In the early 20s of the 19th century, Champollion, a leader in French historiography, discovered an unusually strange hieroglyphic script when sorting through ancient Egyptian materials.
This hieroglyphic depicts the image of a pharaoh during the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, who wore a red and white crown symbolizing the Egyptian throne, a wig on his head, a false beard on his chin, and a wrap-up skirt.
From the appearance alone, it seems to be no different from other pharaohs.
But what puzzled Champollion was that the pharaoh seemed to have fallen from the sky, and he consulted a lot of information but could not find any record of the pharaoh, and that history seemed to have been deliberately erased.
But materialist knowability tells us that the world is knowable, but because the material world has certain limitations in a certain time and space, some things can only be recognized if they meet certain conditions.
Champollion believes that it is very likely that the pharaoh has been obscured by history for nearly four thousand years for some special reason, but this is not the strangest thing about the pharaoh.
Information obtained by the scholar on the black market indicates that the pharaoh appears to be a woman. In the history of ancient Egypt, although there are few examples of women in power, they are not something that subverts the three views.
Champollion tried to buy more information from the black market or tomb robbers to lift the veil surrounding the female pharaoh, but a few years later a bad illness took the scholar's life.
It was not until 1881 that another French scholar, Maspero, appeared, that the mystery that Champollion could not solve until his death - he went through many hardships to find the temple of the female pharaoh buried in the yellow sand.
But with that comes a bigger mystery, because both the statues of female pharaohs and the murals have a rather confusing point.
Written records show that the pharaoh's biological sex was clearly female, but the statues and murals depicting the pharaoh deliberately emphasized the difference between the female pharaoh and the ordinary woman—her first sexual characteristics were similar to that of men.
Is this the real reason why the pharaoh, despite being a woman, was able to rule the Eighteenth Dynasty for more than twenty years? For what reason was this pharaoh deliberately erased? What is the true identity of this female pharaoh?
Oblivion and emergence
Throughout the ancient Egyptian dynasty, there were very few female rulers who could leave their names in history, except for the well-known "Cleopatra" Cleopatra VII, as well as Nitocles of the Sixth Dynasty and Sobukefru of the Twelfth Dynasty.
According to the available ancient Egyptian sources, the pharaoh's throne is generally passed only to the next generation of male heirs, and only the eldest son of the current pharaoh is eligible to inherit.
But in the long years when the current Egyptian pharaoh determined his heir, there were always some surprises.
For example, pharaohs will consider passing the throne to his daughters when he does not give birth to a male heir and other male relatives of royal blood do not have the conditions for inheritance.
And the female pharaoh, who had disappeared for nearly four thousand years, was in the absence of a male successor that she naturally succeeded to the throne that belonged to her.
But this female pharaoh's reign was markedly different from that of other female pharaohs, and she was able to hold the throne for more than twenty years during the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, and she also achieved great feats.
This is a height that could not be reached by Nitocles of the Sixth Dynasty and Sobukfru of the Twelfth Dynasty, but it is strange that before the eighties of the nineteenth century, the historical record of the female pharaoh was almost blank.
Later, it was because of the accidental discovery of the French scholar Maspero on the black market that the mystery covering the great female pharaoh was uncovered.
In 1881, Maspero was wandering the streets of Cairo and was surprised to find that there were people selling mummies on the black market, and the number was extremely large.
This made the experienced Maspero realize a crucial piece of information - the tomb thieves must have found a large complex of pharaonic tombs somewhere.
And Maspero, with the help of the government, obtained the specific location of the mausoleum complex from a local family of gold touchers, which is located in an inaccessible canyon west of Thebes, which is generally called the Valley of the Kings in academic circles.
From the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty to the end of the Twentieth Dynasty, the tombs of more than 60 pharaohs were built in the Valley of the Kings, and the importance of the Valley of the Kings is self-evident to the academic study of ancient Egyptian history.
Maspero, who realized the seriousness of the matter, organized a lot of manpower and material resources to begin excavation work around the Valley of the Kings.
But as the excavation work progressed, Maspero discovered something strange under the cliffs north of the Valley of the Kings, with several intricately carved pillars showing the sand surface.
Valley of the Kings
Seeing this, Maspero immediately organized the workers and carefully descended to the bottom of the cliff, and as soon as he landed, Maspero was stunned by the scene in front of him.
What catches your eye is a magnificent ancient Egyptian temple, and judging from the scale of the complex, the construction of the temple should have cost a lot of ancient Egyptian manpower and material resources.
But the temple was vandalized for some unknown reason, and Maspero speculates that the ruins of the temple's broken tiles still show how fine it was when it was built.
It shows that the owner of the temple must have made great achievements during his tenure, and the academic community named the temple "Holly of Hollies", which is called "the saint of saints".
Since the discovery of the temple in 1881, archaeologists have worked hard for more than a hundred years to uncover the true identity of the temple's owner, a female pharaoh named Hatshepsut, which means "the noblest woman." ”
So, why did the ancient Egyptians ruthlessly erase the traces of the female pharaoh who brought them a rich life, and what kind of hidden secrets are there?
Egypt "Wu Zetian"
Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in ancient times on the mainland, and during her reign, she pioneered the palace examination and attached importance to the selection of talents, leaving a strong mark in the 5,000-year history of the mainland.
In Egypt on the Nile, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut was no less than Wu Zetian, although there was more than one female ruler in Egypt.
Hatshepsut
But the female pharaoh who can really keep the power firmly in his hands, Hatshepsut, is the first and only one.
The most widely known of Egypt's female rulers was Cleopatra VII, who is recognized by academics as the last Egyptian pharaoh in history.
In 51 BC, Cleopatra was defeated in a battle for the throne with his brother, and the frustrated Cleopatra defected to Julius Caesar and became the mistress of the Roman ruler.
However, even after dedicating his body, the crumbling ancient Egyptian dynasty went into decline, and the experience of Cleopatra VII was similar to that of the two female pharaohs, Nitocles and Sobuknifru.
They were all put on the throne at the end of the dynasty, so their reigns were extremely short, and only Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt for more than twenty years during the eighteenth dynasty, which was extremely powerful.
Judging from the remaining works of art, Hatshepsut was the first female pharaoh in ancient Egypt in the true sense, and as the eldest daughter of Thutmose I and the first princess Akhmis, Hatshepsut was placed in high hopes.
This is actually related to the special background at that time, Amenhotep, who was the pharaoh of Egypt at the time, did not leave a single heir in his life because he was the offspring born of a marriage of close relatives.
In order to prevent the loss of royal power, Amenhotep's mother, Nefarati, chose Hatshepsut's father, Thutmose I, who at that time held the post of general in the Egyptian royal palace.
According to records, Thutmose I had royal blood and was particularly prominently capable of military ability.
Therefore, as a "half-way" pharaoh, Thutmose I naturally needed a child to bring closer to the "former queen mother" Nefarati (the first princess of Thutmose I had a close relationship with Nefaratti).
In such a special context, the greatest queen in ancient Egyptian history, Hatshepsut, was born.
As the eldest daughter of the new pharaoh, Hatshepsut received resources and connections that were difficult for other royal children to enjoy, and in order to ensure that his daughter could grow up safely and healthily, Thutmose I carefully selected a milky nursing mother for her.
And let Hatshepsut eat until the fourth year old before being officially weaned, and because of this relationship, Hatshepsut and the mummy of the nursing mother will be placed in the same grave.
Mummy of Hatshepsut
Later, under the arrangement of the royal family, Hatshepsut worshipped under the door of his enlightenment mentor Senimon, a respected elder who played a crucial role in laying the foundation of Hatshepsut's ability to govern.
With the help of Senimon, the younger Hatshepsut quickly grew into a qualified royal princess, and Thutmose I was also very concerned about his daughter's development, after all, Hatshepsut was of extraordinary significance to the stability of his regime.
Hatshepsut had just turned seven when her father bestowed her the title of Wife of the God Amun, the highest honor a woman could receive for ancient Egyptian royalty.
This was Hatshepsut's first and crucial step towards royal power, but the first woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty succeeded in becoming pharaoh by more than luck.
Resentment and destruction
As an adult, Hatshepsut did not escape the fate of Egyptian royal women, and after the death of Thutmose I, she was forced to marry her half-brother, Thutmose II.
Although the two are both children of Thutmose I and are related brothers and sisters by blood, whether in terms of resources obtained or personal ability, the throne Thutmose II is far inferior to his own sister.
Even his weak body seemed to illustrate how mismatched he was with the throne, so after only a few years of reign, the poor pharaoh went to see God Amun with regret.
The throne naturally fell to Hatshepsut's nephew, Thutmose III, the son of Thutmose II and his own concubine.
But at this time, Thutmose III was only three years old and was still a young boy who did not know the world, so Hatshepsut, who had the title of wife of the god Amun, justifiably assumed power and became the regent of the power, and it is recorded that Hatshepsut was only 15 years old at that time.
It turns out that Hatshepsut does have the grandeur to govern a country, and as one of the few female rulers in history, Hatshepsut governs in a way that is markedly different from that of male rulers.
After the coronation, Hatshepsut chose a more elegant way to consolidate power, first by emphasizing the legitimacy of his throne, and Hatshepsut began to declare himself the heir to the throne of his father Thutmose I.
In order to convince the population, Hatshepsut also ordered the following inscription to be carved on the walls of the temple in the voice of his deceased father: "My daughter Hatshepsut... I appoint her as the heir to the throne, and she is your leader! ”
There are many other accounts of objective idealistic control of subjects.
After solving the problem of subjects, Hatshepsut began to obtain the support of the ministers of the DPRK, which was Hatshepsut's second move, and it was at this time that a young man named Senmut walked into Hatshepsut's sight.
Senmut was born poor, but his personal abilities are very outstanding, he is both a financial expert and a designer, and more importantly, he also loves Hart Shepsut very much, and is eager to solve the queen's problems.
In Hatshepsut's long reign of more than two decades, Senmut did play a crucial role, as he was a core member of the Queen's think tank and the Chief Minister who assisted the Queen in her affairs.
Even as the family mentor of the Queen's youngest daughter, Nefiluli, archaeologists deduce from surviving sources that Hatshepsut and Senmut are likely lovers.
There are indications that Senmut, an architect, personally placed his own grave next to the queen, and also designed a "couple's style" coffin for the queen and himself.
It was with Hatshesut's appreciation that Senmut had the opportunity to use his talents; And Hatshepsut was able to monopolize power for more than 20 years precisely because of Senmut's support, and from this point of view, the two were mutually accomplished.
To put it bluntly, Hatshepsut's more than twenty years in power were relatively peaceful and stable compared to the male pharaohs, and she rarely waged war.
The few wars that focused on the early years of her reign were won without exception.
Rather than waging wars to expand his territory, Hatshepsut focused more on promoting trade and increasing exchanges with other countries to develop the Egyptian dynasty.
During the twenty years of Hatshepsut's reign, the Egyptian dynasty's economy reached an unprecedented height, and even the business-minded pharaoh actively organized a trade voyage to the African coast.
This voyage brought ivory, ostriches, cinnamon, frankincense trees and more to ancient Egypt, which greatly promoted the development of ancient Egypt.
In addition to trade, the female pharaoh was best known for the construction of a large number of temples, shrines, etc., in which her royal architect and lover Senmut played a huge role.
Senmut holds Hatshepsut's daughter
The temples, statues, etc. ordered by Hatshepsut also provide historical materials of great research value for future generations to study ancient Egyptian culture.
But every dynasty went through its rise to its decline, and Rao was Hatshepsut, with whom Thutmose III held a grudge against her.
This resentment finally erupted after Hatshepsut's death, and Thutmose III ordered the destruction of all statues of Hatshepsut in an attempt to erase traces of Hatshepsut's existence.
In this way, Hatshepsut was buried in yellow sand for thousands of years before finally seeing the light of day, but archaeologists were lost in thought when they found the temple of Hatshepsut, looking at the statue and portrait of the female pharaoh.
Hatshepsut
Because from the face of the statue alone, there are also very obvious female characteristics, but the statue's completely naked body indicates that the female pharaoh's first sexual characteristics are similar to that of men.
After consulting a large number of materials, the archaeologists understood what was going on, it turned out that in order to consolidate his power, Hatshepsut wore men's clothing and fake beards all his life, and had to follow the advice of the ministers to let craftsmen sculpt male features on his statues.
In July 2007, archaeologists used DNA comparisons to identify the mummy of Hatshepsut, who was slightly fat, had dental caries, and the cause of death may have been a family-inherited "skin disease."
But no matter what, this female pharaoh left a strong mark in the history of ancient Egypt in her own way, and from this point of view, Hatshepsut can be called the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt.