Agora: Red Deer Polytechnic Undergraduate Journal
Volume 15:1 2024 Agora Conference Proceedings

As a King
Marian Young
Traditionally in Ancient Egypt, men and women were depicted differently from each other
in many ways. Women were typically portrayed in lighter skin tones such as white or yellow, while
men are portrayed in red. Men were often depicted in active roles, while women were depicted in
passive rolls. This difference between the genders is adhered to from the Old Kingdom in Ancient
Egypt through to the New Kingdom.1 There are relatively few examples left to us of art from this
– century spanning – period of time and place depicting an individual with both male and female
characteristics, or characteristics of the gender opposite we know them to be genetically. This
standardization in depiction is a useful tool for a society that is not widely literate,2 so as not to
confuse the interpretation of information being disseminated in the art. This is called an artistic
canon.3 One of the most striking figures of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt that does not
adhere to the typical art canon is that of Hatshepsut. “She was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty
during the period known as the New Kingdom (c. 1570 to c. 1069 BCE) and regarded as one of
the most prosperous eras of the Egyptian Empire”4. Hatshepsut used the title of and depictions of
herself as a king to control the narrative of power during her life and protect her country from
instability. Her nephew/stepson, Thutmose III, destroyed these images to change the narrative and
take power away from his aunt/stepmother. The surviving records of King Hatshepsut, as well as
the recorded destruction of her kingly image, demonstrates how narratives of power can be shifted
and adapted to suit the narrative of those in positions of authority.
Hatshepsut was the eldest daughter of King Thutmose I and married to her half-brother
Thutmose II. Thutmose II inherited his father’s throne in c. 1492 BCE. Thutmose II and Hatshepsut had no sons together to inherit the throne when Thutmose II died quite early in his reign. However, Thutmose II did have a son by a lesser wife, Thutmose III5. Hatshepsut acted as regent for
Uroš Matić. “Gender in Ancient Egypt: Norms, Ambiguities, and Sensualities.” Near Eastern
Archaeology 79, no. 3 (2016): 174–83.
2
Betsy Bryan. “Memory and Knowledge in Egyptian Tomb Painting.” Studies in the History of Art 74
(2009): 18–39.
3
Davies, Penelope J. E., Walter B. Denny, et al. Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition. 1. 8th ed.
Vol. 1. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2010.
4
Joshua Mark. “Hatshepsut”. World History Encyclopedia. Last modified October 19, 2016.
1

5

Joyce Tyldesley. "Hatshepsut." Encyclopedia Britannica, September 8, 2022. .

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her stepson/nephew after the death of her husband, as Thutmose III was in his infancy. However,
in a relatively brief period, Hatshepsut would name herself Pharoah of Egypt6. Interestingly, it
was not position of aunt and stepmother to Thutmose III or even her position as wife and sister to
Thutmose II that Hatshepsut used to legitimize her claim to rule, but rather, “Hatshepsut legitimized her rule through ties to her parents, presenting herself as heir to her father the king”7. Though
she was making decisions of state immediately after her husband’s death, early images of her in
power still depicted her in female garb. She did not immediately attempt to change her image and
deviate from artistic canon. However, as time went on images of Hatshepsut started to shift. From
the traditional male outfits and the particular crown she was depicted wearing, as well as the suffixes used for her name, the artistic depictions of Hatshepsut, and her narrative of power, shifted
from Hatshepsut being regent for her infant nephew to being his co-ruler or King Hatshepsut.8
There is little to no evidence to suggest that Hatshepsut assuming the title of King was a
mad grab for power when she took over the ruling of the kingdom. Ruling a country with her infant
nephew/stepson, Thutmose III, on the throne would be imaginably difficult as she tried to unite a
country and protect it from foreign entities. “Like any other Egyptian king, and perhaps more so
because of her unorthodox rise to power, Hatshepsut had to prove her fitness to rule.”9, as well as
her ability to protect her country and the royal blood line. A blood line that was of huge significance
and importance to maintain. Vanessa Davies, in her journal article Hatshepsut’s Use of Tuthmosis
III in Her Program of Legitimation stated:
…at the beginning of the reign of the young Tuthmosis III, the queen Hatshepsut
made the decisions of state on behalf of the king.14* When she subsequently claimed
kingship alongside Tuthmosis III, one can assume that her decision-making capabilities did not diminish. Indeed, if any change occurred at all, she would have had
more authority in issuing orders and authorizing works throughout the kingdom.10

Mark. “Hatshepsut”.
Vanessa Davies. “Hatshepsut’s Use of Tuthmosis III in Her Program of Legitimation.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 41: 55–66.
8
Davies. “Hatshepsut’s Use of Tuthmosis III in Her Program of Legitimation.”
9
Pearce Paul Creasman. 2014. “Hatshepsut and the Politics of Punt.” The African Archaeological Review 31
(3): 395–405.
10
Davies. “Hatshepsut’s Use of Tuthmosis III in Her Program of Legitimation.”
*The footnote number 14 contained in the above block quote, is a citation within the source itself. It was not
used as a reference for this paper, as the source was not in a language spoken by this author.
6

7

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In order to prevent an image of weakness in the kingdom and in herself as a ruler, King
Hatshepsut did not rely on adapting her depictions in art to reflect a more masculine ruler. During
Hatshepsut’s reign she ordered successful military campaigns and trade exploration into the oft
debated Punt11. It is likely that images depicting Hatshepsut as a man were not in an effort to take
power away from her nephew, but to demonstrate the idea that a woman in her own right can be
just as powerful as a man when ruling. An image which was likely sorely needed with a young
child on the throne.
Whatever Hatshepsut’s intention, in being co-ruler or depicting herself as king, her legacy
did not last. In the late stages of the reign of Thutmose III, after the death of his aunt, he began a
campaign to remove and destroy images of his aunt as king. This attempt was thorough, but ultimately unsuccessful as we still have some images of her as king to this day. It is possible that it
is, in part, thanks to this attempted removal that we have such well preserved statues of King
Hatshepsut. “William Hayes and Herbert Winlock, who excavated her funerary temple in the
1920s… discovered a pit full of smashed statues of the pharaoh”12, though the statues themselves
were in pieces, the pieces were relatively well protected in the pit from elements, vandalism, and
other misfortunes that have befallen much of the statuary of this time. Unfortunately for historical
record, “Hatshepsut’s name and images were chiseled off the walls and she was excluded from the
official history that now ran without any co-regency from Thutmose II to Thutmose III.”13. There
are many reasons that could have prompted Thutmose III to remove visual record of Hatshepsut’s
kingship. Most historical sources prior to the 1990’s have argued that the reason for the destruction
is power. It stands to reason however, that in order for Thutmose III to be using the destruction of
his aunt’s image to solidify and/or emphasize his own power and authority, he would not have
waited so long into his reign to do so. In addition, the images of Hatshepsut that he attempted to
eradicate, were those that showed her in male and kingly garb. There are still intact examples of
Hatshepsut not destroyed by Thutmose III that show her in feminine garb from when she was First
Among Queens (the title given to her by her husband).14 Other sources suggest that Thutmose III
may have been expressing a personal dislike of his aunt with extreme prejudice. However, I would
Creasman. “Hatshepsut and the Politics of Punt”
Pac Pobric. Unearthing Hatshepsut, Egypt's Most Powerful Female Pharaoh. Metmuseum.org. (2018, January 22).
13
Tyldesley. “Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh.”
14
Tyldesley. “Hatshepsut: The Female Pharaoh.”
11
12

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again say that this is unlikely for the same reason. Whatever Thutmose’s reasoning or intention,
after the removal and destruction of kingly images and references to Hatshepsut which violated
accepted art canon, we see very little substantial evidence of any king or queen attempt this drastic
of a deviation again.
Keeping to an artistic canon can be an important tool of standardization for communicating
information. When artistic canon is deviated from the importance of the information or narrative
being conveyed increases not only to the people of the time, but to historians of today. It is likely
that we will never know how many individuals deviated from the artistic and linguistic canon
throughout history. Those individuals that we have record of doing so however (Hatshepsut, Nero,
or Avalokiteshvara to name very few), are often powerful figures of history. Despite her successor’s attempts to control the narratives of the time, as a powerful woman of history, Hatshepsut
stands not as a queen, but as a king.

206

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