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Ancient History: Hatshepsut Notes

This document summarizes Hatshepsut's building projects and religious policies as the pharaoh of Egypt. It describes her construction and restoration of temples, including obelisks erected at Karnak dedicated to Amun. It also details her tombs in the Valley of the Kings and innovations to religious practices, such as defining new aspects of Amun-Re and establishing divine oracles to express his will.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
824 views0 pages

Ancient History: Hatshepsut Notes

This document summarizes Hatshepsut's building projects and religious policies as the pharaoh of Egypt. It describes her construction and restoration of temples, including obelisks erected at Karnak dedicated to Amun. It also details her tombs in the Valley of the Kings and innovations to religious practices, such as defining new aspects of Amun-Re and establishing divine oracles to express his will.

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They show the progression from earthly to divine + present him as ruler, king of the gods,
preserver god and creator god.
o First Terrace: cult ruler of Egypt - e.g. obelisks transportation scenes show
Hatshepsuts service to him.
o Second Terrace: the life sphere - e.g. divine birth + Punt scenes show she
provides for her people + Egypt.
o Third Terrace: creation realm - e.g. Osiris statues related to renewal and rebirth
of dead in the afterlife.
Karnak:
Middle Kingdom temple complex.
At Karnak, Hatshepsut:
o Repaired Middle Kingdom temples.
o Added the 8
th
Pylon (monumental gateway).
o Constructed the Red Chapel (dismantled after reign).
o Erected four obelisks.

Other Evidence For Building Work:
Thutiy (Official): records copper + bronze doors, bronze figures w/ electrum, a shrine built
of granite.
Puemre (Official): records a shrine of ebony.
Speos Artemidos Inscription: lists building work at Karnak.

The Obelisks:
Made of red granite.
Built for Amun.
Only one is surviving + standing, another is on its side, last two are completely missing
except the pyramidion of one.

First Two Obelisks: Second Obelisks:
Commissioned during the regency > erected
during her reign.
Dedicated during her Heb Sed in Year 15.

Meaning of the Obelisks:
Roberts: Hatshepsut was trying to replicate the horizon symbol w/ her obelisks,
symbolising the temple was the sacred horizon.
o The sun would strike the pyramidions first.
o Inscription reads: their rays flood the Two Lands when the sun rises between
them, as he dawns in the horizon of heaven

Evidence for the Obelisks:

First Two Obelisks: Second Obelisks:
Senenmut inscription at Aswan.
Tomb of Thuity.
Fragmentary blocks at Karnak > she presents
the two obelisks to Amun.
On the obelisk: Hatshepsut is depicted sitting
in her palace thinking how to honour her
father, Amun.
Deir el Bahri: transportation scenes of
obelisks on barges, (unsure what obelisks).
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Building and Erecting the Obelisks:
Massive amount of skill + manpower.
Transported through barges + priests performed rituals.
Dedicated to Amun - Red Chapel block records:
o Amun granted Hatshepsuts rule.
o Amun directed her to make the obelisks and she did.

The Red Chapel:
Hatshepsut build a barque chapel of red quartzite > hence name.
Dedicated to Amun-Min > fertility manifestation.
It featured scenes of her:
o Coronation.
o Dedication of the obelisks.
o The Opet + Beautiful Valley festivals.
o Heb Sed festival.
Indicates it had political + religious importance.
Example: A barque was used to carry an Amun statue during festivals.

The Eighth Pylon:
First pylon linked the main part of the temple to the goddess Mut precinct, (wife of Amun-
Re).
The barque in the Opet festival routed through this gateway.
Added a temple dedicated to Amun-Re-Kamutef (creator form).

Speos Artemidos:
Small temple near Beni Hasan > first New Kingdom temple built in Middle Egypt.
Dedicated to Pakhet (lion-goddess of the desert) > local form of Sekhmet > fierce
manifestation of the gentle Hathor.
o She would become destructive if not pacified, hence Hatshepsut continued her
association w/ Hathor to show she was terrifying + protective - both qualities of a
king.
Famous for its inscription on the entrance.

The Inscription:
Says the building was a restoration, a flood wrecked Pakhets original shrine, so
Hatshepsut restored it.
Claims the land was in chaos prior to her accession, esp. after the expulsion of the Hyksos.
o Damaged roads.
o Dismantled temples + monuments.
Also a statement of her achievements + policy:
o Foreign lands respected her.
o She exploited the Sinai.
o Punt gave her wealth.
o Military became rich.
Bickel: the inscription is superior to the normal statements of kings; it is separated by
complex grammar, puns, alliterations and its structure (balanced + symmetrical).

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Hatshepsuts Tombs:
Her mummy has not been found.

First Tomb - Built when she was queen:
Incomplete.
Long corridor + several chambers.
Honoured many gods of the afterlife.
Yellow crystalline sarcophagus > empty.

Second Tomb - Built when she was king:
In Valley of the Kings (KV20).
Theban Mapping Project: possibly first tomb in the Valley.
Prepared by Hatshepsut.
Two sarcophagi - one for Thutmose I, however both empty (Thutmose III removed him
and put in a more grand tomb).
Book of Dead was inscribed on walls (innovation of her reign).
Largest + deepest of all royal tombs.
Innovative sarcophagus design.

Hatshepsuts Religious Policy: Devotion to Amun and Promotion of Other Cults:
She pursued traditional religious policies - displaying devotion to state god Amun + other
gods.
Made significant contributions to her time through religious innovations.
Hatshepsuts reign = starting point of the revolutionary changes that occurred in the
religious history of the New Kingdom (Assman).

Features of her Religious Policy:
Promotion of Amun-Re through public displays of devotion > his cult received
unprecedented influence.
Devotion towards female gods, e.g. Hathor + Pakhet.
Use of building program to link herself w/ Amun + other gods.

Her Religious Innovations:
The Concept of Amun-Re:
o She defined new aspects of him; city god, ruler god, creator god, sun god
(Assman).
Divine Oracles to Express Amun-Res will:
o Example: Red Chapel contains two oracles that refer to her being given the throne.
o Example: Amun oracle initiated Punt expedition.
o Represents earliest case of direction intervention of gods in human affairs.
o Eventually became a practice in New Kingdom through festivals + barques.
Personal Piety:
o Came about through the oracles.
o People could have a personal relation w/ Amun-Re because he could reveal his
will.
o Amun worship required inner devotion + outward devotion > required moral
behaviour (Assman).
Religious ideology of Kingship:

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