Hatshepsut - part 3
Jan 22nd, 2007 by admin
“Amon took the form of the noble King Tuthmose and found the queen sleeping in her room. When the pleasant odours that proceeded from him announced his presence she woke. he gave her his heart and showed himself in his godlike splendour. When he approached the queen she wept for joy at his strength and beauty and he gave her his love… ”
This propaganda worked well to cement Hatshepsut’s position as ruler of Egypt. But as Tuthmose III grew, her sovereignty grew tenuous and the very real threat of retribution increased. He not only resented his lack of authority, but no doubt harboured only ill will towards his step-mother’s consort Senmut.Â
Senmut originally intended to be buried in the tomb he designed for Hatshepsut, but was actually buried nearby in his own tomb. Not long after his death, however, his sarcophagus was completely destroyed.
The hard stone that had been carved for his funerary coffin was found in over 1,200 pieces. His mummy was never found. This was not indicative of tomb robbers but showed a level of hatred that survived long after his death. Hatshepsut’s mummy was likewise stolen and her tomb destroyed. Only one of the canopic jars was found, the one containing her liver.
After her death, it is presumed that Tuthmose III ordered the systematic erasure of her name from any monument she had built, including her temple at Deir-el-Bahri. Since most of the images of her were actually males, it was convenient to simply change the name “Hatshepsut” to “Tuthmose” I, II or III wherever there was a cartouche. Senmut’s name was also removed.
Whether Tuthmose killed Hatshepsut, Senmut and / or Nofrure is unanswerable, but seems highly likely. While this account is the most accepted of theories, the Hatshepsut problem was a source of endless debate near the turn of the twentieth century.
The archeaologists Edouard Naville and Kurt Sethe went head-to-head on the order of rule between the three Tuthmoses and Hatshepsut. Since it is generally assumed that if one ruler’s name is replaced with another, the second ruler is in power at the time, a confusing problem exists. Theoretical timelines indicate that the succession followed this sequence…