Why did Hatshepsut take the title -- and image -- of a king? Why could she not rule as a Queen or with the title of regent?
For kings of ancient Egypt, we often use the title Pharaoh -- a word derived from an Egyptian word that came to be used for individuals only with the New Kingdom, about the time of Thutmose III. The meaning of the word is "Great House" and earlier may have referred to the government or, perhaps, the royal palace. The more generic "king" is probably more accurate a title for describing the royal rulers of ancient Egypt. But later usage has made the title "Pharaoh" common for any king of Egypt.
No Queens?
There's no word in ancient Egypt equivalent to the English word "queen" -- that is, a female equivalent of king. In English, it's customary to use the word "queen" not just for women who ruled as fully equivalent of kings, but also for the consorts of kings. In ancient Egypt, and more to the point in the Eighteenth Dynasty, the titles of consorts of kings include such titles as King's Wife or King's Great Wife. If she was eligible, she might also be designated King's Daughter, King's Mother, or King's Sister.
God's Wife
The King's Great Wife might also be called God's Wife, probably referring to the wife's religious role. With the New Kingdom, the god Amun became central, and several kings (including Hatshepsut) depicted themselves as divinely conceived by the god Amun, coming to the Great Wife of their (earthly) father in the guise of that father. The disguise would have protected the wife from allegations of adultery -- one of the most serious offenses against marriage in ancient Egypt. At the same time, the divine parent story let people know that the new King had been chosen to rule, even from conception, by the god Amun.
The first king's wives to be named as God's Wife were Ahhotep and Ahmos-Nefertari. Ahhotep was the mother of the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ahmose I, and the sister/wife of Ahmose I, Ahmos-Nefertari. Ahhotep I was the daughter of the previous king, Taa I, and wife of her brother, Taa II. The title God's Wife has been found on her coffin, so it may not have been used during her lifetime. Inscriptions have been found as well naming Ahmos-Nefertari as God's Wife. Ahmos-Nefertari was the daughter of Ahmos I and Ahhotep, and wife of Amenhotep I.
The title God's Wife was used later for other Great Wives, including Hatshepsut. It was also used for her daughter, Neferure, who apparently used it when performing in religious rites alongside her mother Hatshepsut after Hatshepsut had assumed the power, title, and image of a male king.
The title fell largely out of use by the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
No Title for Regent?
There's also no word in ancient Egyptian for "regent."
When women earlier in the Eighteenth Dynasty ruled for their sons during their son's minority, they were described with the title "King's Mother.
Hatshepsut's Problem
With Hatshepsut, the title "King's Mother" would have been problematic. Her husband, Thutmose II, died when his only known surviving son was probably quite young. Thutmose III's mother was a minor, presumably non-royal wife named Isis. Isis had the title, King's Mother. Hatshepsut, as the King's Great Wife, half-sister to her husband, Thutmose II, had more claim on royal descent than Thutmose III's mother, Isis. Hatshepsut was the one chosen to be regent..
But Thutmose III was her stepson and nephew. Hatshepsut had titles of King's Daughter, King's Sister, King's Great Wife, and God's Wife -- but she was not King's Mother.
This may be part of the reason it became -- or seemed at the time -- necessary for Hatshepsut to take another title, one unprecedented for a King's Wife: King.
Ironically, by taking the title "King," Hatshepsut may also have made it difficult for her successors to carry on any public memory of her co-rule with or regency for Thutmose III.
All About Hatshepsut:
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut Issues
- Hatshepsut's History: The Trouble with Titles
- Heiress Theory
- Problems with Dating Hatshepsut's Life
- How Did Hatshepsut Die?
- Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis II Marriage
Discovery Channel: Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen
- How Was Hatshepsut's Mummy Identified?
- Review: Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen
- Interview with Dr. Kara Cooney
- Different About.com Guide perspectives on the June, 2007, news:
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