What was Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple called?
Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple know as “Djoser” which means “The wonder of wonders”.
It is one of the most beautiful temples that you can find in this place full of beautiful tombs and temples,
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut history
Temple of Queen Hatshepsut Located next to the Temple of Mentuhotep II (of which there were only vestiges)
A few miles from the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens in Luxor.
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Queen Hatshepsut went down in history for many reasons, one of the most striking being
That she became a pharaoh against all the laws and customs of the time,
Which made her one of the very few women to reach that rank,
The third queen-pharaoh in the history of Egypt.
Hatshepsut, which means “The first of the noble ladies” or “the principal lady of the nobility”
Or “The first of the noble ladies, united with Amon”.
Daughter of Thutmosis I and the queen -main wife- Ahmose Nefertari.
Hatshepsut widowed from her marriage to her half-brother Thutmose II, who had made her queen-consort.
At this point, she decides to take over the government until her stepson (Thutmose II had a child with one of his secondary wives)
Thutmose III reaches the age to rule but, in reality, she will never leave the office.
After seven years of regency, Hatshepsut changes her name to Maatkare Hatshepsut, which would be her throne name,
Which postulates her as the only sovereign of Egypt, Details About The Grand Museum Egypt
At the same time, she began to adopt the typical attributes of the pharaoh,
Such as the false beard that represents this title (in the museum of Cairo you can see a bust of her),
The statues that represent her have a male body with its corresponding attire,
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut facts
Which was a declaration of power that led to the self-proclamation of the pharaoh
Of the Two Lands – King of Upper and Lower Egypt and the firstborn of Amon.
This fact caused Hatshepsut and Thutmose III to rule as pharaohs at the same time, but despite what can read today,
Many Egyptologists believe that the Pharaoh queen well received by the population
Because there were no major conflicts or civil wars and that Hatshepsut’s rule was one of the most prosperous reigns.
For this to take place under these conditions it was necessary and essential to have the support of this queen,
Both that of the high priest Hapuseneb and that of the architect Senenmut.
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut architecture
After years of reign, when the construction of the temple of Deir el-Bahari
(funerary temple of queen hatshepsut that show you in this article) finished,
The weights of power begin to change between Thutmose III and the queen pharaoh.
Pharaoh wanted power said that at any cost,
In a short period of time the two great supports of the queen, Hapuseneb and Senenmut, died.
In turn, a little later, Princess Neferura died (the causes not knew), whom Hatshepsut had designated
As her heir to the throne, as it could be that Queen Pharaoh wanted to create a female dynasty of kings.
All of this caused Hatshepsut to partially withdraw from her position and stay in her palace in Thebes
But the story does not end here, not even after her death,
Because for many, many years the figure of Hatshepsut erased from history,
Eliminating any reference to her reign, destroying the temple reliefs in which appeared and even her name was not on the List of Kings.
Thutmose III has pointed out many times as the cause of this, because of the rivalry between them,
But more recent research believes that it was also done gradually in the following dynasties.
Why is the Temple of Hatshepsut important?
As we mentioned before, the funerary temple of queen hatshepsut considered
One of the most beautiful temples, the wonder of wonders.
Egyptologists describe how this place had a large palm grove and a beautiful grove,
Where trees brought from the mortuary temple of queen hatshepsut’s travels and exchanges could find,
Such as the henna tree or the incense tree
At the same time, in the center of the grove, there was a large pool that created a paradisiacal image.
The archaeologists found the temple in bad conditions,
Which means that we are facing a temple that has required great reforms.
On the one hand, it said that this temple covered almost half with sand,
Who destroyed Hatshepsut Temple?
Which meant that many parts of Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple deteriorated but,
At the same time, there the actions carried out by Thutmose III,
To whom they attribute a great deal of destruction:
Decapitation of her statues, erasing her cartouche (her name), disfiguring the images and reliefs where she appeared.
The reason? Three possibilities considered: revenge, to guarantee the succession of her son to the throne
Or to eliminate a woman who would have intervened in the succession of male kings: Thutmose I, II and finally him, Thutmose III.
What is inside Hatshepsut Temple?
On the second floor of the temple, there are some reliefs that show the expedition that the queen pharaoh made to Punt,
A country on the coast of the Red Sea, from where she brought trees and other exotic products.
In turn, in the reliefs you can also see her biography, how she became the queen pharaoh since she chose
Which themes of her life she wanted to perpetuate in the temple or the gods to whom she wanted to dedicate the space.
The second and third floors of the Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple carved into the rock and on the other side is the Valley of the Kings.
It said that there was some communication between the temple and the tomb of the Valley of the Kings,
In this way the offerings and rituals that performed in Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple would serve to nourish the spirit of the queen.
This temple dedicated to the god Amon Ra (king of the gods, king of the sun) and to herself, as all the pharaohs did.
Inside there are also chapels in which smaller gods worshipped,
Such as Anubis (god of death) and Hathor (goddess of fertility).
You can easily recognize them since Anubis represented with a jackal’s head and Hathor was represented in the form of a cow.
In chapel dedicated to Anubis, you will clearly see how the god kept in good condition, with polychrome engravings,
While the relief of the figure giving the offerings to the god disfigured.
This is where the queen pharaoh represented and, through this disfigurement, he erased from Egyptian history.
Is that worth to visit Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple?
The best recommendation we can make is that you visit the temple with a guide, You can also read about Egypt Travel Packages
So that he can tell you all the history of this place, show you the most relevant reliefs and translate all the symbolism.
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