A. Sneferu left an incredible legacy, a part of which was his son, the pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. B. The period of Sneferu, during which all the pyramid building took place, is called the Old Kingdom. Egyptian civilization collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom for unknown reasons. 1. One theory explaining this collapse is that it was brought on by the cost of pyramid building itself. 2. Another theory puts forth the reverse as an explanation: The loss of jobs caused by the cessation of pyramid building resulted in the civilization’s collapse. Remember that the pyramids were built by free labor, mostly farmers who were unable to work their crops during inundation. C. During the dark period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms, petty princes were probably vying for power. Eventually, Egypt was reunified under Montuhotep. His descendents ruled during the Middle Kingdom, and Egyptians experienced a few centuries of prosperity. D. The Middle Kingdom collapsed when Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos (“foreign rulers”), who had the advantage of chariots and horses. The Hyksos dominated Egypt for a century, but with their expulsion, the New Kingdom emerged. E. Hatshepsut (r. 1498–1483 B.C.) was a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom. All pharaohs were expected to distinguish themselves in three ways: by waging war, building, and undertaking trading expeditions. How would a female ruler meet these expectations? II. Hatshepsut’s father, Tuthmosis I (r. 1518–1504 B.C.), was a great king. A. Tuthmosis I knew that, with the collapse of central government at the end of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the treasures of the pyramids had been stolen. For this reason, he decided that he would be buried secretly in an area that could be guarded. He was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. B. The tomb of Ineni, the architect of Tuthmosis’s tomb, has been found, and its walls are inscribed with Ineni’s autobiography. His proudest achievement was that he built the pharaoh’s tomb in a secret place “with no one seeing and no one knowing.” 1. For most of its history, Egypt had two capitals: the religious center, Thebes, in the south and the administrative center, Memphis, in the north. 2. For 3,000 years, Egyptians lived on the east bank of the Nile but were buried on the west bank. The west was associated with the dead because the sun sets in the west and is reborn in the east. Not surprisingly, the Valley of the Kings is on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes. 3. The Valley of the Kings is absolutely desolate. The location was chosen for the tomb of Tuthmosis, because no one could live there. Further, the valley could be easily guarded, because it has only one entrance. Tuthmosis’s tomb is carved into the mountainside. III. When Tuthmosis I died, he left a son, Tuthmosis II, who had a half-sister, Hatshepsut. Who would rule Egypt? A. The line of succession in Egypt was matrilineal. A man became king by marrying a woman who had pure royal blood. B. A woman could have three relationships with the pharaoh. 1. First, she could be the Great Wife. All the children of the Great Wife and the pharaoh were royals. 2. The second relationship a woman could have with the pharaoh was to be a wife. This status offered certain legal rights, but it was not equal to the Great Wife. 3. The third possibility was to be a concubine. 4. To become pharaoh, a man had to marry the daughter of the Great Wife. C. The mother of Tuthmosis II was not the Great Wife, but Hatshepsut’s mother was. Tuthmosis II married Hatshepsut when he was in his 20s and she was only 12; through this marriage, Tuthmosis II became pharaoh three ways: by waging war, building, and undertaking trading expeditions. How would a female ruler meet these expectations? II. Hatshepsut’s father, Tuthmosis I (r. 1518–1504 B.C.), was a great king. A. Tuthmosis I knew that, with the collapse of central government at the end of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the treasures of the pyramids had been stolen. For this reason, he decided that he would be buried secretly in an area that could be guarded. He was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. B. The tomb of Ineni, the architect of Tuthmosis’s tomb, has been found, and its walls are inscribed with Ineni’s autobiography. His proudest achievement was that he built the pharaoh’s tomb in a secret place “with no one seeing and no one knowing.” 1. For most of its history, Egypt had two capitals: the religious center, Thebes, in the south and the administrative center, Memphis, in the north. 2. For 3,000 years, Egyptians lived on the east bank of the Nile but were buried on the west bank. The west was associated with the dead because the sun sets in the west and is reborn in the east. Not surprisingly, the Valley of the Kings is on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes. 3. The Valley of the Kings is absolutely desolate. The location was chosen for the tomb of Tuthmosis, because no one could live there. Further, the valley could be easily guarded, because it has only one entrance. Tuthmosis’s tomb is carved into the mountainside. III. When Tuthmosis I died, he left a son, Tuthmosis II, who had a half-sister, Hatshepsut. Who would rule Egypt? A. The line of succession in Egypt was matrilineal. A man became king by marrying a woman who had pure royal blood. B. A woman could have three relationships with the pharaoh. 1. First, she could be the Great Wife. All the children of the Great Wife and the pharaoh were royals. 2. The second relationship a woman could have with the pharaoh was to be a wife. This status offered certain legal rights, but it was not equal to the Great Wife. 3. The third possibility was to be a concubine. 4. To become pharaoh, a man had to marry the daughter of the Great Wife. C. The mother of Tuthmosis II was not the Great Wife, but Hatshepsut’s mother was. Tuthmosis II married Hatshepsut when he was in his 20s and she was only 12; through this marriage, Tuthmosis II became pharaoh.
D. The couple had a daughter, and the marriage lasted for 20 uneventful years. When Tuthmosis II died, the question of succession arose again. E. Tuthmosis II had a son, Tuthmosis III, with another wife, but he was only a child when his father died. The widowed queen Hatshepsut decided that she would rule as regent until Tuthmosis III came of age. F. As a woman, Hatshepsut was unable to lead men in battle, but she did build a beautiful temple, Deir el Bahri (“the place of the northern monastery”). The walls of the temple tell her story. 1. The inscriptions first relate the circumstances of Hatshepsut’s birth: The god Amun, disguised as Tuthmosis I, seduced Hatshepsut’s mother, Ahmose. Thus, Hatshepsut, like other pharaohs, is divine. 2. Other inscriptions in the temple puzzled early Egyptologists. In 1829, Champollion, who had recently deciphered hieroglyphs, visited the temple and saw a confusing scene: Tuthmosis III and an unknown “king” named Hatshepsut. 3. Scholars eventually determined that, after a few years of ruling as queen, Hatshepsut declared herself king. She began to wear the trappings of kingship and ruled as pharaoh. IV. What kind of king was Hatshepsut? The answer, derived from the walls of Deir el Bahri, is: a great one. A. One of Hatshepsut’s accomplishments was a trading expedition to Punt, perhaps in the area of modern Eritrea (near Ethiopia) or Somalia. 1. To make this trek, boats had to be carried to the Red Sea, where they were launched on a journey southward for 15 days, or about 600 miles. 2. The walls of Deir el Bahri show the land of Punt; these carvings constitute the first accurate depiction of sub-Saharan Africa in history. The carvings show thatched houses on stilts and the queen of Punt and her daughter greeting the expedition. 3. The expedition returned with ivory, incense, and other trade goods. B. Another achievement of Hatshepsut shown on the walls of the temple is the erection of obelisks at Karnak temple. 1. Hatshepsut is shown sending the ships off to the quarries at Aswan to acquire pink granite for the structures. 2. The temple walls also show the obelisks returning to Thebes. They are laid end to end on a single barge and towed by 22 ships. 3. Obelisks were pounded out of the quarry using stone balls weighing about 10 pounds; chisels and hammers were not used. To this day, we do not know with certainty how the obelisks were erected.

C. Hatshepsut had a tomb built for herself as queen near the Valley of the Kings, but as pharaoh, she began construction of her tomb in the valley. The tomb contains two sarcophagi, hers and her father’s. D. A commoner, Senenmut, played a significant role in Hatshepsut’s life. 1. Senenmut had about two dozen titles. He was, among other things, the overseer of the works, meaning that he was in charge of building projects; steward of the temple of Amun, controlling the vast treasury of Amun; the royal tutor to Hatshepsut’s daughter; and steward of the palace. 2. Graffiti in a cave near Deir el Bahri shows a man in an overseer’s cap, Senenmut, making love to a woman in a pharaoh’s crown, Hatshepsut. 3. Senenmut is buried in a grand tomb next to Deir el Bahri. E. Twenty years after Hatshepsut died, her name was erased from all monuments, and she was never included on the king lists. Egypt never wanted to record that a woman had ruled the nation as king.