Hatshepsut

Assess the reign of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut is arguably Egypt's most distinguished pharaoh, with her reign during the New Kingdom being a successful one in which Egypt flourished and prospered. Her ascension as pharaoh was plagued with controversy as she was a female who directly challenged 'maat' , the Egyptian concept of balance and order, by rising to a high position of power traditionally possessed by males. Hatshepsut however disregarded the doubt made prevalent in regards to her leadership and went on to become one of Egypt's most successful pharaohs. Egypt’s economy flourished under her rule as a result of her expedition to Punt under the premise of peace and trade. In addition Hatshepsut’s building program was quite extensive and elaborate
Majority of the structures constructed under her rule were grand in size and inscribed with reliefs and hieroglyphs which all depicted certain aspects of Hatshepsut's reign with a positive outlook. In addition Hatshepsut consistently integrated Egyptian culture and religion into her building program. The most noteworthy monuments erected under her rule were four large obelisks made of red granite. ‘I have done this with a loving heart for my father, Amun […] It was he who led me’ is inscribed on one of the obelisks, glorifying Amun and bringing to light his significance in Egyptian society. By making Amun the focal point of the obelisks , Hatshepsut exemplified her appreciation of the culture and in turn was able to enhance Egyptian culture. In addition the size of the obelisks was centred on creating a grand legacy for Hatshepsut; a legacy that would be difficult to erase. Another significant piece of architecture constructed during Hatshepsut’s rule was her mortuary temple, Djesere-Djeseru, located in Deir el-Bahri. Hatshepsut's mortuary temple is her biggest architectural achievement with numerous reliefs depicting significant aspects of her reign with a favourable perspective. The reliefs all depict aspects of Hatshepsut's reign along with various
Initially when Hatshepsut became pharaoh doubt was prevalent among the kingdom which was why she relied heavily on propaganda to secure her powerful position and discourage those who were discontent with her position. One of the primary pieces of propaganda was a rewritten version of history which placed Hatshepsut as the legitimate successor of the throne following her father, Thutmose I. Originally Thutmose III was the legitimate successor of Thutmose II, his father and Hatshepsut’s husband. Thutmose III however was too young to be pharaoh so Hatshepsut became regent only to realise how discontent she was ruling as a diarchy alongside Thutmose III. This led to the manipulation of history so as to place Hatshepsut as the legitimate successor of Thutmose I. Hatshepsut had inscribed on the walls of her mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahri a relief depicting her father, Thutmose I, presenting her to the court stating, ‘This is my daughter, Khnemet-Amun Hatshepsut […] she is my successor upon my throne’. The relief placed Hatshepsut in a position of high political power as very few would question the word of a pharaoh. It was blatantly manipulative but extremely beneficial for Hatshepsut, allowing for her to rise as pharaoh with the absence of challenge. Another primary piece of propaganda was the narrative of Hatshepsut’s divinity that was made prevalent