Egyptian+Queens

While the majority of women never had the opportunity to hold positions of power, there were a select few who did. In all of ancient Egyptian history, only four women rose to the position of king, ruling the Egyptian kingdom on their own (Hawass 2000). One of the most understood of the four is Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the principal wife of King Thutmose II. After his death power was passed on to his son, Thutmose III, who was, in fact, the son of a minor wife of Thutmose II, Isis. Upon assuming power, Thutmose III appointed his mother principal wife, demoting Hatshepsut to the position of regent (Graces-Brown 2010). Not until later in Thutmose III’s rule did Hatshepsut promote herself as co-regent. Carolyn Graves-Brown sites the death of Isis or the death of Hatshepsut’s mother as the motive for her self-promotion (2010). It is difficult to determine exactly how Hattshepsut fell out of power. After her death, Thutmose III went through the kingdom defacing monuments and structures depicting Hatshepsut as a divine ruler. While the purpose of this is unclear, it is assumed that Thutmose III did this to either prevent other females from rising to power or to punish Hatshepsut for overstepping her position in society (Graves-Brown 2010).