Ancient Egypt Hall of Fame (Pharaohs) PDF

Hatshepsut Only the second woman to assume the role of pharaoh, Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II and reigned in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Her step-son Thutmose III was just two years old when his father died in 1479 and so Hatshepsut soon took on the role of...

Hatshepsut Only the second woman to assume the role of pharaoh, Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II and reigned in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Her step-son Thutmose III was just two years old when his father died in 1479 and so Hatshepsut soon took on the role of pharaoh (though Thutmose III also technically ruled as co-regent). Hatshepsut shored up her legitimacy as pharaoh by claiming that her mother was visited by the deity Amon-Ra while pregnant with her, thus signalling her divinity. She took to the role of pharaoh and proved an accomplished ruler, re-establishing important trade routes and overseeing extended periods of peace.  Khufu A Fourth Dynasty pharaoh, Khufu’s greatest legacy is undoubtedly the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The monumental structure is a testament to the bewildering sophistication of Egyptian architecture and, remarkably, remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for the best part of 4,000 years. It was conceived by Khufu as his stairway to heaven and the means of its construction remains something of a mystery to this day.  Thutmose III Thutmose III dedicated himself to military training while his step-mother was pharaoh, only taking over the role of main ruler when Hatshepsut died in 1458. The pharaoh’s military training paid off and he earned a reputation as something of a military genius; indeed, Egyptologists sometimes refer to him as the Napoleon of Egypt. Thutmose III never lost a battle and his military exploits won him the respect of his subjects and, for many, a status as the greatest ever pharaoh.  Akhenaten The son of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten was named Amenhotep IV at birth but changed his name in accordance with his radical monotheistic beliefs. The meaning of his new name, “He who is of service to the Aten”, honoured what he believed to be the one true god: Aten, the Sun God. Akhenaten’s religious conviction was such that he moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes to Amarna and named it Akhetaten, “Horizon of Aten”. Amarna wasn’t a previously recognised place before the rule of Akhenaten. He ordered a new capital city to be built. He chose the site as it was uninhabited – it was not the property of anyone else, but Aten’s. Akhenaten’s wife, Nefertiti, was a strong presence during his reign and played a significant part in his religious revolution. As well as being the wife of an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, Nefertiti was made famous by her limestone bust. It is one of the most copied works of Ancient Egyptian art and can be found in the Neues Museum. After Akhenaten’s death, Egypt rapidly returned to polytheism and the traditional gods he had disavowed.  Ramesses II Ramses II’s reign was undoubtedly the greatest of the 19th Dynasty and, even by pharaoh standards, unabashedly ostentatious. The son of Seti I, with whom he had a period of co-regency, Ramses II went on to declare himself a god, while earning a reputation as a great warrior, fathering 96 children and ruling for 67 years. Make no mistake, Ramses the Great was not a modest pharaoh. The extensive architectural legacy of his reign is testament to this – as is the fact that his excesses are thought to have left the throne close to bankruptcy at the time of his death.  Cleopatra VII The last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Cleopatra presided over the dying days of the Egyptian empire, yet her fame has lived on through folklore, Shakespeare and Hollywood. It’s hard to disentangle the real Cleopatra from the legend but scholars suggest that her portrayal as a stunningly beautiful seductress undersells her brilliance as a leader. Cleopatra was an astute, politically savvy ruler who succeeded in bringing peace and relative prosperity to an ailing empire. The story of her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony is well documented but, without space to explore the complexities of a familiar tale, we might at least say that it’s tragic conclusion – Cleopatra’s suicide on 12 August 30 BC brought an end to the Egyptian empire.