Na m e : ___ _
Directions:Date:Read the questions below. Keep them in mind as you read the story. Then go back
and answer them.- Whowas King Thutmose I? ____
- Whatdoes pharaohmean? _____
- Whereis Hatshepsut shown wearing a beard? ____
- Whendid Hatshepsut rule Egypt? ___
- Whydid she build her temple? __
__________________________________________________________________________________Queen Hatshepsut, Pharaoh of Egypt
At the foot of tall cliffs on the west bank of the Nile
river, near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, stands a
great temple. This temple was built in honor of Queen
Hatshepsut who was the ruler of Egypt from 1512 to
possibly 1482 B.C.
When her father, King Thutmose I, died, she and her
brother ascended the throne. Shortly afterward, her
brother died, leaving Hatshepsut to rule the land
alone. Even though she was a woman, she had herself
crowned as pharaoh, the Egyptian title meaning king
or emperor. Ancient paintings show her wearing a
false beard, a symbol for wisdom, only worn by
pharaohs. She wore masculine clothing and the crown
of the pharaoh, too.
Hatshepsut was a very able ruler and spent much of
her reign concentrating on commercial enterprises
and trades with other lands, as well as building
beautiful temples and buildings. She built the temple
on the Nile as a place for her body to rest when she
died. She made sure it was an elaborate structure so
that people would remember her as a pharaoh in her
own right.