Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

By

Ruth long

I am Hatshepsut, daughter of a god, ruler of all Egypt, and this is my story.  Before I was born, Amun-Re, who was the greatest of the gods, wanted a new ruler for Egypt, so he eagerly gathered all the gods and told them that the new ruler would be a woman.  She was to be the daughter of Queen Ahmose, who was the wife of Pharaoh Thutmose I.  The god Amun-Re appeared to Queen Ahmose in the night.  Together they made me.  Amun-Re named me Hatshepsut, which means “Foremost of Noble Ladies,” and chose me to rule.  Carefully, the gods formed my body and spirit from clay, and they cast life into me.  As I grew I became beautiful, splendid, and godlike.  When I was of age I journeyed to Heliopolis, and all the gods accompanied me and presented me with two crowns, a red crown symbolizing lower Egypt, and a white crown symbolizing upper Egypt.  The gods had crowned me the ruler of all Egypt.

The gods commanded me to rebuild cities destroyed by the Hyksos, to repair temples damaged in war, to enrich the land through trade, to explore distant lands, and to erect new monuments. Because the gods had told me to, I sailed many of my ships down the Red Sea to the land of Punt, which was located in present day Somalia, to trade riches.  When they returned the ships sat low in the water because they were heavily loaded with valuable myrrh trees, new and exciting animals, rare woods, gold, and many more riches.  In the city of Karnak I constructed two great obelisks out of solid stone, both 100 ft. tall, and I coated them with a layer of electrum, so that their radiance could be seen from both sides of the Nile.  They were beautiful.  I built my temple in Deir el-Bahri, and I planted most of my myrrh trees there.  Faithfully I repaired many temples that were damaged by the Hyksos.  I set up trading routes with many other lands and enriched my land.

Eventually my reign ended.  Thutmose III, who was my half-brother, took over the throne when I died in 1482 B.C.  After my death my name strangely disappeared from all of the monuments that I had fashioned.  Sadly, no historians know how I died.  Some say it was Thutmose III who killed me, because he was mad a girl had become pharaoh before him, but I’m here to tell you what really happened.  It was a peaceful transition between Thutmose and me. I had simply died of old age. I had lived my life and was ready to let Thutmose live his.  While there’s still mystery about my life, there’s still no doubt that I was one of the greatest rulers of all Egypt.