From the earliest time it had been the tradition that only a man could rule Egypt. But relationships in the Egyptain royal family could be complicated, and this tradition was shattered when a very successful female ruler came to power. Around 1495 B.C. King Thutmose I died. He left behind a daughter, Hatshepsut, and a son named after his father.

Women in Egypt had an advantage over their contemporaries in other societies, such as Mesopotamia and Greece. Egyptian women were allowed to own property, to hold official positions, and to inherit from their parents or late husbands. Furthermore, in the case of a dispute a woman was entitled to take her case to court and defend her legal rights. Based on these facts it seems clear women possessed the right to move about in public, unlike her c ounterparts in Greece whose designated area was the home.

This social climate of Egypt, while male-dominated allowed women a significant amount of freedom and legal rights compared to women in other ancient societies. This made it possible for a number of queens, prior to and after Hatshepsut, to gain some influence over the kingdom of Egypt as regents. Hatshepsut was preceded by a number of important and seemingly influential queens in the 17th dynasty. Tetisheri, Ahhotep II, and Ahmose-Nefertary were all likely to have had some control over the government of Egypt. (1) Succeeded by each other, they had an impact on the general view of women as powerful, and were able to maintain stability and order. They led the way for Hatshepsut, who was probably the most extraordinary female to hold the title of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt.

To strengthen the boy's claim to the throne Thutmose II was married to his half sister, Hatshepsut. He ruled under the name Thutmose the II. However Thutmose II was weak, and completely over-shadowed by the strong willed Hatshepsut. He reigned only a few years Thutmose II had one daughter with his royal wife Hatshepsut, her name was Neferure, and at his death he left a young son who was the offspring to a harem girl. Though this son inherited the royal title of Thutmose III, the real ruler was Hatshepsut.

She had herself formally proclaimed "King". This happened when Thutmose III was about 10 years old. Why Hatshepsut did this, one can only guess but for this to succeed she must have been a successfull and respected leader both amongst the people but even more so amongst the priests and officials. After a few years of Hatshepsut being regent, she gave her lands and title of 'God's Wife' to her daughter Neferure. By doing this she was able to crown herself Pharoah. She was crowned around 1490 B.C.E. and adopted all the titles of Pharoah, even the ones that were in the male form. Her throne name was Maatkare. She must have had many supporters and followers to help her gain such a position. From that time on, the royal sculptors often showed her with a false beared. Although scribes described her as a "raging crocidile," a compliment meaning that she was fierce and warlike, her reign was a relatively secure one.

She sent trading expeditions all along the cost of Africa, extending Egypt"s commercial contacts farther than ever before. She also built an immense temple at Thebes that is still considered one of the great glories of Egyptain architecture. she renovated the temple of Karnak, and during this arose the largest obelisk ever made in honor of Amon-Ra. Hatshepsut held the title of 'Wife of the God Amun' which meant that she was the chief priestess of Amun. This position entitled her to vast lands, buildings, ships and slaves. She probably had enough power to influence the appointment of the minor priests of Amun, and she performed the same duties as male priests.

Hatshepsut's reign can be called the most significant out of all of the female reigns before and after her because she ruled for a longer period of time, and Egypt was stable and prosperous under her rule. Hatshepsut took a cautious approach to monarchic status. Egypt had not had many female rulers in the past and so to continue with tradition Hatshepsut dressed in men's clothing to perhaps better play the part of Pharoah. Her image in statues was always portrayed as male while all inscriptions written of her were written as female. Hatshepsut said off herself that her sex was irrevelent to whether or not she could be Pharoah, and demanded to be treated equal to other Pharoahs. When Hatshepsut sent an army to fight against Nubia, she not only accompanied them but led them. This shows us that she was a couragous and fearless leader, and was equal to and man before her.

It is rumoured that Hatshepsut had an affair with a man named Senenmut, the architect in charge of building her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. Senenmut was originally a we'eb priest (lowest wrung of the priesthood) that Hatshepsut took notice of, and soon was holding higher positions. Senenmut became the tutor of Neferure when the old courtier Ahmose-Pen-nekbet died. One surviving statute shows him "nursing" Hatshepsuts small daughter. As the tutor to the young princess he was always in the palace, soon he was given more jobs and titles around the court. Hatshepsut sent him to suppervise the cutting of two obelisks for Karnak from the quarries at Aswan. Some evidence that suggests to the affair is that in Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahri. Portraits of Senenmut can be found in cupboards and hidden corners. Also the corridors of his tomb were burrowed down towards the queen's temple, so that in death they could still be near. When he died his tomb was smashed and his name chipped out of the walls.

One of Hatshepsuts achievements was to maintain effective control over Middle Egypt for the first time and to leave it endowed with a mass of new temples. Outside Egypts boarders, however, she was less successful. She conducted no significant military activity in Syria or Palestine, and many of the chieftains and petty kings there appear to have broken free of Egyptain control. After twenty two years of ruling Egypt this remarkable woman disappears from the records. it is unknown whether she died of natural causes or was killed or otherwise thrust aside. Waiting in the background was Thutmose III, no longer a boy but a man about thirty.

Thutmose III had not wasted the years he spent in Hatshepsut's shadow. He had been a general in the army. When he became sole ruler in Egypt, he quickly became its Greatest Warrior King". What Thutmose III really thought of Hatshepsut we will never know, but by the end of his reign his workmen had chiseled her name out of inscriptions and smashed statues of her. Hatshepsut's name was removed from official records of the royal family.