Hatshepsut was one of the most powerful women in the ancient world. She was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt and the first female pharaoh. She ruled longer than any other woman in Egyptian history. Hatshepsut was pharaoh for approximately twenty-one years, from 1479 BC–1458 BC. Hatshepsut’s successful reign brought wealth to her country & she helped shape Egypt into a stronger nation in many ways. Hatshepsut has been widely regarded as one of the most successful pharaohs throughout time and has left behind more monuments and works of art than any Egyptian queen.
Hatshepsut’s parents were both from a royal background, and her father (Thutmose I) was Pharaoh when she was born. When Thutmose I died, Hatshepsut was about 15 years old, and Thutmose II took over as pharaoh. Thutmose II died after only three or four years of rule but historians have thought that during the reign of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut may actually have been in power. Hatshepsut had had a daughter, named Neferure, but Thutmose II also had a son, named Asset. When Thutmose II died, Thutmose III was still too young to rule, and Hatshepsut began to reign, using the title “God’s Wife”. This was an issue Hatshepsut had to face as people doubted a woman as a leader but the popularity of her father and her own charismatic presence enabled her to become a full pharaoh seven years into the reign of Thutmose III.
Hatshepsut achieved a lot, including expanding territory, broadening trade, building and restoring temples, and maintaining stable order in Egypt. Egyptologists believed that there were no wars in the time she ruled, although evidence is now growing to suggest that Hatshepsut did protect her country against others that were invading Egypt. She mostly focused her efforts on constructing buildings and making Egypt a stronger, wealthier