings.
In the years after her reign, her successors defaced the temple and monuments, selectively removing her name or replacing it with their own. It is not known if Thutmosis III ordered the actual defacement out of anger at her assumption of power. There is some archeological evidence that the defacement took place 20 years after her death, a long time to hold a grudge. Thutmosis III ruled for thirty-three years in his own right.

The Temple at Deir el Bahri served as a record of the major events of her reign. There are scenes depicting a trading expedition to Punt and the quarrying of the two obelisks she commissioned for Karnak,one of which still stands today. There are also scenes of her coronation.





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Thutmose III is crowned, and Queen Hatshepsut is appointed as regent for the young king. It is usual for the widow of the previous king to act as regent if a king were under age. Thutmose III is known to have been "a hawk [still] in the nest" at accession.

2-7
As regent, Hatshepsut orders Senenmut to go to Aswan, and cut two obelisks from the red Aswan granite. Obelisks are monuments for the sun god. Amen's name had been tied to the name of the sun god, Re, to increase his popularity. These two obelisks stood on each side of an altar to the sun disc, Re-Horakhte. It was the earliest known open air altar to this god that is known. Hatshepsut erected another altar to Re-Horakhte in the Sun Court, on the upper terrace of her temple in Deir el Bahri.

2-7


At some stage during this time, Hatshepsut is crowned as pharaoh. The monarchy becomes a coregency with Thutmose III. Year 7 is the most likely date (see below).


Year 7 is the most likely date for Hatshepsut's transition from

Regent (Queen Regnant) to Co-Regent (pharaoh)


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7
This is the earliest date recorded with Hatshepsut’s title as pharaoh. She may have used it earlier, but no dated record of this has yet been found. The earliest dates appear among the burial equipment of Senemnut’s mother, Hatnofer. Some of her equipment also held the title of Hatshepsut as God’s Wife of Amen, a title she dropped when she became a ruler. (Her daughter, Neferure, then took on those duties as High Priestess to the god Amen.)

In this same year she abandons her first tomb, which was situated among the tombs of other royal women in a lonely wadi behind the cliffs of Deir el Bahari, and orders work to begin on a new tomb for herself in the Valley of the Kings. New stage in work at Djeser Djeseru.

9
Hatshepsut sends a large expedition to Punt, a country that is likely to be Somaliland, on the Horn of Africa. Very few kings ever sent their ships to Punt. Most of the trade from that place came down to the River Nile, in Nubia (not far from Khartoum today). No Egyptian expedition had been sent to Punt for about 500 years prior to Hatshepsut, so there was great excitement in the land over this trading venture.

The expedition was led by Nehesy, a foreigner; his name means "the Nubian". He was Chancellor (Seal-bearer) of Upper Egypt, and had been given the title of "prince" - although he was not a member of the royal family. (A large number of important officials were given this title.) Nehesy appears at Deir el Bahri in part of the wall scene showing the voyage to Punt.

13
Hatshepsut sends an expedition to the turquoise mines in the Sinai. These mines had not been visited by official expeditions for over 100 years, because the area was dangerous (tribes of Bedouin would attack foreigners who went there).

16
This is the year of Hatshepsut's heb-sed (or rejuvenation festival). She sends her official, Amenhotep, to cut out two obelisks from the granite rocks on the island of Seheil, near Aswan. The obelisks are to celebrate her heb-sed. The obelisks were then erected in Karnak after they had been coated with electrum (a mixture of silver and gold), so that they. would shine in the sun.

In this same year Hatshepsut starts work on her famous Red Chapel at Karnak. Like all Egyptian sacred buildings, it had a name: The Place of the Heart of Amen. This building was a shrine for the processional boat of the god, Amen. (The statues of the various gods were taken around the temple in a barque, or boat, and the Red Chapel was a god's barque chapel where the boat rested when it wasn't being used.) The Red Chapel was made of pink-red Aswan granite. It had scenes from Hatshepsut's heb-sed carved on it.

In the same year Hatshepsut sends an expedition to Wadi Maghara, in the Sinai. The workers there cut a temple to Hathor out of the rock.

18
Hatshepsut orders a huge pylon (or gateway), to be made beside the sacred lake at the Temple of Amun at Karnak. This is the temple's eighth pylon.

This gateway is different from all the others that had been built, for it is put on a different pathway. The path leads to a temple Hatshepsut had begun: the Temple of Mut

20
Another expedition is sent to the turquoise mines in the Sinai. A number of expeditions had been sent during Hatshepsut's reign, but only two expedition leaders left records with dates on them

21
(Manetho an Egyptian historian) tells us that Hatshepsut died in this year. Two different dates have been recorded in copies of Manetho's work, but the ninth month of this year is more likely to have been the date of her death.




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Senenmut had a humble background (his family (Ramose and Hatnefer) came from Armant), he was to become under Hatshepsut's reign one of the most powerful men in the country. There is speculation as to whether this was down to Senenmut's own natural talents as an administrator that caused this rise to power - or was there a close personal relationship between the King and her subject?


Senenmut originally entered the royal court during the reign of Tuthmosis II, under Hatshepsut he would eventually hold over 80 titles during his period as an official and administrator working in the royal court, a few examples:
'Spokesman for King Hatshepsut, Steward of the royal family, Superintendent of the buildings of the god Amun'.



Despite the claims of a love affair between Hatshepsut and Senenmut, it is clear that Senenmut was a man with some talent at his job - he had supervised the transport and erection of the obelisks at the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, he supervised the building of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.


Senenmut and Neferure
It is clear from the statues found of Senenmut, that he enjoyed a very close relationship with Neferure - the daughter of Hatshepsut (it is possible that this is the only sort of relationship he had with the King Hatshepsut, as teacher to her daughter. Although the converse may be argued - that Senenmut educated Neferure because of his relationship with Hatshepsut).

The end of Senenmut
For some reason, towards the last quarter of Hatshepsut's reign, Senenmut fell from favour and disappears from view (sometime between Year 16 to Year 19 Hatshepsut). There are theories - Neferure (Hatshepsut's daughter) died in Year 11, after her death Senenmut seeks to join with Tuthmosis III. However, Senenmut was a strong supporter of Hatshepsut, once Senenmut died / disappeared Hatshepsut herself soon lost the throne.
It is certain, however, that he was never buried in either of his two tombs (see below).
Due to the sudden disappearance of Senenmut (and the lack of a burial), speculation remains high:
was he killed abroad, drowned in the Nile, had a lovers' spate with Hatshepsut who then had him killed, agents of Tuthmosis III had him killed... and so on.
Many of Senenmut's images and monuments were attacked and vandalised after his death - but by whom? Hatshepsut or Tuthmosis III?


The tombs of Senenmut
He built two tombs for his burial - the first he constructed at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna (TT71), this tomb still holds a block statue of Senenmut holding Neferura on his lap. Also found in the tomb were 150 Ostraca (these included sketch plans of the tomb, calculations, various reports and also various literary texts which included: 'The Satire of the Trades, The Tale of Sinuhe and the Instruction of Ammenemes I).
The second tomb he built to the east of the first court of the temple of Hatshepsut, this tomb was bigger and better than the first (TT353) - the entrance was cut just to the north of Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahri mortuary temple, Senenmut's tomb had a long and winding passageway so that the chamber was located underneath the outer court of the temple. This tomb was never completed and the images of Senenmut in it were defaced in antiquity.