Hatchepsut

by Joyce Tyldesley

  21 Herodotus, Histories, II: 14.

  22 Breasted, J. H. (1905), A History of Egypt, New York: 334

  23 For a full translation, consult Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 168.

  24 Stevenson Smith, W., The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt, revised and edited by W. K. Simpson (1981), New Haven: 225.

  25 Herodotus, Histories, II: 164.

  Chapter 2 A Strong Family

  1 Extract from the stela of King Ahmose, translated by S. R. Snape.

  2 Some slight doubt has been cast over the royal parentage of Queen Ahmose Nefertari by an inscription recovered from Karnak which appears to read, ‘He [the king] clothed me [Ahmose Nefertari] when I was a nobody.’ However, the precise translation, and exact meaning of the translation, is by no means certain, and it is entirely possible that ‘nobody’ should be read as ‘orphan’. This matter is discussed in further detail in Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: seven studies, Toronto: 30–31.

  3 There is no direct proof that Meryt-Neith ever ruled Egypt as an independent king, but there is a strong body of circumstantial evidence which certainly points that way. This evidence is reviewed in detail in Tyldesley, J. A. (1994), Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt, London: Chapters 6 and 7.

  4 A division of labour which became formalized in the artistic convention which, despite the fact that Egypt was a racially well-mixed African country, decreed that men should always be depicted with a tanned brown skin, women with an indoor pallor.

  5 Ever since the nineteenth-century Scottish lawyer McLennan published his Primitive Societies, in which he outlined a theory that all kinship and marriage patterns passed through the same four evolutionary stages – omiscuity, matriarchy, patriarchy and cognatic monogamy. The publication of J. G. Frazer's The Golden Bough (1914), London, also had a deep influence on his contemporaries working in the fields of archaeology and egyptology.

  6 For a full explanation of all these terms, consult Fox, R. (1967), Kinship and Marriage, London.

  7 Extract from the Instructions of King Amenemhat I; for a full translation of this text, see Lichtheim, M. (1973), Ancient Egyptian Literature I: the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Los Angeles: 135–9.

  8 Extract from the New Kingdom Inscription of Scribe Any. For a full translation of this text, consult Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 135–46.

  9 Tylor, J. J. and Griffith, F. L. (1894), The Tomb of Paheri at el-Kab, 11th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Society, London: 25.

  10 Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: seven studies, Toronto: 65.

  11 Consult Lerner, G. (1986), The Creation of Patriarchy, Oxford: 93. The same parallel is cited in Robins, G. (1993), Women in Ancient Egypt, London: 28.

  12 From the marriage scarab of Amenhotep III.

  13 Quoted in Robins, G. (1993), Women in Ancient Egypt, London: 30.

  14 Lane, E. B. (1836), Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, London.

  15 This image certainly affected those late nineteenth-century egyptologists who went to Egypt determined to uncover a multitude of concubines and Ottoman-style harems; find them they did, mistakenly classifying many innocent servant girls, housekeepers and secondary queens in their quest for the elusive, erotic, ancient Egyptian whore of their dreams.

  16 Blanch, L. (1959), The Wilder Shores of Love, London: 220.

  17 See, for example, Shaarawi, H., translated by M. Badran (1986), Harem Years: the memoirs of an Egyptian feminist (1879–1924), London. For an account of a happy childhood spent in a traditional Islamic harem in Morocco, read Mernissi, F. (1994), The Harem Within, London.

  18 This point is discussed in further detail in Dodson, A. (1990), Crown Prince Djhutmose and the royal sons of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 76: 87–96. An appendix lists the few known royal princes of the 18th Dynasty.

  19 James, T. G. H. (1973), Egypt: from the expulsion of the Hyksos to Amenophis I, in I. E. S. Edwards et al. (eds), The Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd edition, Cambridge, 2.1: 305.

  20 James, T. G. H. (1973), Egypt: from the expulsion of the Hyksos to Amenophis I, in I. E. S. Edwards et al. (eds), The Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd edition, Cambridge, 2.1: 306.

  21 Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 130.

  22 Extract from the autobiography of Ahmose, son of Ibana, translated by S. R. Snape. For a published translation of this work, consult Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 12–15.

  23 Several historians claim, without citing any concrete evidence, that Tuthmosis I belonged to a collateral branch of the royal family; see for example Grimal, N. (1992), translated by I. Shaw, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: 207.

  24 Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 130.

  25 For a detailed study of this subject, consult Murnane, W.J. (1977), Ancient Egyptian Coregencies, Chicago.

  26 Translation taken from Watterson, B. (1991), Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud: 56 and 60. For a full translation of this story, consult Lichtheim, M. (1980), Ancient Egyptian Literature III: the Late Period, Los Angeles: 127–8.

  27 Translation taken from Watterson, B. (1991), Women in Ancient Egypt, Stroud: 56 and 60. For a full translation of this story, consult Lichtheim, M. (1980), Ancient Egyptian Literature III: the Late Period, Los Angeles: 127–8.

  28 Wilkinson, J. G. (1837), The Ancient Egyptians: their life and customs 2, London: 224.

  Chapter 3 Queen of Egypt

  1 Extracts from the biography of Ineni, translated in Breasted, J. H. (1906), Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. 2, Chicago: 108, 116.

  2 Extract from the autobiography of Ahmose, son of Ibana, translated by S. R. Snape. For a published translation of this work, consult Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 12–15.

  3 Breasted, J. H., Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. 2, Chicago: 106.

  4 Figures suggested by Hopkins, K. B. (1983), Death and Renewal: sociological studies in Roman History, 2, Cambridge.

  5 See Baines, J. and Eyre, C. J. (1983), Four Notes on Literacy, Goettinger Miszellen 61: 65–96.

  6 For a discussion of Prince Ramose, see Snape, S. R. (1985), Ramose Restored: a royal prince and his mortuary cult, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 71: 180–83. There is virtually no evidence to support the existence of a further three sons (named Binpu, Nekenkhal and Ahmose) who are occasionally cited as royal princes but who, were they truly the sons of Tuthmosis and Ahmose, must have died in early childhood before they could make any impact on the historical record.

  7 Egyptology is by no means an exact science, and it remains a possibility that we may be muddling up two Mutnofrets, one the concubine of Tuthmosis I and mother of Tuthmosis II, and one a royal princess, the daughter of Tuthmosis I and sister of Tuthmosis II and Hatchepsut.

  8 Cartouche is the name given to the rectangular enclosure, intended to represent a tied loop of rope, always drawn around the two principal names of the kings of Egypt.

  9 Sethe, K. (1896), Die Thronwirren unter den Nachfolgern Königs Tuthmosis I, ihr Verlauf und ihre Bedeutung, Leipzig.

  10 This story is told more fully in Davies, W V. (1982), Thebes, in T. G. H. James (ed.), Excavating in Egypt: the Egypt Exploration Society 1882–1992, London: 6. It was evidently Mme Naville who posed the threat to the continuation of the archaeological work; bereft of her kitchen, she demanded that she and her husband return immediately to Switzerland. It is tempting to speculate that it was Naville's relationship with his forceful wife which stimulated his interest in Hatchepsut, another forceful woman.

  11 Edgerton, W. F. (1933), The Tuthmoside Succession, Chicago.

  12 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton.

  13 Winlock, H. E. (1932), The Egyptian Expedition 1930–31, Bull
etin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 32.2: 5–10.

  14 Carter himself initially believed that the two women might be the nurses of Tuthmosis IV.

  15 Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 180.

  16 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2:47.

  17 Hayes, W. C. (1973), Egypt: Internal Affairs from Tuthmosis I to the death of Amenophis III, in I.E. S. Edwards et al. (eds), Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd edition, Cambridge, 2.1: 316.

  18 Budge, E. A. W. (1902), Egypt and her Asiatic Empire, London: 4. Budge is by no means the only author to assume that Hatchepsut ruled on behalf of her weaker brother; see, for example, Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 145. Hayes cites several earlier references.

  19 Carter, H. (1917), A Tomb Prepared for Queen Hatshepsuit and other recent discoveries at Thebes, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 4: 114.

  20 Carter, H. (1917), A Tomb Prepared for Queen Hatshepsuit and other recent discoveries at Thebes, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 4:118.

  21 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 67.

  22 Sethe, K., Helck W et al. (1906–58), Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig and Berlin: 34.

  23 Discussed in Robins, G. (1993), Women in Ancient Egypt, London: 49.

  24 Hayes, W. C. (1973), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 316.

  25 Maspero, G. (1896), The Struggle of the Nations, London: 242–3.

  26 Smith, G.E. (1912), The Royal Mummies, Cairo: 29.

  27 Carter, H. and Newberry, P. E. (1904), The Tomb of Thoutmosis IV, London.

  28 For a review of the various caches, consult Reeves, C. N. (1990), Valley of the Kings: the decline of a royal necropolis, London: Chapter 10.

  29 Brugsch's words quoted in Wilson, E. (1887), Finding Pharaoh, The Century Magazine. Brugsch was apparently concerned that his candle might cause a conflagration in the dry and dusty chamber. John Romer, who also quotes from Brugsch, devotes a chapter to the circumstances surrounding the finding of the Deir el-Bahri cache in Romer, J. (1981), Valley of the Kings, London.

  30 Dawson, W. R. (1947), Letters from Maspero to Amelia Edwards, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33:70.

  31 See, however, Reeves, C. N. (1990), Valley of the Kings: the decline of a royal necropolis, London, Chapter 10: 18–19. Reeves believes that Tuthmosis II was not interred in the Valley of the Kings, but in a lesser tomb at Deir el-Bahri.

  32 See, for example, Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 181 ‘… from its neglect one might conjecture that no one cared very much what was his fate’; Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 144 ‘…one could hardly have expected her to have had either the inclination or the opportunity to make elaborate preparations for Tuthmosis II's burial.’

  33 Sethe, K., Helck, W. et al. (1906–58), Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig and Berlin: 180, 8–12.

  34 This is discussed further in Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: seven studies, Toronto: 74–6.

  35 Consult Gabolde, L. (1987), La chronologie du règne de Thoutmosis II, ses conséquences sur la datation des momies royales et leurs répercussions sur l'histoire du développement de la Vallée des Rois, Studien zur Altägyp-tischen Kultur 14: 61–81. The problem of Hatchepsut's age is discussed in Bierbrier, M. L. (1995), How old was Hatchepsut?, Goettinger Miszellen 144: 15–19.

  36 Naville, E. (1894), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari: its plan, its founders and its first explorers: Introductory Memoir, 12th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 14.

  Chapter 4 King of Egypt

  1 Extract from the biography of Ineni, translated in Breasted, J. H. (1906), Ancient Records of Egypt: historical documents, vol. 2, Chicago: 341.

  2 Lichtheim, M. (1973), Ancient Egyptian Literature I: the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Los Angeles: 220.

  3 Sethe, K and Helck, W. (1906–58) Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig and Berlin, 4.219, 13–220, 6. Breasted, J. H. (1988), Ancient Records of Egypt, 2nd edition, 2, Chicago: 187–212.

  4 Naville, E. (1896), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 2, 14th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 15.

  5 Naville, E. (1896), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 2, 14th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 17.

  6 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 5–6.

  7 The partially erased inscription with a similar theme carved on the upper northern colonnade at the Deir el-Bahri mortuary temple and already discussed in Chapter 3 is also best disregarded as pure fiction, and contributes little to our search for the date of Hatchepsut's accession.

  8 A donation stela recovered from North Karnak, apparently erected by Senenmut in Year 4, seems at first sight to offer proof of a co-regency by Year 4 as it refers to Tuthmosis III as king, describes Hatchepsut as ‘Maatkare’, and mentions the mortuary temple of Deir el-Bahri which can only have been built following Hatchepsut's accession. However, this stela was badly damaged soon after it was carved and, although it has undergone extensive restoration during the 19th Dynasty, we cannot now be certain that our reading of the year date is accurate. References to Senenmut's tomb suggest that the stela was carved some time after Year 7.

  9 For further details concerning this cult, consult Bell, L. (1985), Luxor Temple and the Cult of the Royal Ka, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 44: 251–94.

  10 Translation given by Dorman, who examines the evidence for the accession date of Hatchepsut in minute detail, giving valuable references to earlier and more specialized publications. Consult Dorman, P. F. (1988), The Monuments of Senenmut: problems in historical methodology, London, Chapter 2: 22.

  11 As McDowell has pointed out: ‘It is at any rate suspicious that the god Amen's wishes so often coincided with the manifest desire of the King or the High Priest… although this may have been the result of some subconscious influence on those who interpreted the god's will rather than the more crass manipulation of the proceedings.’ McDowell, A. (1990), Jurisdiction in the Workmen's Community of Deir el-Medina, Leiden: 107.

  12 The celebration of the heb-sed forms the basis of William Golding's ancient Egyptian novella The Scorpion God (1971), London.

  13 See Uphill, E. P. (1961), A joint sed-festival of Thutmose III and Queen Hatchepsut, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 20: 248–51.

  14 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 144.

  15 Hayes, W C. (193 5), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 146.

  16 Harem plots and palace intrigues were rarely included in the official Egyptian records as they were classed as grievous offences against maat and as such were considered best ignored, but they did exist.

  17 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1927–1928, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2: 8.

  18 From the statue-base of Inebny, now housed in the British Museum, quoted and discussed in Murnane, W.J. (1977), Ancient Egyptian Coregencies, Chicago: 41.

  19 It is, of course, always possible that he did indeed do so, but this begs the question why wait until Hatchepsut was a relatively old woman (aged between thirty-five and fifty-five) before having her killed?

  20 The whole question of the proscription of Hatchepsut's memory is considered in detail in Chapter 8.

  21 Gibbon, E. (1896), J. B. Bury (ed.), The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1: 149.

  22 Breasted, J. (1906), Ancient Records of Egypt: historical documents, vol. 2, Chicago: 342, 343.

  23 Ray, J. (1994), Hatchepsut the female pharaoh, History Today 44.5: 28.

  24 The Deir el-Bahri mortuary temple, Djeser-Djeseru, is considered in more detail in Chapter 6.

  25 Christie, A. (1945), Death Comes as the End, Glasgow. The identification of the path is made in Romer, J
. (1981), Valley of the Kings, London: 135.

  26 Romer, J. (1974), Tuthmosis I and the Biban el-Moluk, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 60: 119–33.

  27 Winlock, H. E. (1929), Notes on the reburial of Tuthmosis I, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 15: 64.

  28 Davis, T. M. (ed.) (1906), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: xiii.

  29 Carter, H., (1906), Description of the finding and excavation of the tomb, in Davis, T. M. (ed.) (1906), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: 80.

  30 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 98.

  31 See, for example, Robins, G. (1983), Natural and canonical proportions in ancient Egyptians, Goettinger Miszellen 61:17–25. Robins's figures are based on pre-New Kingdom skeletal remains.

  32 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 139–140. Hayes believed that Tuthmosis I had originally been buried in KV 38, and that Tuthmosis III was merely restoring his grandfather to his rightful tomb. It is perhaps somewhat unfair to criticize Hatchepsut's meanness in providing her father with a second-hand sarcophagus, as such rare a piece of craftsmanship, even second-hand, would have been immensely valuable.

  33 Winlock, H. E. (1929), Notes on the reburial of Tuthmosis I, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 59.

  34 Maspero, G. (1896), The Struggle of the Nations, London: 582.

  35 While it is not entirely impossible that Tuthmosis I died young, and indeed his highest recorded regnal year is only Year 4, the historical evidence would suggest that he enjoyed a longer life. For a discussion of the reign lengths of Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis II, consult Wente, E. F. and Van Siclen, C. C. (1977), A Chronology of the New Kingdom, Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes, Chicago: 217–61. The problem of using X-ray analysis to age mummies is discussed in more detail in Robins, G. (1981), The value of the estimated ages of the royal mummies at death as historical evidence, Goettinger Miszellen 45: 63–8.

  36 The first mortuary chapel of Tuthmosis I is considered in further detail in Quirke, S. (1990), Kerem in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 76: 170–74.