Miki Azuma Period 1 Mr.

Patraitis 12/12/12

Hatshepsut
The word pharaoh means Great House. The pharaoh is usually born into the role of being pharaoh. When he dies, he hands the role down to his son. The ancient Egyptian pharaoh was a political and religious leader of the people. He made the laws, collected taxes, owned all of the land, and defended Egypt against foreigners. People thought the pharaoh was a god in mortal flesh. The pharaoh performed rituals and built temples to honor the gods. Many pharaohs went to war when they wanted to control foreign lands or when their homeland was threatened. If the Egyptian pharaoh won the battle over land, the conquered people had to recognize the Egyptian pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land. Back in ancient Egypt, it was extremely rare for a woman to become a pharaoh. But a daughter of King Thutmose I boldly took the throne in the 18th Dynasty. Usually when a pharaoh dies, the throne is given to the son. The new king would then marry the last kings oldest daughter, which in this case was Hatshepsut. The new king did not live long. So his son was going to become the pharaoh. But there was only one problem. The son was too young. So Hatshepsut took over as a regent. Hatshepsut ruled 6 year as a regent. When Hatshepsut decided that she had enough of ruling on behalf of the child, she declared herself pharaoh. A female declaring herself ruler was a very bold move. According to the Egyptian custom, the pharaoh in power was required to be considered as divine and most pharaohs were males. So, Hatshepsut claimed that the deity Amon Ra visited her mother while her mother was pregnant. Since the deity Amon Ra visited the mother, she was considered divine. She then made efforts to seek favor with them and succeeded. Then, Hatshepsut discarded her traditional female clothing and donned the garb of traditional male pharaohs. By doing this, she gained the respect from the people of Egypt. I personally think she discarded the female clothing be taken more seriously and to get more attention. Her father was a pharaoh named Thutmose I. Her father, Thutmose I, was said to have died in 1492 B.C. Hatshepsut died around 1458 B.C. The location of her death was in Egypt. The cause of death was thought to be skin lotion. Scientists think Hatshepsut died because of bone cancer. The researchers at the University of Bonn, Germany, found a highly carcinogenic substance in a flask lotion housed at Universitys Egypt Museum, which was found in Hatshepsuts tomb. The flask had an inscription saying that it belonged to Hatshepsut, was long believed to have held perfume. But recently, after 2 years of research, it was clear that the flask was filled with some kind of skin lotion or even medication for a monarch suffering from eczema. Eczema is a medical condition in which patches of skin become rough inflamed and rough, with itching and bleeding blisters. The lotion contained large amounts of palm oil, nutmeg oil, and polyunsaturated fats that can relieve certain

skin diseases, and benzopyrene. Benzopyrene is an aromatic and highly carcinogenic hydrocarbon. A pharmacologist named Helmut Wiedenfield said that benzopyrene is one of the most dangerous substances we know. Eczema tends to be a generic disease, so many scientists think that people before Hatshepsut had Eczema too. A generic disease is a disease passed down from one generation to another, in Hatshepsuts case Eczema. Hatshepsuts father as we all know now is Thutmose I and her mother was Ahmose. Her mother Ahmose held a lot of titles. For example she was called Mistress of gladness, Great Kings Wife, Mistress of the Two Lands, Companion of Horus, etc. Queen Ahmose was known to have at least 2 daughters. One of which we know is Hatshepsut and the other is Neferubity. So Neferubity is Hatshepsuts sister. Hatshepsut also had brothers. There was Thutmosis II, Amenmose, Wadjmose, and Ramose. Her husband and also her brother was Thutmosis II. Also she had a child named Neferure. Neferure was called Gods Wife, and Kings Daughter. Hatshepsut also had a nephew. His name was Thutmose III. For some reason Thutmose III resented Hatshepsut. After Hatshepsut died, almost every picture of her disappeared. It was as if she had been erased from history, or never existed. Many Egyptologists blame Thutmose III for the disappearance of Hatshepsut. Back during Hatshepsuts rule, she had a lot of confidence in her rule for a woman. She was also a very successful user of propaganda. Since Hatshepsut reigned for a long time, it indicates that Hatshepsut had an ability to deal with political situations and interpersonal relationships. Her rise to the throne might have inspired many women such as Cleopatra. Also many people loved Hatshepsut. Today Hatshepsut is known for her love of architecture and construction. She was also the only female pharaoh to have built the most monuments during her reign as part of the 18th dynasty. One of the amazing things Hatshepsut did was build a temple. It was called Queen Hatshepsuts Temple. Although the construction of the shine began during the reign of her father, it was the female pharaoh who actually finished it. The majority of the information about the accomplishments of Queen Hatshepsut came from the temple. There were hieroglyphics and artwork found on the walls of queens temple at Beir-el-Bhari. The temple itself is a testament of the queen Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut is a very interesting pharaoh. Not to mention that she was one of the few female pharaohs. I think it was very brave and bold for Hatshepsut to take over the throne. Although I think it was a sad way to die she accomplished much. What kept me wondering was Why doesn't anybody protest about having a female pharaoh? Its a tradition to have a pharaoh. It isnt a rule that all pharaohs are males, but it would seem as if the males have more power and the ability to rule over women. But overall I think Hatshepsut was a very interesting historical figure and hope to learn more about her in the upcoming future.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pharaoh/home.html http://www.experience-ancient-egypt.com/queen-cleopatra.html http://www.nndb.com/people/265/000162776/ http://www.camdenh.schools.nsw.edu.au/pages/Faculties/History/ancient Hatshepsut/Legacy%20of%20Hatshepsut.html http://heroinesofhistory.wikispaces.com/Hatshepsut http://www.history.com/news/did-skin-cream-kill-egypts-queenhatshepsut