Queen Hatshepsut’s Befogging Secrets

By: Ali Abu- Dashish and Norhan Mahmoud

CAIRO, Dec. 14 (SEE)- Just like her life, Queen Hatshepsut’s disappearance and death are thrilling. The first chapters of the mysterious legend were written as Pharaoh Thutmose II married his elder half-sister Hatshepsut, daughter of Pharaoh Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose.

Hatshepsut’s favorite title ‘Wife of Amun’ passed to her from Mereit Amoun. As soon as she mounted the throne, Hatshepsut embarked to establish her own tomb in a remote area in south Tiba yet later opted for tomb no. 20 in the “Valley of the Kings”- necropolis of male sovereigns.

Commenting on her personal life, Egyptologist Dr. Hussein Abdel-Bassir said: “Hatshepsut gave birth to one female Princess ‘Nefro Ra’ and when the king passed away after 13 years in power, authority passed to his son Thutmose III, the son of one of his royal harem Mrs. Isis.”

He added: “Due to Young age of Thutmose III and the ineligibility of declaring the guardianship of his mother as she was not blue blooded, ambitious and strong Hatshepsut took seized custody over her husband’s heir.”

Hatshepsut’s ambition and the lust for power deceived her to act like male kings that she was guised in inscriptions as men and entitled ‘Lady of Earth’ just like her male counterparts ‘Man of Earth.’ She established two obelisks in front of Karnak Temple, declaring herself as Pharaoh of Egypt, and engraved her 5 titles, that male kings used, on monuments.

Her full name was “Ghenmt- Amun Hatshepsut” which means “The united with Amun, Good Goddess.” She never forgot Thutmose III and co-ruled with him, dates were written of their ruling years since he mounted the throne, yet Hatshepsut was the de facto ruler of Egypt.

“The Divine Birth” is the most renowned fables at the time of Hatshepsut that the story was depicted on the walls of her famous temple at ‘Al Dair Al Bahari’ in western Luxor. Briefly, this recount presumed that Hatshepsut is the daughter of god ‘Amun of Tiba and Modern State.’

“She said that Amun had a love affair with her mother Queen Ahmose who was pinely rendered as goddess ‘Mout,’ wife of Amun and the god was materially represented in the body of her human husband ‘Thutmose I,’” said Bassir.

The most interesting part of this story is how ancient Egyptians portrayed the intimate meeting between the god and the queen, Amun was screened touching the hands of Ahmose as an expression of physical communication. Ahmose was drawn carrying her pretty little daughter that was shaped by Khanum on the pottery wheel, as with the belief of the ancient Egyptian religion.

To cut it short, this fable wraps up with Thutmose I welcoming the will of Amun and announcing that his daughter Hatshepsut is his partner in ruling and endorsing her as an heiress.

Furthermore, Hatshepsut dedicated the education of her daughter, Princess Nefro Ra, to court man Ahmose Ben Nakhbet and then to her famous adviser Sinnemot.

Although, the little princess who was entitled "Consort of Amun” played a pivotal public rule amidst her mother’s reign, her presence totally vanished after her Hatshepsut’s death. She was buried in a graveyard adjacent to the first cemetery constructed by her mother in a remote region on the western mainland of Luxor.

In fact, Sinnemout is one of the most important and strongest men in Hatshepsut’s court. He was her special adviser and supervised the construction of her famous temple at the western bank of Luxor. In view of the great role played by this nobility and the full confidence given to him by the Queen, some alleged that they had a love affair, but these are mere speculations and there is no corroborating evidence.

Hatshepsut’s foreign policy was marked by renewal. “She sent an Egyptian voyage freely to Punt, located south of the Red Sea. The trip was marked down with all of its details and the nature of on the walls of her temple in ‘Al Dair Al Bahari,’ which is one of the finest architectural and artistic models of ancient Egypt,” elaborated Bassir.

The end of the rule of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most mysterious riddles history as no one knows how she died. Her pictures and names were erased from monuments by the men of King Thutmose III at the end of his reign, not at the beginning as previously thought.

Ultimately, it is worth noting that beautiful Hatshepsut had a special charisma that made everyone bows in gratitude of her beauty, power and charm and the richness of incidents at her time is a bulletproof of her majestic character.