Hatchepsut

by Joyce Tyldesley

  Chapter 5 War and Peace

  1 Winlock, H. E (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2: 47. Winlock is quoting from Hatchepsut's own less than modest description of herself.

  2 Buttles, J. R. (1908), The Queens of Egypt, London: 90. Buttles is again quoting directly from Hatchepsut's monuments.

  3 Benson, M. and Gourlay, J. (1899), The Temple of Mut in Asher, London: 160.

  4 Hayes, W. C. (1959), The Scepter of Egypt, 2, New York: 100.

  5 For a full discussion of Hatchepsut's statuary and its significance consult Tefnin, R. (1979), La Statuaire d'Hatshepsout: portrait royal et politique sous la 18e dynastie, Brussels.

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

  7 See, for example, Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 183: ‘Twice before in Egypt's earlier history a queen had usurped the kingship, but it was a wholly new departure for a female to pose and dress as a man.’

  8 Margetts, E. L. (1951), The masculine character of Hatchepsut, Queen of Egypt, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 25: 559.

  9 Margetts, E. L. (1951), The masculine character of Hatchepsut, Queen of Egypt, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 25: 561.

  10 Warner, M. (1981), Joan of Arc: the image of female heroism, London, 145–6.

  11 Deuteronomy 22: 5. It is interesting that by the late twentieth century, most societies will accept a woman wearing traditional men's clothing, but the sight of a man in a dress is still perceived as deviant sexual behaviour.

  12 This is discussed further in Tefnin, R. (1979), La Statuaire d'Hatshepsout: portrait royal et politique sous la 18e dynastie, Brussels.

  13 For this, and other examples of imagery in Elizabethan art, consult Strong, R. (1977), The Cult of Elizabeth, London.

  14 Extract from the obelisk inscription of Hatchepsut, translated by S. R. Snape.

  15 Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 189. Gardiner is by no means the only egyptologist to have represented Hatchepsut's reign as an entirely peaceful one without offering much evidence in support of his assumption. Donald Redford has given a detailed examination of all the available evidence for Hatchepsut's wars in Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty: seven studies, Toronto: Chapter 4. Redford concludes that Hatchepsut's military campaigns have in fact been significantly understated.

  16 Budge, E. A. W. (1902), Egypt and her Asiatic Empire, London: x.

  17 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2: 52.

  18 Murray, M. (1926), Queen Hatchepsut, in W. Brunton, Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt, London: 63.

  19 Wilson, J. (1951), The Burden of Egypt, Chicago.

  20 Wolf, N. (1990), The Beauty Myth, London: 207.

  21 Dio Cassius, translated by E. Carey, Dio's Roman History Book L, London, 33.

  22 Fraser, A. (1988), The Warrior Queens: Boadicea's Chariot, London: 9.

  23 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 11.

  24 Naville quoted and discussed in Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty: seven studies, Toronto: 59.

  25 Translation given in Habachi, L. (1957), Two graffiti at Sehel from the reign of Queen Hatchepsut, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 16: 99.

  26 Naville, a fervent supporter of Hatchepsut, first posed this question in 1906 (see Davis, T. M. (ed.), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: 74). However, those more critical of Hatchepsut have often taken the opposite view, seeing her reign as a backwards step in the expansion of the empire, and occasionally being highly critical of Hatchepsut herself for denying Tuthmosis III an even longer and more glorious reign.

  27 Gardiner, A. (1946), The Great Speos Artemidos Inscription, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 32: 46.

  28 Tomb inscription of the Old Kingdom Overseer Harkhuf, who is himself quoting from a letter written by the child-king Pepi II. Translation based on that given by James, T. G. H. (1984), Pharaoh's People: scenes from life in imperial Egypt, Oxford: 29.

  29 Naville E. (1906), The Life and Monuments of the Queen, in T. M. Davis (ed.), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: 28–9.

  30 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 14.

  31 Naville, E. (1906), in Davis, T. M. (ed.) The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: 73–4.

  32 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 13.

  33 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 14.

  34 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 14.

  35 Quoted in Kitchen, K. A. (1971), Punt and how to get there, Orientalia 40, 184–207:190.

  36 Naville, E. (1898), The Temple of Deir el-Bahari Part 3, 16th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London: 16–17.

  Chapter 6 Propaganda in Stone

  1 Extract from the obelisk inscription of Hatchepsut, translated by S. R. Snape.

  2 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23: 53.

  3 For a full translation of the interior texts of the Speos Artemidos, from which these three extracts are taken, see Fairman, H. W. and Grdseloff, B. (1947), Texts of Hatchepsut and Sethos I inside Speos Artemidos, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33:15.

  4 Gardiner, A. (1946), The Great Speos Artemidos Inscription, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 32: 47–8.

  5 Discussed in detail in Bjorkman, G. (1971), Kings at Karnak: a study of the treatment of the monuments of royal predecessors in the Early New Kingdom, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala.

  6 Extract from the obelisk inscription of Hatchepsut, translated by S. R. Snape.

  7 Translation after James, T. G. H. (1984), Pharaoh's People: scenes from life in imperial Egypt, Oxford: 34.

  8 This obelisk is uninscribed and therefore cannot be definitely attributed to Hatchepsut. However, it is known to date to the Tuthmoside period, and Hatchepsut seems to be the most likely owner.

  9 Pliny, Natural History, Book 36:14.

  10 Habachi, L. (1957), Two Graffiti at Schel from the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 16:90.

  11 Extract from the obelisk inscription of Hatchepsut, translated by S. R. Snape.

  12 Habachi, L. (1957), Two Graffiti at Schel from the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 16: 99.

  13 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: 1.

  14 See Dodson, A. (1989), Hatshepsut and her ‘father’ Mentuhotpe II, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 75: 224–6.

  15 Buttles, J. R. (1908), The Queens of Egypt, London: 85.

  16 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23: 55–6.

  17 The foundation deposits were intended to ensure that all would go well with the building; a parallel may be drawn with the modern practice of formally laying foundation stones.

  18 Over three hundred engraved seals have been recovered from the foundation deposits of Djeser-Djeseru; these are mostly inscribed with the regal name of Hatchepsut but they also give the names of Hatchepsut the queen (35), Tuthmosis II (31), Princess Neferure, ‘King's Daughter, King's Sister and God's Wife’ (18), Tuthmosis 1 (2) and Amen (18). Most of these scarabs can now be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

  19 Text is quoted in Brovarski, E. (1976), Senenu, High Priest of Amun, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 62: 70.

  20 See, for example, Donohue, V. A. (1992), The goddess of the T
heban Mountain, Antiquity 66: 881: ‘… the maternally generative emphasis in her own [i.e. Hatchepsut's] mythic personality that so intense a celebration of this goddess confirms goes far to modify the prevailing view that it was in masculine terms alone that Hatchepsut sought to authenticate her supremacy.’ See also Roberts, A. (1995), Hathor Rising: the serpent power of Ancient Egypt, Totnes. Roberts also stresses what she sees as the important link between Hathor and Hatchepsut.

  21 To some observers, however, the tripartite nature of the temple is of great importance. See, for example, Roberts, A. (1995), Hathor Rising: the serpent power of Ancient Egypt, Totnes: Chapter 116.

  Chapter 7 Senenmut: Greatest of the Great

  1 An extract from Senenmut's fictional curriculum vitae, composed by Winlock and based on various original sources. See Winlock, H. E. (1942), Excavations at Deir el-Bahri, 1911–1934, New York: 16.

  2 Peter Dorman discusses early approaches to Senenmut in some detail before taking a fresh look at the archaeological and historical evidence for his life and achievements. Consult Dorman, P. F. (1988), The Monuments of Senenmut: problems in historical methodology, London and New York. For an earlier study of Senenmut, see Meyer, C. (1982), Senenmut: eine prosopogra-phische Untersuchung, Hamburg.

  3 For a fictionalized account of the life of Senenmut, read Gedge, P. (1977), Child of the Morning, New York. This historical romance tells how the teenage priest Senmut rescues the Princess Hatchepsut from an untimely death by drowning in the Sacred Lake of the Karnak temple. This leads to a lifelong bond between the pair, which is only broken when the now powerful Senmut is assassinated by the agents of the displaced King Thothmes. The grieving Hatchepsut, setting a precedent for Egyptian queens, chooses to commit suicide rather than face life without her lover.

  4 This matter is discussed further in Roehrig, C. H. and Dorman, P. F. (1987), Senimen and Senenmut: a question of brothers, Varia Aegyptiaca, 3: 127–34.

  5 Lansing, A. and Hayes, W. (1937), The Egyptian Expedition 1935–36, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 32.2: 31–21.

  6 Caminos, R. and James, T. G. H. (1963), Gebel Es-Silsilah 1: The Shrines, London: 5.

  7 Extract from the text carved on the base of a block statue of Senenmut now housed in the British Museum. After James, T. G. H. (1984), Pharaoh's People: scenes from life in imperial Egypt, Oxford: 32.

  8 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2: 36.

  9 Extract from the autobiography of Ineni, Breasted, J. H. (1906), Ancient Records of Egypt: historical documents, vol. 2, Chicago: 43.

  10 Forbes, D. (1990), Queen's Minion Senenmut, KMT 1: 1, 16. This article gives a brief but highly readable review of the life and major works of Senenmut.

  11 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2:36.

  12 Stevenson Smith, W, The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt, revised and edited by W. K. Simpson (1981), New Haven: 226.

  13 Part of an inscription recording Senenmut's appeal to Hatchepsut for permission to have his statue placed within the Karnak temple, after Dorman, P. F. (1988), The Monuments of Senenmut: problems in historical methodology, London and New York: 125.

  14 For a full translation of the story consult Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 214–23.

  15 Wente, E. R. (1984), Some Graffiti from the Reign of Hatchepsut, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 43:47–54.

  16 Manniche, L. (1977), Some Aspects of Ancient Egyptian Sexual Life, Acta Orientalia 38:22.

  17 The ancient Romans took the view that man's desire for sexual intercourse made him weak and effeminate; sex therefore gave women power over men. The ancient Egyptians took entirely the opposite view.

  18 Simpson, W. K. (1984), Senenmut, Lexikon der Ägyptologie, Wiesbaden, 5:850.

  19 Gardiner, A. (1961), Egypt of the Pharaohs, Oxford: 184.

  20 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2: 36.

  21 Hayes, W. C. (1957), Varia from the Time of Hatchepsut, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo 15: 84.

  22 Extract from the list of funerary offerings recorded in Tomb 353, after Dorman, P. F. (1991), The Tombs of Senenmut, New York: 138.

  23 Both Senenmut tombs were investigated in the first half of this century by H. E. Winlock, working on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The previously unknown Tomb 353 was discovered in 1927, and this led to renewed interest in Tomb 71, which was cleared during the 1930–31 season.

  24 The reconstructed sarcophagus has been published in Hayes, W C. (1950), The Sarcophagus of Sennemut, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 36: 19–23.

  25 Dorman, P. F. (1991), The Tombs of Senenmut, New York: 29, notes that: ‘Today these corridors have been refilled with debris up to the level of the floor of Tomb 71 and cannot be reinvestigated without considerable clearance. The present writer was unable to enter the tomb of Aanen to investigate the passage from the other end.’

  26 Although there is always the possibility that this pit represents an unrelated secondary burial cut into the floor of the hall some time after the tomb had fallen into disuse.

  27 Winlock's interpretation of the sealing of Tomb 353 following the unexpected death of Senenmut. See Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 23.2:58.

  28 For a detailed discussion of Senenmut's mysterious disappearance, plus a useful list of other publications on this subject, consult Schulman, A. R. (1969–70), Some Remarks on the Alleged ‘Fall’ of Senmut, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 8: 29–48.

  Chapter 8 The End and the Aftermath

  1 Extract from the obelisk inscription of King Hatchepsut, translated by S. R. Snape.

  2 The stela of Nakht from Sinai, for example, dated to Year 20 of the joint reign, shows the two kings as equals, Hatchepsut on the right and Tuthmosis on the left, making parallel offerings to local deities.

  3 See, for example, Edgerton, W. F. (1933), The Tuthmoside Succession, Chicago: 34: ‘If I were to hazard my personal guess, I should say that Hatchepsut's body was probably disposed of in the same manner as the bodies of Senta's children in the demotic tale – that the dogs and cats ate her.’

  4 See, for example, Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 151.

  5 Published in Davis, T. M. (ed.) (1906), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: un-numbered plate opposite page 78.

  6 Ciccarello, M. and Romer, J. (1979), A Preliminary Report of the Recent Work in the Tombs of Ramesses X and XI in the Valley of the Kings, San Fransisco: 3.

  7 For a discussion of the tomb of Ramesses XI and its contents see Reeves, N. (1990), Valley of the Kings: the decline of a Royal Necropolis, London: 121–3.

  8 Petrie, W. M. F. (1924), A History of Egypt during the XVIIth and XVIIIth Dynasties, 2, London: 92.

  9 Donald P. Ryan describes the circumstances behind the rediscovery of this tomb, and discusses the Hatchepsut hypothesis, in Ryan, D. P. (1990), Who is buried in KV60?, KMT, 1:34–63.

  10 Extract from the Annals of Tuthmosis III. Lichtheim, M. (1976), Ancient Egyptian Literature II: the New Kingdom, Los Angeles: 30.

  11 Tuthmosis III – a Leonardo-like ‘Renaissance Man’ ahead of his time – is supposed to have designed the furnishings intended for the temple of Amen.

  12 Maspero, G. (1889), Les Momies Royales de Deir el-Bahari, Paris: 547–8.

  13 Hayes, W. C. (1935), Royal Sarcophagi of the XVIII Dynasty, Princeton: 138.

  14 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, 23.1: 58.

  15 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1927–28, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, 23.2:9.

  16 Na
ville, E. in T. M. Davis (ed.) (1906), The tomb of Hatshopsitu, London: 71, 72.

  17 Nims, C. F. (1966), The Date of the Dishonouring of Hatchepsut, Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, Leipzig: 97–100. The whole question of the defacement of Hatchepsut's monuments is discussed in great detail, with all relevant references, in Dorman, P. F. (1988), The Monuments of Senenmut: problems in historical methodology, London: Chapter 3.

  18 See Lipinska, J. (1967), Names and History of the Sanctuaries built by Tuthmosis III at Deir el-Bahri, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 35: 25–33.

  19 See Van Siclen, C. (1989), New data on the date of the defacement of Hatchepsut's name and image on the Chapelle Rouge, Goettinger Miszellen 107: 85–6.

  20 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, 23.1: 46. Further details of the finding of statue-fragments at Deir el-Bahri are included in the Bulletin Volumes 18,23 and 24.

  21 Winlock, H. E. (1928), The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927, Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, 23.1: 46.

  22 Unpublished work by the late Ramadan Saad, quoted in Dorman, P. F. (1988), Monuments of Senenmut: problems in historical methodology, London: Chapter 3.

  23 A question already posed by Redford, D. B. (1967), History and Chronology of the 18th Dynasty: seven studies, Toronto: 87: ‘Standing alone before the image of the queen, Tuthmosis relented. She was, after all, his own flesh… In the darkness of the crypt, in the stillness of the cella, her cold statues, which never vulgar eye would again behold, still conveyed for the king the warmth and awe of a divine presence.’

  24 It could, however, be argued that, because of the brief and disturbed nature of Twosret's reign, she was unable to build the inscribed monuments which would have preserved the evidence of such a persecution. Twosret's monuments may not have been defaced simply because they did not exist.