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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Queen with a beard
By Jill KamilIn order to fully appreciate the recently restored Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir Al-Bahri, on the Theban necropolis, and the work under way on the Red Chapel she built at Karnak, one must know something about the remarkable woman who conceived such monuments in the 15th century BC.
Among all the Pharoah Thutmose I's children, only Hatshepsut bore a royal lineage to the so-called Great Royal Wife. All Thutmose's sons were by minor wives, making Hatshepsut the likely heir to the throne -- were it not for her sex. But Hatshepsut was determined to rule. Prevented from succeeding her father as Pharaoh, she consequently married her half-brother, Thutmose II, who succeeded his father on the throne.
During his reign, and her subsequent co-regency with Thutmose III, Hatshepsut retained power in her capable hands. She wore a royal skirt and ceremonial beard -- the badges of kingship -- and subsequently "proved" her right to rule with numerous reliefs in her mortuary temple displaying her divine birth.
The temple reliefs show Hatshepsut being shaped, along with her ka, or spirit, on a potter's wheel by the ram-headed god Khnum. Amun-Re, the great god of Karnak, instructs Khnum. Through the reliefs, the most important prejudices against her rule were overcome. Hatshepsut is depicted as a boy, the son of Amun-Re, who impregnated the queen mother. Hatshepsut's divine lineage is further strengthened by repeating the theme of Amun-Re laying a blessing on her shoulder.
Having secured her right to the throne, this headstrong queen embarked on an ambitious programme of building temples and monuments, as well as the restoration of damaged sanctuaries. At Karnak she erected two obelisks, one of which survives on the site. The remaining obelisk is made from a single block of pink Aswan granite of the finest quality and weighs about 317,500 kilograms. She planned her mortuary temple to be no less spectacular. Built by Senmut, the temple was a labour of love -- because Senmut was Hatshepsut's lover.
Senmut first entered Hatshepsut's service as the tutor of her daughter Nefrure, and his ambition took him high up the ladder of success. He became Hatshepsut's ardent supporter and doubtless her political adviser as well. Not only did Senmut eventually gain 40 titles, but he conducted himself as a member of the royal family, enjoying privileges and prerogatives never before enjoyed by a man of humble birth.
One of the great achievements of Hatshepsut's reign was a voyage she ordered to the land of Punt, to bring back myrrh and incense trees for the terraces of her temple. In the Punt Colonnade are reliefs of the Egyptian fleet setting sail and arriving in Punt on the East African Somali coast. We see the transportation of the trees, planted in small tubs, on board the vessel and scenes showing the Egyptian envoy and his entourage being greeted by the mayor of the city and its inhabitants. The fat, deformed queen of Punt, who suffered from the swollen legs of elephantiasis, is shown, along with the little donkey on which she travelled. The crowning scene shows Hatshepsut (defaced) in a joyous scene offering the fruits of her expedition to Amun-Re: incense trees, wild game, cattle, electrum and bows.
Despite the vision of splendour depicted on her temple walls, Hatshepsut's reign was plagued with intrigues that leave a legacy of mystery. Hatshepsut had two tombs; one dug in the Valley of the Kings (where all members of the royal family are laid to rest), and another in the Taket Zeid Valley, south of Deir Al-Bahri. Her body was found in neither. Was she the "unknown woman" found in the shaft at Deir Al-Bahri? Was she poisoned by Thutmose III, who took over the throne? Was she killed by officials jealous of Senmut's favour? Or did she simply die a natural death? It's anyone's guess.
The most splendid of all
The red chapel rises again
