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Hatshepsut: A Truly Revolutionary Queen
Thutmose III. One of the first orders he gave his servants and officials was to erase Hatshepsut from Egyptian history.44 His helpers removed Hatshepsut’s name from all records throughout Egypt, including the list of Kings. They proceeded to destroy and deface Hatshepsut’s face in her Temple, but they did not erase her name.45 Thankfully, historians decoded the words on the temple and pieced together the art work on the walls to discover Hatshepsut’s history. If it were not for Thutmose III’s incomplete effort, historians might never have come upon the legacy of Hatshepsut, leaving her rule unknown to the modern world and offering no inspiration for up and coming female leaders.
Even though Hatshepsut is now considered one of the best Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, for centuries her reign was suppressed by the jealousy of men. Queen Hatshepsut demonstrated all the great qualities that the past Pharaohs possessed and also enacted new ways of leadership that became an expectation for future Pharaohs. Those expectations may explain why her immediate successor sought to destroy and hide her achievement: she set an imposing example that Thutmose III may not have felt he could live up to. He thus tried to erase her and her reign from existence.
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Fortunately, he failed in that endeavor. Unfortunately, Hatshepsut is just one of many women whose stories have been initially covered up due to their gender. History courses need to be updated and highlight Hatshepsut and her fellow female leaders; by teaching their stories, young students will see that their gender does not matter but how hard they are willing to work and how hard they are willing to fight—that is what determines success. In our time, we need to uplift and encourage young women to go into leadership roles, most of which have never before been held by a woman. Learning the history of Hatshepsut might just accomplish that goal.
- Deir el Bahari (Temple of Queen Hatshepsut - relief on a wall of the Queen), 1. Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut on a relief wall depicted as a male Pharaoh due to the beard and head dress.
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Hatshepsut: A Truly Revolutionary Queen
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