The Ancient Egyptians were a civilization of great creativity and expression, but also a civilization with a very strict position on tradition, and I found them absolutely fascinating. When learning about King Tutankhamen’s mysterious legacy, I was very intrigued by the pleas that Tutankhamen’s wife Ankhesenamun wrote to the king of the Hittites after her husband’s premature death. Her letters were desperate and emotional and very powerful to read and definitely gives its readers, whether they’re students or historians, a real sense of mystery and that the queen knew more than what she was willing to say. Egypt was known for its long line of powerful kings, each wanting to prove themselves more powerful than their predecessors, and the tradition of patrilineal kings was always strictly upheld.
After King Tutankhamen’s unexpected and premature death, there was no living heir to his throne other than his wife. The king and queen had two prematurely birthed girls that died quickly after birth. According to the Egyptian customs and traditions, a man had to assume the throne, or the queen would have to dress up as a man until she remarried. Ankhesenamun wrote to the King of the Hittites, who she knew had many sons, if he would send one of his sons to Egypt to marry her and assume the throne as the King of Egypt. One of the alternatives was that if the Hittite king did not send a son, would be that the Queen would have to marry one of her servants and they would become king, which during that time was unthinkable and was one of the definitive social mores in the cultural values of the New Kingdom of Egypt, which was the period after the era of the pyramids when Egypt was considered at the peak of its greatness. Her other alternativ...
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Myers, William. "Ancient Egypt." Class lecture, History 110A from California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, September 1, 2011
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Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt during the 18th dynasty, was one of a small handful of female pharaohs. Despite her many achievements, her reign is most remembered for the fact that she was a woman. Her unique story has been a source for dispute among scholars, which has led to a number of conflicting views. The small amount of Hatshepsut’s life that has been documented does not allow us to see the more intimate details of her life. Historians have a broad range of opinions on her, but one thing is certain: her reign provided Egypt with a period of peace and prosperity after 100 years of foreign rule. There are a number of theories involving Hatshepsut’s personal and public life.
Pyramids, gold, the Nile, hieroglyphics, gods and goddesses…no matter how much we know about it, we all see one of these things when we picture Egypt. However, this image is not complete without the Pharaoh. Not much in Egypt was. So to be considered “The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt” is quite an honor, an honor that Ramesses III carries. A ruler in the time of the New Kingdom, he gave Egypt a few more years of glory before it’s decline.
After her father’s death when she was 12, Hatshepsut became the queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother and he became the Pharaoh Thutmose II. He was the son of her father and one of his second wives. During the reign of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut assumed the traditional role of queen and principal wife. During their marriage, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II were not able to produce a male heir but had a daughter named Neferure. Because she was the first and main wife and queen of Thutmose II, when he died, she proclaimed herself the fifth Pharaoh while denying the old Kings son, her nephew.
It is a well-established fact that the population of Ancient Egypt was a multicultural one, and that the nation's history is closely linked with that of it's neighbours. `It has been recognized since the early years of Egyptology that by New Kingdom times the population of Egypt was liberally sprinkled with families of foreign origin.' (Ward: 1994.). These `foreigners' included groups such as Nubians, Canaanites, `Asiatics,' (people of Semitic origin to the north-east of Egypt), and Libyans.
Assmann, Jan. The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs.
Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor, Hatshepsut: First Female Pharaoh | LiveScience. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.livescience.com/28510-hatshepsut-first-female-pharaoh.html.
In Ancient Egypt there were over 29 Kings and Pharaohs and over 5 Queens. Some of the most famous kings and queens were: Ramses II, Ramses III, King Tut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti.
Scott, N. The Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 31, No. 3, The Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians (Spring, 1973), pp. 123-170
Was she the archetypal wicked stepmother, an unnatural and scheming woman ?of the most virile character who would deliberately abuse a position of trust to steal the throne from a defenceless child? (Gardiner, 1961:184)? Or was she ?an experienced and well-meaning woman who ruled amicably alongside her stepson, steering her country through twenty peaceful, prosperous years who deserves to be commemorated among the great monarchs of Egypt? (Budge, 1902:I)? According to biographer and historian Joyce Tyldesley, Queen or as she would prefer to be remembered, King Hatchepsut became the female embodiment of a male role, whose reign was a carefully balanced period of internal peace, foreign exploration and monument building (Tyldesley, 1996:1). This study will show that it was Hatshepsut the Pharaoh?s devotion to the god Amen and her protection of the maat of 18th Dynasty Egypt that allowed her to forge her successful New Kingdom regime.
Ancient Egypt is home to one of the greatest female pharaoh. Queen Hatshepsut. She was the first female pharaoh and did great things.
Although there are few religions that still consider the ways of the ancient Egyptian culture important, they are still out there. They are influenced every day by the history, which permeates their rituals, scriptures, and more. Furthermore, Egypt’s political influence may be outdated and not the clearest system, but it led the way for further development and refinement for future use. Without the influence of Egypt, we would not be the civilization that we are
During the time of Ancient Egypt, having strong Pharaohs was essential to the maintenance and growth of the civilization, as the Pharaohs were believed to be living Gods. Although leadership of Ancient Egypt was often male dominated, there were admirable female Pharaohs who successfully gained power and left behind a positive legacy; one woman to achieve this was Hatshepsut, meaning ‘foremost of female nobles’. Her innovation and determination allowed her to maintain her position of Pharaoh for about twenty years (1479-1458 BCE). Hatshepsut was considered to be a very successful leader because of her confidence and ambition, magnificent building projects, and establishment of a strong trading network.
Egyptians cherished family life the way we cherish food or money. Children were considered a blessing. They prayed for them and used magic to have children, but if a couple could not conceive they adopted. Men were the head of the household and the oldest son inherited everything of the father’s. Egyptian women were to obey their fathers and husbands, but were equal in many other ways. For example, women could have jobs, some rights in court cases, and they were able to own land. Women were also allowed to own businesses. Only noble women, however, could be priestesses. The women raised the children and took care of the house. Wealthy families would hire maids and nannies to do such things. Divorce was not common in Ancient Egypt, though it was an option. Problems were talked about between families, and if they could not be settled a divorce would take place. Some women became rulers but only in secret. The only woman who ruled as a pharaoh in the open was Queen Hatsheput. Ordinary men normally had one wife, while pharaohs and kings had several. Most marriages were arranged by parents. Most girls married at age twelve while boys were usually a little older.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. -. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990. Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women’s History & Ancient History.
... Egyptian women were looked at differently than men; their role was that of the nurturer and the caregiver, the bearer of a family’s future. They were just as important to the society as the men. Ancient Egypt was a very complex world, and just as complex was the role that women played in its society. They were not free, but they also were not enslaved. They were vital, but only in terms of their husbands and their children. Egypt offered women a far more free life than the rest of the ancient world. In the end, women played a secondary role to men putting their desires for achievement aside so their husband could be king.