Introduction

y the time Hatshepsut ascended the throne of Egypt in about I473 B.c., the pyramids at Giza were over a thousand years old, and more than seventeen centuries had passed since the country was first united by the legendary king Menes in approximately 3IOO B.c. In ancient times, as now, the habitable land of Egypt was created by the Nile River, which runs roughly south to north, cutting through the desert and creating a narrow valley that opens into a wide delta before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Even after the unification of these two geographic areas-Upper Egypt (upriver), the valley in the south, and Lower Egypt, the expanse of delta in the north-the distinctions between them remained a defining element in Egyptian culture. The ruler was called King of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Lord of the Two Lands. Each region had a tutelary deity: Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt, and Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Lower Egypt. These goddesses became the protectors of the king, and their joint epithet "Two Ladies" preceded one of the five names in the royal titulary. Upper and Lower Egypt were also represented by the lotus and the papyrus, which are often shown tied together to symbolize the union of the Two Lands. The white crown of the south (see cat. no. 93) and the red crown of the north could be combined into the double crown of the united kingdom (see cat. no. 74). In the history of ancient Egypt, eras when the two lands were united were times of prosperity that produced great cultural achievement. At these times the country was ruled by successive dynasties, which usually represented distinct families. This stability was interrupted by "intermediate periods" when the central power of the state disintegrated and competing dynasties controlled different areas of the country. Before Hatshepsut's time, Egypt had already experienced two extended eras of union. The Old Kingdom (ca. 2649-2100 B.c.), best known as the age of the pyramids, was a time of unparalleled artistic endeavor that became a source of inspiration for generations of artists to come. The Middle Kingdom (ca. 203o-I65o B.c.) saw a second flowering of the arts and is also known as the classical period of Egyptian literature. The Middle Kingdom ended when people from western

Asia who had gradually moved into the eastern delta rose to power, becoming the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Dynasties. Called the Hyksos, "rulers of foreign lands," they ruled the northern part of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (ca. I6)oI))O
B.C.).

Opposite: In ancient times, Egypt's southern border was at Aswan, just north of the first cataract of the Nile. Upper Egypt was the name given to the Nile valley extending upriver (south) from Memphis; Lower Egypt spread north from Memphis, through the Delta. Memphis was the capital of Lower Egypt and in the Eighteenth Dynasty also served as the administrative capital of all Egypt. Thebes, the capital of Upper Egypt, was the ancestral home of the dynasty and the cult center of the god Amun-Re. South of Egypt lay Nubia, which the Egyptians often controlled.

While the H yksos reigned in the north, a family from Thebes, the Seventeenth Dynasty, controlled the south. Toward the end of this time the Thebans made a concerted effort to drive the Hyksos out of Egypt, and Ahmose I finally succeeded in about I 550 B.C. By reuniting the Two Lands Ahmose established himself as one of the greatest of Egyptian kings, to be placed alongside the mythical Menes and Mentuhotep II, another Theban ruler, whose reunification of the country had begun the Middle Kingdom. Ahmose is known to historians as the first king of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the founder of the New Kingdom. The family relationships that connected early Eighteenth Dynasty rulers are not always well documented. We know that Ahmose I was a descendant of the Seventeenth Dynasty kings and that he had a son, Amenhotep I, who succeeded him. However, Amenhotep's successor, Thutmose I, never used the title King's Son, and his relationship to the ruling family is unclear. Many scholars believe that Thutmose 's wife, Ahmose (see cat. no. 8o ), was Amenhotep's sister, creating a link with the original royal family (see the genealogy, page 7). Another possibility is that Amenhotep I, having no surviving male heirs, chose one of his generals, Thutmose, as his successor. Whatever the case, the transition from Amenhotep I to Thutmose I was smooth, but additional dynastic problems ensued. Thutmose had no surviving sons with his principal wife Ahmose, only a daughter, Hatshepsut. His son and heir, Thutmose II, was born to a secondary wife, Mutnofret (see cat. no. 9). It was considered expedient to marry this boy to his half-sister, Hatshepsut. After the death of their father, Thutmose II reigned only a few years (see "Models of Authority" by Ann Macy Roth in chapter I). During his short life Thutmose II had fathered a daughter with Hatshepsut, but his son and heir, Thutmose III, was born to a secondary wife, Isis. The untimely death of Thutmose II when his heir was only a small child set in motion the events that led Hatshepsut first to act as regent for her nephew and then to take the extraordinary step of becoming his co-ruler. Thus she became the Horus Wosretlcaw, Golden Horus Netjeret-lchau, Two Ladies Wadjet-renput, Daughter ofRe Maatlcare, Lady of the Two Lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Hatshepsut-united-with-Amun. The ancient Egyptians understood kingship as the link between the gods and mankind, achieved through the person of Pharaoh,
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