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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HATSHEPSUT'S REIGN
In ancient Egypt, the role of ‘pharaoh’ was generally not a position occupied
by a woman. It was normal for the wife of a pharaoh to become queen. A queen
would have many duties, many of them performed along side of her partner. Yet,
compared to the pharaoh, she had minimal power and duties. Hatshepsut is
considered significant since she was the first female pharaoh to solely rule
Egypt after ending her co-regency with her step son, Tuthmose III. Twice
before in Egypt earlier history had a queen usurped kingship, but never before
had a woman posed, dressed as a man, as Hatshepsut did. She appears as the
king of “Upper and Lower Egypt, but dressed in woman’s attire. This was
extremely difficult to accomplish. This is evident as only a handful of women
achieved this during the entire history of Ancient Egypt. These amazing women
are:
· Ahmose
· Nefertari
· Hatshepsut
· Tiy
· Nefertiti
Hatshepsut’s rise to glory is still significant to this day. It has set an
example for women everywhere to fight for their rights, as Hatshepsut fought
for her right to rule as pharaoh in a gender-swayed society.
Hatshepsut achieved many things during her rule. One of her greatest
achievements was her trading voyage to the land of Punt. It was unusual for a
pharaoh to devote most of his reign to commerce rather than military issues
such as war. The expedition had great success. The Egyptians accumulated
large quantities of myrrh, frankincense, fragrant ointment, ebony trees and
other fragrant trees in pots. This voyage most likely was the event that
started trading between Egypt and inner Africa.
Hatshepsut was also regarded to have had the most flourishing building
programme. During her reign she completed many of her buildings but her most
recognised would have to be the Temple at Karnak. This was a major temple
dedicated to the god Amon – Re, who she claimed was her father. (This helped
to strengthen her argument that she was the legitimate pharaoh of Upper and
Lower Egypt). One of her lesser achievements (yet still an achievement none-
the-less) was her military campaigns, which were quite victorious.
Her legacy still lives to this day. Apart from being the first female pharaoh,
she dedicated most of her rule to making improvements in the Egyptian economy.
She completely re-established the economic base of Egypt and created a solid
and wealthy base for Tuthmose III to use after her death. After her death in
1458BC, Hatshepsut left behind a productive land and a well trained army, which
led to great military success during the reign of Tuthmose III. Her pride was
in the internal development of Egypt and in the commercial industry and will
always remain one of the greatest female figures in the history of man-kind.
