Hatshepsut | |
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Statue of Hatshepsut on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Pharaoh | |
Reign | c. 1478–1458 B.C. (18th Dynasty) |
Predecessor | Thutmose II |
Successor | Thutmose III |
Consort | Thutmose II |
Children | Neferure |
Father | Thutmose I |
Mother | Ahmose |
Born | c. 1507 BC |
Died | 1458 BC (aged 49) |
Burial | KV20 (possibly re-interred in KV60) |
Monuments | Temple of Karnak, Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Speos Artemidos Chapelle Rouge |
Hatshepsut [hat-shep-soot] (/hætˈʃɛpsʊt/; also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies; 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. (Various other women may have also ruled as pharaohs regnant or at least regents before Hatshepsut, as early as Neithhotep around 1600 years prior.) Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the previous year as a child of about two years old. Hatshepsut was the chief wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. According to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as "the first great woman in history of whom we are informed."
Hatshepsut was the daughter and only child of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmose. Her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutnofret, who carried the title King's daughter and was probably a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure. Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset, a secondary wife.
Although contemporary records of her reign are documented in diverse ancient sources, Hatshepsut was thought by early modern scholars as only having served as a co-regent from approximately 1479 to 1458 BC, during years seven to twenty-one of the reign previously identified as that of Thutmose III. Today Egyptologists generally agree that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh.