Hatshepsut Achievements

Hatshepsut was one of the most influential and powerful pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. She faced an abundance of discrimination and prejudice during her rule solely because she was a commanding female ruler in a time when patriarchy was the dominating norm. Therefore she had to overcome many preconceived notions about women in power that were constructed by generations of male pharaohs before her. Despite many obstacles, like an eradication attempt, Hatshepsut altered the social standards regarding women in Ancient Egyptian society. In doing so, she proved that women could be self-sufficient and fully functioning leaders, gave divine legitimacy to their rules, and carved a path for future female rulers throughout the world. The 18th

One of the most remarkable achievements of Hatshepsut’s rule was her rewarding trade mission to Punt, a sub-Saharan kingdom near Egypt (Salisbury “Hatshepsut”). In this expedition, Hatshepsut made direct contact with the leader of Punt and brought back an abundance of goods, such as gold, ebony, and ivory (Salisbury “Hatshepsut”). This mission was particularly significant to her rule because it showed the citizens of Egypt that a female ruler could be independent, resourceful, and self reliant. She was able to organize the entire trip almost entirely with her own ideas and also made an exchange with a very respected leader in the Saharan area. Because she was treated as an equal by this ruler, it displayed to the citizens of Egypt that Hatshepsut was an honorable and trustworthy pharaoh. This also illustrated her well managed authority, because all of the goods brought back were used to fund her enormous architectural projects, which was also a large achievement from her rule (Salisbury “Hatshepsut”). Throughout her rule, Hatshepsut took on many different architectural projects, such as building a set of majestic obelisks with inscriptions and the repairing of different shrines around the civilization (Cooney 225; Salisbury “Hatshepsut”). These projects, which took many years to complete and cost a fortune, were a physical

As a result, this carved a path for future females pursuing positions of leadership. Throughout Hatshepsut’s lifetime, she commissioned the building of many different temples dedicated to powerful female goddesses (Cooney 225). These stunning works of architecture stood standing for years after Hatshepsut’s death, and they kept her ideas and hopes of equality for women alive, even after her death. These temples kept the image of female power relevant even after the destruction of Hatshepsut’s legacy and as a result, created a more accepting society. Additionally, a few of the stories concerning Hatshepsut’s divine legitimacy survived the destruction of her images and texts. Many of the texts and stories about Hatshepsut’s divine creation that she had carved onto the obelisks she constructed were simply concealed by Thutmose III with a slab of stone, instead of being chiseled away like the rest of her images (Brown). This ended up backfiring on her nephew because instead of obscuring the writing, it actually preserved them (Brown). This caused women who were born many years after Hatshepsut’s death to learn of her incredible legacy and her advancements towards equality in a community that was extremely restricting. Consequently, this empowered women even more greatly, because seeing another woman tackling