Ancient Egypt had female rulers sitting on
the throne before the advent of the renowned Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled
nearly 3,500 years ago, with some Egyptologists claiming one woman may
have been a pharaoh around 5,000 years ago.
If this claim is
accurate, Meryt Neith (or Merneith), who lived during ancient Egypt’s
First Dynasty – sometime around 3,000-2,970 BC – may have been the
world’s first female ruler, a title officially held by Kubaba, the
Sumerian queen regnant, who is estimated to have lived and ruled
sometime between 2,500-2,330 BC.
Besides this contentious claim,
there are a handful of royal women who ruled ancient Egypt, and several
others – mothers, wives and daughters – who shared the throne as
co-rulers, queen consorts or queen regents. This typically transpired in
cases where there was a crisis in designating a royal male as the heir
and legitimate successor to the throne.
While Hatsepshut and
Cleopatra are often referred to as being Egypt’s “female pharaohs,”
Egyptologists insist the title isn’t correct.
“They should be
known as women rulers, not pharaohs. Each one of these royal women’s
historic conditions is different, and they held different official
titles,” explains Monica Hanna, an associate professor of archaeology
and cultural Heritage at the Arab Academy for Technology and Maritime
Transport in Aswan.
Associate Professor in Egyptology at the
American University in Cairo Mariam Ayad agrees, asserting that
“pharaoh” is a Hellenized term derived from the ancient Egyptian
“pr-aa,” which first appears in official records from the 19th Dynasty –
circa 1,292-1,189 BC – and onwards.
“Female pharaoh” is a misnomer for
ancient Egyptian “women who ruled in their own right. Some even had
their own titles in the manner of kings,” she adds.
There are only
about four or five royal women who assumed the throne as kings, Ayad
says, and who thus served as the sole rulers of ancient Egypt. These
women, with the exception of Hatshepsut, came to power when there were
no male heirs. “There were queens who identified themselves as kings,
such as Hatshepsut. She donned male regalia, costumes and even the
king’s false beard to depict herself as king.”
But the female
rulers of ancient Egypt were more than just royals who filled gaps in
dynastic succession. Most contributed to construction work, served as
unifying forces, engaged in historic acts of foreign diplomacy, led
expeditions to foreign lands and perhaps also waged wars.
Hatshepsut
is particularly known for her massive construction works that include
temples, obelisks, statues and monuments. She also embarked on
expeditions to the land of Punt – near present day Somalia – while Hanna
says Cleopatra is internationally more renowned in Greek literature.
“Archaeological
excavations have yet to shed further light on the full extent of the
accomplishments of Hatshepsut, Cleopatra and the other historic female
rulers of Egypt. In many cases, this evidence hasn’t yet been
discovered,” Hanna adds.
Cleopatra is Egypt’s most well known
female ruler, even though she wasn’t Egyptian, but ethnically
Macedonian. “She is an integral part of Roman history. Her numerous
affairs, her relations and links to powerful men, along with her
diplomacy and warfare are also widely featured in modern media,” Ayad
says.
The five women who are assumed to have ruled ancient Egypt
as kings, according to Ayad, include: Nitocris of the Sixth Dynasty,
who lived and ruled approximately 4,200 years ago; Sobekneferu of the
12th Dynasty, 3,800 years ago; Hatshepsut of the 18th Dynasty, over
3,400 years ago; Queen Nefertiti of the 18th Dynasty, who may have
assumed a male name and male regalia after her husband’s death, possibly
ruling alone for a few years following the death of Akhenaton, her
husband, around 3,300 years ago; and Tawosret of the 19th Dynasty,
around 3,200 years ago.
Yet, according to Hanna’s count, there
may be as many as eight women who were the sole rulers of Egypt at
various moments. In addition to the five Ayad mentions and Meryt Neith
of the First Dynasty, who may have reigned nearly 5,000 years ago, there
are the female rulers of Ptolemaic Egypt: Cleopatra II, who reigned
briefly as sole ruler over 2,100 years ago, and Cleopatra VII
Philopator, the last and greatest renowned Cleo, who ruler over 2,050
years ago.
That most of these women are not as well known as
Cleopatra and Hatshepsut has prompted Ayad to speculate why they have
been relegated to the footnotes of history. Several of the women in
question ruled during the turbulent endings of dynasties, she observes.
While
it was almost universally perceived that the role of king was reserved
for male heirs, “Hatshesput broke with this tradition, and accordingly
may be perceived to have violated the Ma’at,” the ancient Egyptian
concept of law, order and social harmony, Ayad says.
The king’s
mother, wife and daughter all had their own royal titles, but there was
no specific word for queen. Rather, royal women were defined according
to their relationship to the king, along with descriptors that
emphasized their charm and beauty.
But were the historical
records of these ruling women erased, or intentionally wiped out because
they were women? For example, the statue of Sobekneferu in the Louvre
Museum no longer has a head, which appears to have gone missing.
As for
Hatshepsut, in several instances, her name, titles and images have been
chiseled away. Hatshepsut is depicted as the senior king, while Thutmose
III, her stepson, nephew and male co-regent, appears as a junior ruler.
He subsequently removed her name from many murals.
Hanna says this is likely “the result of personal disputes among royal successors, not because they were women.”
While
ancient Egyptian society was highly stratified and centralized, it was
not particularly sexist or misogynistic, particularly not in the context
of the ancient world.
Some
historic studies
indicate noblewomen in ancient Egypt worked as administrators, doctors,
governors, judges, high-ranking priestesses and supervisors. One woman,
identified as
Nebet, even served as the vizier, the king’s top advisor or minister, around 4,000 years ago.
Egyptian women from lower classes typically worked as farmers, cooks, beer brewers, dancers, musicians and weavers.
Egypt
may have been among the best places to be a woman in the ancient world,
as women had the right to divorce and own property, as well as access
to luxury items, gynecology and healthcare, according to Hanna, who
adds, “The men even washed the clothes at the time.”
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LIST OF ANCIENT EGYPT'S FEMALE "KINGS"
+MERYT NEITH (or MERNEITH) :
First Dynasty, Old Kingdom. May have reigned circa 2,970 BC. Daughter
of King Djet. Wife and co-regent of King Den. Was buried with
sacrificial items in her tomb, in the royal necropolis of Abydos, where
the first kings of a unified Egypt were entombed. Meryt Neith was also
buried with a solar boat, or sun boat, as was the practice with the very
early “pharaohs.”
+NITOCRIS (or NITIQRET): Sixth
Dynasty, Old Kingdom. May have reigned circa 2,180 BC. Bore the title of
king. May be considered the final “king” of the Sixth Dynasty. The
ancient Greek historian Herodotus claims Nitocris may have killed her
brother, the king, by drowning him.
+SOBEKNEFERU (or NEFERUSOBEK): 12th
Dynasty, Middle Kingdom. Reigned circa 1,806-1,802 BC. The first
ancient Egyptian woman known to be a “king” and the only legitimate heir
to the throne following the death of her brother, King Amenemhat IV.
Listed as the last king of the 12thDynasty. Records frequently note that
she is buried within the Northern Mazghuna Pyramid, near Dahshour.
+HATSHEPSUT:
18th Dynasty, New Kingdom. Reigned circa 1,478-1,458 BC. Prime example
of an ancient Egyptian female “king” and likely the longest reigning
woman. Daughter of King Thutmose I. Wife and Queen Consort to King
Thutmose II, and regent for Thutmose III.
She rose to prominence as high
priestess, or “God’s Wife,” in the cult of Amun. Acting in the capacity
of a male king, she presided over prolific construction works –
temples, obelisks, statues, and artifacts – along with foreign
expeditions and the reestablishment of foreign trade routes. Built
temples at Luxor (Thebes), including Hatshepsut Mortuary Temple at Deir
al-Bahari, and obelisks at Karnak Temple and the Grotto of Artemis near
Minya.
+NEFERTITI: 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom.
Reigned circa 1,353-1,336 BC or 1,351-1,334 BC, as co-ruler with her
husband, the sun-worshiping King Akhenaton – arguably the first
monotheist, in Tal al-Amarna. Some historians and Egyptologists claim
she may have ruled as king alone for a few years following Akhenaton’s
death.
+TAWOSRET (or TAUSRET): 19th Dynasty, New
Kingdom. Reigned circa 1,191-1,189 BC. Ruled for one to two years, and
appears to be listed as the last king of the 19th Dynasty. She may have
been the stepmother to her predecessor, King Siptah. Was not a very
powerful or influential king, and her turbulent reign may have ended in
civil war. She is buried in the Valley of the Kings.
+CLEOPATRA II:
Ptolemaic Egypt. Reigned circa 170-127 BC. Was not ethnically Egyptian,
but of Macedonian origin. Successor to Ptolemy VIII. This lesser known
Cleo reigned as the sole ruler of Egypt from around 132-127 BC.
+CLEOPATRA VII PHILOPATOR:
Ptolemaic Egypt. Reigned 51-30 BC. The internationally renowned
“Cleopatra,” the historical Macedonian woman reigned as co-ruler with
her brother Ptolemy XIII. Served as Egypt’s sole ruler from around 47 BC
to 30 BC. Had romantic relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony
and was defeated, along with Antony, by the Roman Empire in the naval
Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Allegedly committed suicide the following
year. Cleopatra generally referred to herself as a queen, yet she is
often described as “Egypt’s last pharaoh.”
