Hatshepsut
...ucceeded in keeping him in the background. At the beginning she had only queenly status but soon assumed the double crown of Egypt and, after some initial hesitation, had herself depicted in male dress. Although both she, and later Thutmose III, counted their reigns from the beginning of their partnership. Hatshepsut had herself in portrayed in the royal headdress sometimes as a woman with prominent breasts but more often as male in body as well as costume her self promotion which extended to a miraculous conception and fictitious coronation in childhood involved deliberately obscuring the rightful ruler Tuthmosis III who was a man by the time he succeeded to unfettered ruler ship in 1483 BC. Her rise to power went against all the conventions of her time. Maatkare, Hatshepsut. Thou art the King, taking possession of the Two Lands." She dressed as a king, even wearing a false beard and the Egyptian people seem to have accepted this unprecedented behavior. Hateshepsut accomplished what no woman had before her she ruled the most powerful advanced civilization in the world her consort and true love was her advisor Senmut. 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 vandalized after thuthmose 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 years as Pharaoh. At Karnak, she repaired many to the temples, assuring herself favors of the priests. It was continuation of the works of her father, but her own restorations included a pylon to the temple of obelisks. Somewhat further north, she built a small temple in the rock, with more inscriptions of her reign. 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 never was completed. Supposedly she had her father, Thuthmos I, were actually buried there until the priest moved the bodies elsewhere to stop thieves from desecrating the tombs. Hatshepsut disappeared in 1458 B.C. when Thutmose III, wishing to reclaim the throne led a revolt. The death of Hatshepsut remains a mystery. She reigned for fifteen years and her nephew took the throne after her disappearance. It’s believed his hatred for his aunt pushed him to erase the memory and existence of her by destroying the monuments erected by Hatshepsut. Although her temple still stands, neither her tomb nor her mummy has ever been found. She would be the only female pharaoh to erect the most monuments. Thutmose had her shrines, statues and relief mutilated. During the rile of Hatshepsut he stayed well in the background, and perhaps even demonstrated some amounts of cunning in order to simply keep his life. Because of the prowess he would later demonstrate on the battlefield, it was assumed that he probably spent much of Hatshepsut’s rule in military position. They did rule together for a while but he was in a foreign military position, and her taking care of the homeland. When Hatshepsut finally died, she out lived her powerful ministries. Tuhmosis II was the last able to truly in heir the thrown f Egypt, and doing so was known as a very able ruler. It was not until the last years of his reigns that he demonstrated what have must been some anger with his step mother by destroying as much of her memory as possible. Her images were expunged from monuments throughout Egypt. Hatshepsut renowned works were the considerable changes made to the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Placing an additional of 4 obelisks of red granite from Aswan and granite rocks on the island of Seheil coated with electrum, a huge pylon (8th) and a Braque chapel or Red Chapel: "The Place of the Heart of Amun" made from pink-red granite of Aswan, also two massive magazines in back granite complementary to the chapel, also Braque stations from Karnak to Luxor, and a temple for Amun-Re Kamutef: "Amun-Re, bull of his mother". The obelisks are featured on car...