Daughter of Thutmose I, and royal wife of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut was proclaimed from birth to be the heir of “Upper and Lower Egypt.” Upon the death of her husband she announced herself as Pharaoh of Egypt denying the old king’s son, her nephew, his rightful inheritance. …show more content…
Historians believe that she was buried alongside her father in a tomb constructed during her dynasty. Egyptologists concluded that she was later removed from the tomb and placed into another next to her wet nurse. The new King soon ordered that her name be removed from all temple walls. The buildings and statues constructed in her honor were immediately demolished and defaced by his army. Her cartouches and images destroyed leaving obvious gaps in the late queen’s artwork. Historians believe that the mystery behind Thutmose’s actions stem directly from his own dislike for his stepmother. Towards the end of his reign, Thutmose III son Amenhotep II, his soon to be successor, made one last attempt to have his father remove Hatshepsut from all historical record. He convinced him that by doing so he could erase all female breaks in the royal Thutmose male lineage. Both theories sound plausible, but physical evidence suggests that the best answer to this mystery lies in the resentment Thutmose III held for the late Queen. Taking credit for her accomplishments in attempts to completely remove her from Egyptian history was a minor step in his master