Title: 10 Powerful Egyptian Queens and What Made them Great
Thumbnail: 10 Badass Egyptian Queens Ancient Egypt was a society dominated by men,
and the women at the royal court gained their status through their relationships
to male kings but there were queens and even female pharaohs of great power.
While the best known of all the Egyptian queens is Cleopatra VII, other women had
held power long before she ascended the throne. Many of Egypt s longest periods of stability
were achieved when women ruled the country. They may have started as influential wives
or king s daughters, but they would go on to become the chief decision-maker of the land.
Often, female pharaohs took the throne during times of crisis,
when hope for male leadership was lost, but sadly in many cases the men who came after
these queens erased their names from the formal list of monarchs.
Regardless, today these women continue to be remembered as some of the strongest and most
significant female figures in history. In this video, let s take a look at 10 of the
greatest queens of Egypt from the Early Dynastic period to the Ptolemaic times
and what made them so badass. 10. Neithhotep The First Queen of Egypt
Legend has it that in the late 4th millennium BCE, the warrior Narmer joined the two separate
lands of Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom and established the first dynasty.
He was crowned king, and his wife Neithhotep became the first queen of Egypt.
The name Neithhotep was associated with Neith, the ancient Egyptian goddess of weaving and hunting.
The queen s name means the goddess Neith is satisfied. The goddess had a powerful
connection with queenship, so several queens of the first dynasty were named after her.
Historians are divided on whether Neithhotep was Narmer s wife in the first place.
There is some speculation that she may have been the wife of Hor-Aha, the second pharaoh of the
First Dynasty and therefore the mother of Djer. There s also some conjecture that she may have
ruled as pharaoh in her own right which would make her the earliest known female monarch in
history. 9. Merytneith
One of the earliest embodiments of female power, Merytneith ruled during the first dynasty,
around 3,000 to 2,890 BCE. She was the wife of King Djet and mother of King Den. When her husband
died, she ascended the throne as regent queen, as her son was too young to rule. Merytneith
ensured stability in Egypt, and her main agenda was the continuation of her family s dominance.
She wanted to establish her son as the next royal power once he came of age.
When Merytneith s tomb was first discovered, historians thought they d discovered the
remains of a man. William Flinders Petrie, who found her tomb in Abydos, had read her
name as Merneith - He who is loved by Neith. Later finds showed that there was a female
determinative next to the first ideogram of her name, so it should have been read as Merytneith.
Along with several inscribed objects, including many serekhs (emblems of the earliest pharaohs),
her tomb was filled with sacrificial burials of 118 servants and state officials who would
accompany her in her journey into the Afterlife. 8. Hetepheres I
In the 4th dynasty, Hetepheres I became the queen of Egypt and bore the title Daughter of God . She
was the wife of King Sneferu, the first to build a true or straight-sided pyramid in Egypt,
and mother of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza. As mother of the mighty king,
she would've been highly honored in life, and it's believed that the cult of the queen
was maintained for generations to come. While her rise to power and details of
her reign remain unclear, Hetepheres I is firmly believed to be the eldest daughter of Huni, the
last king of the 3rd dynasty, suggesting that her marriage with Sneferu allowed a smooth transition
between the two dynasties. Some speculate that she may have also been her husband s sister,
and their marriage consolidated his rule. 7. Khentkawes I
One of the queens of the Pyramid Age, Khentkawes I was a woman of considerable importance.
She was the daughter of King Menkaure, wife of King Shepseskaf and mother to kings Sahure
and Neferirkare, the second and third kings of the 5th dynasty. To say she
was well-connected is an understatement. Khentkawes I probably served as regent for
her infant son, but her splendid tomb, the Fourth Pyramid of Giza,
suggests that she reigned as a pharaoh. During the initial excavation of her tomb,
she was depicted sitting on a throne, wearing the uraeus cobra on her forehead and holding a was
scepter. The uraeus was associated with kingship, although it wouldn't become standard queen s
attire until the Middle Kingdom. 6. Sobekneferu
In the 12th dynasty, Sobekneferu took the Egyptian kingship as her formal title,
when there was no crown prince to take the throne. Daughter of Amenemhat III, she became the closest
in line of succession after her half-brother died and ruled as pharaoh until another dynasty
was ready to rule. Also called Neferusobek, the queen was named after the crocodile god Sobek.
During the period of her rule, which was just under 4 years, Sobekneferu completed her father
s pyramid complex at Hawara, now known as the Labyrinth. She also completed other building
projects in the tradition of earlier monarchs and built several monuments and temples at
Heracleopolis and Tell Dab a. Her name appeared on official king lists for centuries after
her death and she is often thought to be the first certain female ruler of Egypt.
5. Ahhotep I By the Second Intermediate Period, southern
Egypt was ruled from Thebes. Queen Ahhotep I acted as a representative for her husband King Seqenenre
Taa II of the 17th Dynasty in Thebes, guarding Upper Egypt while her husband fought in the north.
However, when he was killed in battle and his successor Kamose also died at a young age,
Ahhotep I was forced to take the reins of the country into her hands and she ruled as queen
regent on behalf of her young son Ahmose I. During the reign of Ahmose I took when he was away
fighting against the Nubians in the south, Queen Ahhotep I commanded the military successfully,
brought back fugitives, and put down a rebellion. Later, her son the king was regarded as the
founder of a new dynasty because he reunified Egypt. But none of that would have been possible
without his mother s strength and influence. 4. Hatshepsut
One of the most powerful queens of ancient Egypt, Hatshepsut is the second historically confirmed
female pharaoh, after Sobekneferu. She ruled during the 18th dynasty, and became known for her
power, accomplishment, and clever strategizing. Hatshepsut, whose name means Foremost of Noble
Ladies, first ruled as a queen while married to Thutmose II, then as regent to her stepson
Thutmose III, known today as the Napoleon of Egypt. A brilliantly clever strategist,
Hatshepsut used the title God s Wife of Amun, instead of King s Wife, after the death of her
husband, which likely paved the way to the throne. Hatshepsut was not afraid to shake things up. She
broke the traditional role of queen regent as she assumed the role of king of Egypt. She ruled for
more than two decades depicting herself as a male king, wearing the pharaoh s headdress and false
beard, in order to sidestep the issue of gender. Hatshepsut s period of rule was one of stability
and prosperity. The Deir el-Bahri Temple in western Thebes was built during her
reign in the 15th century BCE as was the rock-cut temple at Beni Hasan in Egypt,
known as Speos Artemidos. She was also responsible for military campaigns and successful trade.
Unfortunately, Hatshepsut s reign was regarded as a threat to the men who came after her, so her
name was removed from historical records and her statues were destroyed. Some scholars speculate
that these were acts of vengeance, while others conclude that the successor ensured that the
reign would run from Thutmose I through Thutmose III without evidence of any female dominance.
3. Nefertiti Among the most famous of
the Egyptian queens today, Nefertiti is best-known known for her sandstone bust discovered in 1913,
making her an icon of feminine power and beauty. But she was more than just a beautiful face.
The reign of Nefertiti and her husband King Akhenaten is often cited as the most
prosperous period of ancient Egypt. Later in the 18th dynasty, she became a co-ruler with
her husband instead of being just his consort. Her reign was a critical moment in Egypt s history,
as it was during this time that the traditional polytheistic religion was changed to the
exclusive worship of the sun god Aten. In Thebes, the temple known as Hwt-Benben
featured Nefertiti in the role of priest, leading the worship of Aten
and she may also have been regarded as a living fertility goddess at the time.
there is some speculation that she ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husband's death and
before the ascension of Tutankhamun, but so far, there is no consensus on this subject.
2. Arsinoe II Arsinoe II was the
first Ptolemaic woman to rule as female pharaoh in Egypt, so dedications for her were made at
numerous places in Egypt and Greece, renaming entire regions, cities and towns in her honor.
The queen of Macedonia and Thrace, Arsinoe II first married King Lysimachus then later married
her brother, Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt. She became Ptolemy s co-ruler and shared all the
titles of her husband. In some historical texts, she was even referred to as the King of Upper and
Lower Egypt. As married siblings, the two were equated with the Greek deities Zeus and Hera.
After the queen s death around 268 BCE, her cult was established in Alexandria and she was
remembered during the annual Arsinoeia festival. 1. Cleopatra VII
Being a member of the Macedonian Greek ruling family, it could be argued that Cleopatra VII
does not belong on a list of Egyptian queens. However, using the power of the men around her,
she became one of the most well-known rulers of Egypt, holding the reins of the country in her
hands for over two decades. She is known for her strategic military alliances and relationships
with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and for actively influencing Roman politics.
By the time Cleopatra VII became the queen in 51 BCE, the Ptolemaic empire was falling apart.
Knowing that she needed the power of Caeser's armies to install her as the queen of Egypt,
she curried his favor, and financed his return to power in Rome. After all, she was quite likely the
richest woman in the world at the time and her wealth gave her the bargaining chips she needed.
She sealed her alliance with Roman general Julius Caesar and later gave birth to their son
Caesarion. When Caesar was murdered in 44 BCE, the three-year-old Caesarion co-ruler
with his mother, reigning as Ptolemy XV. In order to reinforce her position as a queen,
Cleopatra VII had claimed to be associated with the goddess Isis. After the death of Caesar,
one of his closest supporters Mark Antony was assigned the Roman Eastern Provinces,
including Egypt. Cleopatra needed him to protect her crown and maintain Egypt s independence from
the Roman Empire. The country became more powerful under Cleopatra s rule, and Antony
even restored several territories to Egypt. In 34 BCE, Antony declared Caesarion as the
rightful heir to the throne and awarded land to his three children with Cleopatra.
In late 32 BCE, however, the Roman Senate stripped Antony of his titles and declared war
on Cleopatra. In the Battle of Actium, Antony s rival Octavian defeated the two.
And so, the legend goes, the last true pharaoh of Egypt committed suicide with
the bite of an asp, a venomous snake, and a symbol of divine royalty.
There were many queens throughout Egypt s history. Some tower above others because
of their accomplishments and influence, while others served simply as placeholders
until the next male could take the throne. Their legacy gives us insight into female leadership,
the extent to which they had could act independently in ancient Egypt,
and how they found ways to navigate a world dominated by men to leave their mark on history.
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Thank you for watching! Checked by NK