ipl-logo

Hatshepsut Accomplishments

1243 Words5 Pages

For a number of reasons, Hatshepsut's reign as the female pharaoh of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom is noteworthy. Her value to Egypt is shown by the titles given to her, titles such as "God's Wife, King's Great Wife whom he loves, Mistress of the Two Lands, Hatshepsut, may she live!". Under her leadership, the kingdom experienced a time of unheard-of stability and prosperity, a number of significant construction projects, and significant religious growth. She accomplished several notable exploits during her 21-year rule, including founding the first significant foreign expedition since the Middle Kingdom, ushering in a new period of massive construction, reviving the Amun cult and many other accomplishments. The accomplishments …show more content…

It was erected in the early years of her rule and is a huge, opulent structure in the Temple of Karnak. The chapel was embellished with alternating bands of hieroglyphs and reliefs that depicted images of Hatshepsut's divine birth, her crowning, her accomplishments, and her prosperous trading excursions. It is a tribute to the grandeur with which Hatshepsut was presented by her court that a shrine like the Red Chapel was constructed for a pharaoh during his or her own reign. That was done on purpose to honour her governing accomplishments and to establish her as a revered deity in the New Kingdom pantheon. The Red Chapel was a special building with two levels of sanctuary and shrines to Amun on each level. While the exterior was made of red quartzite and sandstone, the inside walls were artistically ornamented with painted reliefs showing Hatshepsut offering sacrifices to Amun and other gods. The temple was greatly neglected after Hatshepsut's passing, and finally it was covered in sand. The Red Chapel served as a significant reminder of Hatshepsut's divinely ordained rule and a representation of her religious authority. Hatshepsut was able to establish her authority as a monarch and was viewed as a divinely approved leader by dedicating a temple to …show more content…

This serves as official documentation of her coronation, by referring to herself as the successor of Amun's throne in the inscription, Hatshepsut clearly asserts her status as a deity. Her power over Egypt and her legitimacy to rule as the head of New Kingdom Egypt are proven within the inscription. This suggests that she was seen as a divinely appointed monarch and was held in high regard by her subjects due to her special status. Hatshepsut's prominence is further demonstrated by the inscription of her coronation, which emphasised both her relationship with the gods and the succession of the throne. Furthermore, it demonstrated her legitimacy, which was essential to her rule since in Ancient Egypt, monarchs were thought to have semi-divine power; as a result, a ruler whose legitimacy and divine authority were questioned would not endure for very long. Additionally it was regarded as a confirmation of the will of heaven, which gave Pharaohs control and providence. This is also evident in Source C, which concentrates on imagining how her life would have turned out if Hatshepsut had been a man. The author makes the case that she would have achieved similar success regardless of her gender, demonstrating that her success was more likely due to her ability to rule Egypt competently than to her gender alone. Hence,

Open Document