Latest news with #Hatshepsut
The Star
20 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Gender not main factor in attacks on Egyptian woman pharaoh: study
Visitors stand behind the bust of the ancient Egyptian queen Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on June 11. Photo: AFP She was one of ancient Egypt's most successful rulers, a rare female pharaoh who preceded Cleopatra by 1,500 years, but Queen Hatshepsut's legacy was systematically erased by her stepson successor after her death. The question of why her impressive reign was so methodically scrubbed has attracted significant debate, but in new research published Monday, University of Toronto scholar Jun Wong argues far too much emphasis has been placed on her gender. "It's quite a romantic question: why was this pharaoh attacked after her death?" Wong told AFP, explaining his interest in a monarch who steered ancient Egypt through a period of extraordinary prosperity. Earlier scholars believed Queen Hatshepsut's stepson Thutmose III unleashed a posthumous campaign of defilement against her out of revenge and hatred, including because he wanted to purge any notion that a woman could successfully rule. "The way in which (Hatshepsut's) reign has been understood has always been colored by her gender," Wong said, referencing beliefs that Thutmose III may have viewed her as "a kind of an evil stepmother." His research, which builds on other recent scholarship and is being published in the journal Antiquity , argues Thutmose III's motivations were far more nuanced, casting further doubt on the theory of backlash against a woman in charge. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt roughly 3,500 years ago, taking over following the death of her husband Thutmose II. She first served as regent to her stepson, the king-in-waiting, but successfully consolidated power in her own right, establishing herself as a female pharaoh. Experts say she expanded trade routes and commissioned extraordinary structures, including an unparallelled mortuary in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile's west bank. Wong reassessed a range of material from damaged statues uncovered during excavations from 1922 to 1928. He said there is no doubt Thutmose III worked to eliminate evidence of Hatshepsut's achievements, but his efforts were "perhaps driven by ritual necessity rather than outright antipathy," said Wong. Thutmose III may have been trying to neutralise the power of his predecessor in a practical and common way, not out of malice. He also found that some of the statues depicting Hatshepsut were likely damaged because later generations wanted to reuse them as building materials. "For a long time, it has been assumed that Hatshepsut's statuary sustained a vindictive attack," said Wong, arguing that a fresh look at the archives suggests "this is not the case." - AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- General
- Kuwait Times
Gender not main factor in attacks on Egyptian woman pharaoh: Study
The mummified remains of Queen Hatshepsut, ancient Egypt's most famous female pharaoh, lie in a glass case under the national flag moments before being unveiled at the Cairo Museum 27 June 2007. She was one of ancient Egypt's most successful rulers, a rare female pharaoh who preceded Cleopatra by 1,500 years, but Queen Hatshepsut's legacy was systematically erased by her stepson successor after her death. The question of why her impressive reign was so methodically scrubbed has attracted significant debate, but in new research published Monday, University of Toronto scholar Jun Wong argues far too much emphasis has been placed on her gender. 'It's quite a romantic question: why was this pharaoh attacked after her death?' Wong told AFP, explaining his interest in a monarch who steered ancient Egypt through a period of extraordinary prosperity. Earlier scholars believed Queen Hatshepsut's stepson Thutmose III unleashed a posthumous campaign of defilement against her out of revenge and hatred, including because he wanted to purge any notion that a woman could successfully rule. 'The way in which (Hatshepsut's) reign has been understood has always been colored by her gender,' Wong said, referencing beliefs that Thutmose III may have viewed her as 'a kind of an evil stepmother.' Visitors stand behind the bust of the ancient Egyptian queen Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BC) at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on June 11, 2025. --AFP photos His research, which builds on other recent scholarship and is being published in the journal Antiquity, argues Thutmose III's motivations were far more nuanced, casting further doubt on the theory of backlash against a woman in charge. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt roughly 3,500 years ago, taking over following the death of her husband Thutmose II. She first served as regent to her stepson, the king-in-waiting, but successfully consolidated power in her own right, establishing herself as a female pharaoh. Experts say she expanded trade routes and commissioned extraordinary structures, including an unparallelled mortuary in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile's west bank. Wong reassessed a range of material from damaged statues uncovered during excavations from 1922 to 1928. He said there is no doubt Thutmose III worked to eliminate evidence of Hatshepsut's achievements, but his efforts were 'perhaps driven by ritual necessity rather than outright antipathy,' Wong said. Thutmose III may have been trying to neutralize the power of his predecessor in a practical and common way, not out of malice. He also found that some of the statues depicting Hatshepsut were likely damaged because later generations wanted to reuse them as building materials. 'For a long time, it has been assumed that Hatshepsut's statuary sustained a vindictive attack,' Wong said, arguing that a fresh look at the archives suggests 'this is not the case.' - AFP The mummified remains of Queen Hatshepsut, ancient Egypt's most famous female pharaoh, lie in a glass case after being unveiled at the Cairo Museum 27 June 2007.
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Why ancient Egyptians broke Queen Hatshepsut's statues — it's not just patriarchy
Source: iStock For years, the story seemed straightforward: Queen Hatshepsut, one of ancient Egypt's most powerful and fascinating rulers, was posthumously erased by her successor, Thutmose III. The narrative had all the drama — a woman who ruled as a king, a threatened male heir, and a vengeful campaign to wipe her from history. But now, a new study throws a surprising twist into that tale. According to research published in the journal Antiquity, many of Hatshepsut's statues were not destroyed out of hatred or misogyny. Instead, they were ritually deactivated — a normal ancient Egyptian practice. Not erased, but 'deactivated' The research, led by Jun Yi Wong, a doctoral candidate in Egyptology at the University of Toronto, dives into records from the 1920s and '30s, when archaeologists uncovered shattered statues of Hatshepsut buried in pits at her temple at Deir el-Bahri. While it was long assumed this destruction was a symbolic erasure ordered by Thutmose III, Wong found something different. Speaking to Live Science, Wong explained that the statues weren't smashed at the face or stripped of inscriptions — the usual markers of desecration. Instead, they were systematically broken at the neck, waist, and feet, which seems like a process Egyptologists now call 'ritual deactivation.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AC Installation & Repair from Certified Pros Search7 Learn More Undo Source: iStock Ancient Egyptians believed that statues, especially of pharaohs, weren't just stone — they were spiritually potent. Once a pharaoh died, statues could be ritually 'turned off' to prevent lingering powers from interfering with the world of the living. This isn't to say Hatshepsut escaped all forms of persecution. Her images and names were indeed destroyed from various monuments, most likely ordered by Thutmose III. However, there is a difference between the careful deactivation of her statues at Deir el-Bahri and the violent defacement elsewhere hints at a more complex motivation. Source: Canva According to Wong, the evidence suggests Thutmose III may not have acted out of personal resentment. Instead, political pressure from elites who disapproved of a woman taking the throne or fears about her legacy overshadowing his may have motivated his decisions. The new understanding that ancient Egyptians 'turned off' their dead rulers' statues explains how Egyptian culture had complex layers. Sites like the Karnak Cachette — where hundreds of statues from different dynasties were buried in a similar fashion — show that Hatshepsut wasn't uniquely targeted in this way.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Hatshepsut's hidden truth: Unravelling the real reasons behind the erasure of an iconic queen's reign
TORONTO, June 24 — She was one of ancient Egypt's most successful rulers, a rare female pharaoh who preceded Cleopatra by 1,500 years, but Queen Hatshepsut's legacy was systematically erased by her stepson successor after her death. The question of why her impressive reign was so methodically scrubbed has attracted significant debate, but in new research published Monday, University of Toronto scholar Jun Wong argues far too much emphasis has been placed on her gender. 'It's quite a romantic question: why was this pharaoh attacked after her death?' Wong told AFP, explaining his interest in a monarch who steered ancient Egypt through a period of extraordinary prosperity. Earlier scholars believed Queen Hatshepsut's stepson Thutmose III unleashed a posthumous campaign of defilement against her out of revenge and hatred, including because he wanted to purge any notion that a woman could successfully rule. 'The way in which (Hatshepsut's) reign has been understood has always been colored by her gender,' Wong said, referencing beliefs that Thutmose III may have viewed her as 'a kind of an evil stepmother.' His research, which builds on other recent scholarship and is being published in the journal Antiquity, argues Thutmose III's motivations were far more nuanced, casting further doubt on the theory of backlash against a woman in charge. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt roughly 3,500 years ago, taking over following the death of her husband Thutmose II. She first served as regent to her stepson, the king-in-waiting, but successfully consolidated power in her own right, establishing herself as a female pharaoh. Experts say she expanded trade routes and commissioned extraordinary structures, including an unparallelled mortuary in the Valley of the Kings on the Nile's west bank. Wong reassessed a range of material from damaged statues uncovered during excavations from 1922 to 1928. He said there is no doubt Thutmose III worked to eliminate evidence of Hatshepsut's achievements, but his efforts were 'perhaps driven by ritual necessity rather than outright antipathy,' Wong said. Thutmose III may have been trying to neutralize the power of his predecessor in a practical and common way, not out of malice. He also found that some of the statues depicting Hatshepsut were likely damaged because later generations wanted to reuse them as building materials. 'For a long time, it has been assumed that Hatshepsut's statuary sustained a vindictive attack,' Wong said, arguing that a fresh look at the archives suggests 'this is not the case.' — AFP
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
We finally know why Queen Hatshepsut's statues were destroyed in ancient Egypt
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For the past 100 years, Egyptologists thought that when the powerful female pharaoh Hatshepsut died, her nephew and successor went on a vendetta against her, purposefully smashing all her statues to erase her from public memory. Now, a new study finds that's not quite the case. Although many statues of Hatshepsut were intentionally broken, the reason behind their destruction has nothing to do with her gender or even blotting out her existence, an Egyptologist says. Rather, Hatshepsut's statues were broken to "deactivate" them and eliminate their supposed supernatural powers, according to a study published Tuesday (June 24) in the journal Antiquity. Hatshepsut (who ruled circa 1473 to 1458 B.C.) was a pharaoh known for commissioning a beautiful temple built at Deir el-Bahri, near ancient Thebes (modern-day Luxor), and for ordering a successful voyage from Egypt to a land known as "Punt," whose precise location is now a matter of debate. She was the wife and half sister of pharaoh Thutmose II (reign circa 1492 to 1479 B.C.) and was supposed to act as regent for her stepson Thutmose III. However, rather than serving as regent, she became a pharaoh in her own right, with Thutmose III acting as a co-regent who had limited power. After Hatshepsut died, many of her statues were intentionally broken, including at the site of Deir el-Bahri, where archaeologists in the 1920s and 1930s found broken remains of her statues buried in pits. It was believed that these were broken on the orders of Thutmose III after Hatshepsut died, as a form of retribution. However, the new study suggests that these statues were in fact "ritually deactivated" in the same manner that statues belonging to other pharaohs were. In the study, Jun Yi Wong, a doctoral candidate in Egyptology at the University of Toronto, examined archival records of the statues from Deir el-Bahri that were found in the 1920s and 1930s. Wong found that the statues were not smashed in the face and didn't have their inscriptions destroyed. Instead, they were broken at their neck, waist and feet — something seen in statues of other Egyptian pharaohs during a process that modern-day Egyptologists call "ritual deactivation." The ancient Egyptians saw royal statues "as powerful and perhaps even living entities," Wong told Live Science in an email. When a pharaoh died, it was common for the ancient Egyptians to deactivate their statues by breaking them at their weak points, or the neck, waist and feet, Wong noted. "Deposits of deactivated statues have been found at multiple sites in Egypt and Sudan," Wong said. "One of the best-known finds in the history of Egyptian archaeology is the Karnak Cachette, where hundreds of statues of pharaohs — from across centuries — were found in a single deposit. The vast majority of the statues have been 'deactivated.'" Related: Why are the noses broken on so many ancient Egyptian statues? This isn't to say that Hatshepsut wasn't a target of political persecution after her death. "There is no doubt that Hatshepsut did suffer a campaign of persecution — at many monuments throughout Egypt, her images and names have been systematically hacked out," Wong said. "We know that this campaign of persecution was initiated by Thutmose III, but we are not exactly sure why." The fact that her statues at Deir el-Bahri were deactivated normally while images and inscriptions of her at other sites were violently attacked suggests that the persecution she experienced may not have been for personal reasons. Statues of other pharaohs also underwent ritual deactivation, Wong wrote. The fact that the statues of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri were deactivated normally while statues of her at other sites were more violently attacked suggests that Thutmose III may have felt that he had to persecute Hatshepsut for political reasons, such as concerns about her reign from his supporters. RELATED STORIES —Excavations at Queen Hatshepsut's mortuary temple reveal elaborate burials, decorated blocks and ancient tools —Thutmose II tomb discovery raises new mysteries: Where is his mummy, and why wasn't he buried in the Valley of the Kings? —How did Ramesses II die — and did his more than 100 children fight for the throne? "Early Egyptologists assumed that Thutmose III must have harboured intense hatred towards Hatshepsut, but this is unlikely to be accurate," Wong said. "The treatment of the statues, for example, suggests that Thutmose III was motivated by ritualistic and practical factors, rather than any personal animosity." Thutmose III "would have been influenced by political considerations — such as whether Hatshepsut's reign was detrimental to his legacy as a pharaoh," Wong said.
