Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1479–1458 BC) was one of Ancient Egypt’s most remarkable pharaohs and the second confirmed woman to rule the kingdom independently. Defying tradition in a male-dominated society, she brought peace, prosperity, and wealth to Egypt. Her reign is remembered for ambitious trade expeditions and groundbreaking monuments, most famously her magnificent Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari
After Pharaoh Thutmose II’s death in 1479 BCE, his infant son Thutmose III was too young to rule. This crisis paved the way for Hatshepsut to rise to power, marking one of Egypt’s most remarkable successions.
When Thutmose II died young, his son Thutmose III inherited the throne as a child. Since his mother lacked royal status, Hatshepsut—his stepmother and the late king’s widow—took over as regent and guardian of the throne.
Hatshepsut acted as a traditional regent for about two years and recognized young Thutmose III as Egypt's rightful ruler. But a dramatic transformation took place between the second and seventh year of her regency. By the end of Thutmose III's seventh regnal year (around 1472 BCE), Hatshepsut made an unprecedented move by having herself crowned as king. She adopted full royal titulary and regalia. She backdated her accession to Year 1 of Thutmose III's reign and established herself as the senior co-ruler rather than just a regent.
With the support of loyal officials, Hatshepsut transitioned from regent to pharaoh. Her closest ally, Senenmut, rose from humble origins to hold 93 titles, including Overseer of Works and Great Steward of Amun, giving him major influence over Karnak’s projects. By placing trusted figures in key roles, she secured a strong power base for her rule
Hatshepsut declared herself a restorer of Egypt after times of turmoil. During her 20-year reign, she prioritized peace and prosperity, leading only a brief Nubian campaign before focusing on trade and economic growth instead of conquest
Hatshepsut shifted focus from warfare to diplomacy, maintaining Egypt’s defenses while prioritizing trade. By restoring disrupted networks with western Asia, the Aegean, and the south, she rebuilt Egypt’s wealth and secured lasting economic success.
The queen's greatest commercial success came around Year 9 of her reign with the famous expedition to Punt. This bold venture sent five large ships with over 200 men across the dangerous Red Sea to a land that experts believe is now Somalia or Eritrea.
The ships returned with remarkable treasures: 31 live myrrh trees, frankincense, gold, ivory, ebony, exotic animals including baboons, and various aromatic resins. These items served both practical and ceremonial purposes. Hatshepsut used the myrrh on her body and became the first ruler to use frankincense in kohl eyeliner.
The transplantation of living myrrh trees stands as the first documented attempt at plant relocation in recorded history. This state-of-the-art horticultural feat showed the expedition's value went beyond just economics.
Egypt's economy thrived thanks to these strategic trade initiatives. Hatshepsut built specialized ports along the Red Sea, like Saww (modern Mersa Gawasis). These ports enabled direct trade and eliminated middlemen who previously controlled access to valuable goods.
The wealth from these expanded commercial networks funded Hatshepsut's ambitious building projects throughout Egypt. Her focus on economic development instead of military expansion made Egypt one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in the ancient world.
Hatshepsut, proud of her eternal legacy, launched extensive building projects across Egypt. Her monuments, especially temples and shrines, became lasting symbols of her reign.
The masterpiece of Hatshepsut's architectural vision stands proudly at Deir el-Bahari on Luxor's west bank. Her trusted steward Senenmut designed this magnificent structure named Djeser-Djeseru ("the Holy of Holies"). Three massive terraces rise dramatically into limestone cliffs, connected by elegant ramps. The temple took fourteen to sixteen years to complete. This timeline becomes even more impressive since workers built other monuments simultaneously.
The temple's groundbreaking design features colonnaded structures that echo the surrounding cliff formations. Each terrace serves unique religious purposes. The second level houses shrines to the goddesses Hathor and Anubis. The uppermost level contains the Royal Cult Chapel, Solar Cult Chapel, and the sanctuary of Amun carved into solid rock.
Hatshepsut placed twin obelisks at the temple entrance in Karnak. These obelisks stood as the world's tallest at that time. Today, just one remains standing as the second-tallest ancient obelisk. This massive structure reaches about 30 meters high and weighs 323 tons. Workers moved these monuments using 27 ships with 850 oarsmen—a remarkable achievement in ancient engineering.
The queen restored Karnak's Precinct of Mut, which the Hyksos occupation had destroyed. She built the Red Chapel (Chapelle Rouge) as a barque shrine. This project deepened her commitment to Amun, the deity who helped legitimize her rule.
Hatshepsut used her architectural works to send powerful political messages. The reliefs at Deir el-Bahari told her divine birth story, naming Amun as her true father. This claim established her divine right to rule. Mummiform statues on the temple's uppermost level depicted her as Osiris, strengthening her ties to the afterlife and divine kingship.
She chose to build her mortuary temple next to Mentuhotep II's earlier structure. This decision linked her to the respected ruler who had united Egypt centuries before. Her monuments blended with natural landscapes, especially at Deir el-Bahari. This design choice symbolically connected her rule to Egypt's timeless geographic features.
Twenty years after Hatshepsut died, someone tried to wipe her legacy from history's pages. This attempt to remove one of Egypt's most successful rulers gives us a window into ancient power dynamics.
The campaign to destroy Hatshepsut's memory was complete—workers hacked away her images from monuments all over Egypt. They tore down statues at her mortuary temple and broke them at specific points—the neck, waist, and knees. Recent archeological studies show these weren't random acts of destruction but calculated "deactivations" of statues. Workers chiseled her cartouches from walls, and sometimes replaced her name with Thutmose I's or II's names.
People used to blame Thutmose III's personal hatred, but new evidence suggests more complex reasons. The timing tells us a lot—the erasure started about twenty years after she died. Scholars now think this was a calculated political move rather than emotional revenge. The ancient Egyptians believed royal statues held spiritual power that needed specific ritual practices to neutralize. This erasure helped make Amenhotep II's claim to the throne stronger through his father's line instead of setting a precedent for female rulers.
Hatshepsut stayed forgotten until Egyptologists found her again in the mid-nineteenth century. Scholars slowly pieced together her remarkable story through careful archeological work. The 1920s excavations at Deir el-Bahari revealed many broken statues that helped researchers understand her reign. Modern studies of these artifacts have changed what we know about her achievements and why someone tried to erase her.
James Henry Breasted called Hatshepsut “the first great woman in history.” Her reign proved women could lead nations, despite the limits of a male-dominated society.
To truly appreciate Queen Hatshepsut's legacy, visitors can explore her architectural masterpieces firsthand with an Egypt tour. A guided trip to Luxor offers the chance to walk through her magnificent Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari and see the precise design of its terraced structure. You can also visit Karnak Temple on the East Bank, where her monumental obelisks stand as a testament to her power and skill.