Queen Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt during the 18th Dynasty, was one of a small handful of female pharaohs. Despite her many successes, her reign is best remembered for the fact that she was a woman. Its unique history has been a source of controversy among scholars, leading to a number of conflicting opinions. The small portion of Hatshepsut's life that has been documented does not allow us to see the most intimate details of her life. Historians have very different opinions about her, but one thing is certain: her reign provided Egypt with a period of peace and prosperity after 100 years of foreign rule. There are numerous theories involving Hatshepsut's personal and public life. Hatshepsut was born to Ahmose and Tuthmosis I, who was pharaoh at the time. Thutmosis I and Ahmose also gave birth to two sons, both of whom died, leaving Hatshepsut as the sole heir to the throne. It is unknown whether her parents raised her to be pharaoh or not, but she grew up and married her half-brother, Tuthmosis II. Marrying within one's family was a regular practice in royal families because it kept bloodlines intact. Tuthmosis II and Hatshepsut had a daughter together named Neferure. Hatshepsut's father died when she was very young, probably around 15 years old. Thutmose II took over, but only ruled for about three or four years, when he died of what is believed to be a skin disease. After her death, Thutmosis III, Hatshepsut's stepson, was still too young to rule, leading her to rule as the queen's regent. Her charismatic personality and her group of followers led her to fully become pharaoh about seven years into the reign of Tuthmosis III. While having a female pharaoh was not unprecedented, Hatshepsut was the first to face the first… middle of the card… in the last ten years of her reign in which the disfigurement occurred. Why would someone as hateful as Egyptologists claim to have waited so long to get rid of his images? Hatshepsut had twin obelisks built to frame the entrance to the Temple of Karnak, where it was traditional for Pharaohs to build monuments to themselves. At the time these obelisks were the tallest in the world and one of them still stands today. The underside of the obelisks displayed images from Hatshepsut's life and these images were spared. However, a wall was built around them to hide the figures of his kingdom. The wall, according to archaeology, was built only 20 years after his death. Bibliography Roehrig, Catharine, editor. Hatshepsut: from queen to pharaoh. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005.Tyldesley, Joyce. Hatchepsut The female pharaoh. New York: Penguin, 1996.