When researching the story of Maatkare Hatshepsut, there's one name that will inevitably pop up: Senenmut. And there's good reason, too! Over the course of his lifetime, Senenmut commissioned a large number of statues of himself (25 that we know of), as well as a lavish tomb near the Valley of the Kings. Based on the evidence he left behind, it's clear that Senenmut was an incredibly successful official in Hatshepsut's court, holding many titles and maintaining a strong conne

When Thutmose I came to power at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, Egypt was still in a bit of a funk from the political instability of the Second Intermediate Period. The founder of the dynasty, Pharaoh Ahmose I, had inherited the throne as a child, as did his son and successor Amenhotep I decades later. While Ahmose and Amenhotep successfully drove the Hyksos invaders out of their country and restored Egypt's sovereignty, this succession of child kings (in addition to Amen

To follow up my post about Maatkare Hatshepsut, I thought I'd take a quick look at some of the media (books, podcasts, etc.) related to the female pharaoh and her reign. Today I've picked out a handful of sources that I think are worth your time! NONFICTION For this category, my recommendations are The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney and Hatchepsut (alternative spelling) by Joyce Tyldesley. If you're going to read anything about Maatkare Hatshepsut, it should be these

What better way to start off The Egypt Geek than with a profile of one of the most interesting, powerful, and inspiring figures in Egyptian history: the female pharaoh Maatake Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the daughter of a pharaoh, the wife of a pharaoh, and the stepmother of a pharaoh before becoming one herself. She was born in the 16th century B.C.E., to Pharaoh Thutmose I and Queen Ahmes, hundreds of years before Nefertiti and Tutankhamun, and more than a thousand years be