Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 10A | The Story of Hatshepsut 181Presenting the Read-Aloud 15 minutes
The Story of Hatshepsut
Show image 10A-1: Pharaoh
In ancient times, kings of Egypt were called pharaohs. But the
word pharaoh didn’t always mean “king.” At fi rst it just meant “big
house” or “palace” because the pharaoh was the person who lived
in the biggest house in Egypt, the royal palace.
Show image 10A-2: Farmers working near the Nile 1
Pharaohs were considered much more than kings, however. The
fl ooding of the Nile meant life or death to the Egyptians, and they
thought the pharaoh had something to do with making the Nile
overfl ow each spring. In fact, they believed that the pharaoh was
not just a man; they thought he was also a god. Because he was
such an important person, the ancient Egyptians had certain rules
that told how a pharaoh should be chosen.
And like so many other things the Egyptians did—whether it
was the way they painted their pictures, or dressed, or prayed—
once they decided how to do something, they didn’t like to
change the rules. But about three thousand fi ve hundred years
ago somebody changed the rules for them. And that person was a
princess.^2
Show image 10A-3: Young Hatshepsut talking to pharaoh 3
Hatshepsut—think of her name as “hat, shep, soot”—was the
daughter of a pharaoh named Thutmose (thut-MOE-se) the First.
Thutmose was already fairly old when he became pharaoh, and
he wanted to do all he could for Egypt in the time he had left, so
he worked extra hard. As he got older, he could not keep up this
pace. Luckily, his beloved daughter, Hatshepsut, said, “I will help
you run Egypt, father.”
“Thank you, daughter,” he replied, and he gave her more and
more of his responsibilities to handle. Hatshepsut enjoyed this and
did a fi ne job. But then, sadly, Thutmose the First grew ill and died.^41 [Ask students to describe the
image. Ask students to describe
what happened to the Nile River
each year and what that meant
for the crops that the Egyptians
wanted to grow.]
2 How do you think a princess was
able to change the rules for all of
Egypt?
3 Even though Hatshepsut and
Thutmose the First were real
people, the conversation they are
having is made up.
4 What do you predict Hatshepsut
will do now?