Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut Ma’at Ka-Ra Female Pharaoh
of Egypt
“The 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.
Growing up in the palace was a happy time for Hatshepsut. She was taught to read and write at an
early age which was unheard of for a girl in Egypt. Her father would take her on expeditions
to see the great Pyramids and to crocodile hunt on the Nile. She attended the meetings of all the departments.
She learned from her father how to conduct meetings and how to be the head of a great place like Egypt.
She learned how a Pharaoh should behave in a meeting and with the people. When her father dies there
was only Hatshepsut and her sister Neferubity.
According
to Egyptian customs the male would take the place of the father as Pharaoh. Hatshepsut had several step
brothers living in the palace. Hatshepsut married her half brother Thuthmose II.
Thuthmose II died soon after becoming Pharaoh, leaving the widow Hatshepsut and a daughter Neferura. However;
Hatshepsut had another half brother Thuthmose III, he was much too young to rule. Hatshepsut stepped up
to rule as the Pharaoh. The Princess who would be King. She began to wear the Royal
Nemes headdress, the false beard, and the Shendyt Kilt. She ruled for twenty-three years.
She is known for the most elaborate and magnificent structures in Egyptian history and for all times. She
constructed the Red Chapel at Karnak, twin Obelisks with golden tips, her royal mortuary tomb at Deir el-Bahri—Djeser
Djeseru on the west bank of the Nile.
