Egypt: The New Kingdom and the Reign of Hatshepsut

The establish of the New Kingdom followed the expulsion of the hicks us from Egypt. This period is categorized by historians after the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom.
The New Kingdom is distinct from the Old Kingdom (known as the age of pyramids) in terms of its chronology and cultural focus.
A significant chronological gap exists between these periods: the New Kingdom began approximately $1,000\,\text{years}$ after the construction of the Great Pyramid.
Knowledge of pyramid construction had been completely lost by the time of the New Kingdom. The Egyptians of this era looked upon the structures of their ancestors with awe and could not replicate the methods used to build them.
As a result of this reverence, the New Kingdom Egyptians deified Imhotep, the designer and builder of the very first step pyramid, believing only a god could have achieved such architecture.

The New Kingdom is characterized as the "golden age of Egypt," both for its accumulated wealth and its territorial expansion beyond the Nile River Valley.
Military transformation was achieved by adopting technologies from the hicks us/exosome, including:
- Advanced bronze working for weaponry.
- The implementation of chariot-based military units.
This improved military allowed Egypt to expand into the following regions:
- The eastern Mediterranean coast, reaching the edge of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).
- The southern region beyond the cataracts of the Nile, specifically into an area known as Kush.
Kush served as the primary source of gold for Egypt. Control over this gold-producing region was foundational to the immense wealth and flourishing status of the New Kingdom.

The 18th dynasty represents the high point of Egyptian civilization. A pivotal moment occurred with the transition of power from topmost first to his heir.
When topmost first died at a middle-aged stage, he left his kingdom to a young son (a child).
Under such circumstances, a regency was established to guide the child and run the government until he reached the age of majority.
General characteristics of the age of majority in historical societies:
- Typically occurred between $16$ and $18\,\text{years}$ of age (similar to modern thresholds for driving or voting).
- In some historical cases, children were freed from regencies as young as $12\,\text{years}$ old.
Risks associated with regencies:
- High childhood mortality rates: Children aged $0\,\text{to}\ 5\,\text{years}$ were at extreme risk; survival to adulthood was an impressive feat.
- Political competition: As an heir approached the age of majority, the reagent faced the loss of power. This often led to "strange things" such as hunting accidents, mysterious illnesses, or other fatal events that allowed the reagent to maintain permanent rule.

Hatshepsut, the wife of topmost, claimed the regency for herself. This was unusual as most societies were patristic (patriarchy) and typically appointed a male family member, such as an uncle, as reagent.
The child heir was not Hatshepsut's biological son but rather the son of a concubine or secondary wife of topmost, making him her stepchild.
Hatshepsut's transformation in public representation was gradual and strategic:
- Phase 1: Represented as a traditional queen.
- Phase 2: Shown wearing the Queen's diadem along with the double crown of Egypt (the Pharaonic crown), signaling a merge of identities.
- Phase 3: Adoption of the NMES headdress, a specific head-dress reserved for pharaohs. The long hair and diadem of the queen were removed.
- Phase 4: Abandonment of the traditional female sheath dress in favor of the short kilt, the traditional male Pharaonic outfit.
- Phase 5: Complete gender transformation in art, including a flat chest and the donning of a false beard. Though clean-shaven due to the Egyptian heat, the false beard (held by a blue strap) symbolized wisdom, age, and power.
In artistic reliefs, Hatshepsut and her stepson (topmost second) are depicted almost as twins. Both wore the Blue Crown, which identified the Pharaoh as the general or commander-in-chief of the army.

Hatshepsut ruled well beyond her stepson reaching the age of majority. Her stepson, described as a "playboy," was disinterested in governance, preferring women, hunting, and fishing.
Hatshepsut maintained the law of Maat and led sacred ceremonies as the highest priest of Egypt, often wearing a specific sacred crown comparable to a Pope's status.
Architectural projects under Hatshepsut:
- The Deir el-Bahari temple complex (referred to as "there above three"), located near a pyramid-shaped mountain. Because the ability to build pyramids was lost, they tunneled into this natural mountain to create a tomb.
- The erection of the largest obelisks in Egypt. These served as monuments to personal greatness (comparable in shape to the Washington Monument).
Her reign was highly successful and stable, which allowed a female to hold the title of Pharaoh without significant internal revolt at the time.

Hatshepsut died a natural death at a fairly advanced age despite suffering from cancer.
The proximity of her death was linked to an abscess and infection following the extraction of a tooth.
Modern identification of her mummy:
- Archaeologists originally identified a different, more regal-looking mummy as Hatshepsut but DNA sequencing proved it was not her.
- The genuine mummy was found in a ransacked tomb among $3$ bodies previously ignored as mere caretakers.
- Identification was confirmed using a box found in another tomb that bore the name Hatshepsut and contained a single tooth.
- X-rays of the mummy revealed a missing tooth with a snapped root; the physical root in the mummy's jaw matched the tooth in the box exactly.

After Hatshepsut's death, an attempt was made to erase her from history:
- Her name was chiseled out of monuments and obelisks.
- In many instances, her name was replaced with that of her stepson, topmost second.
The motivation for this erasure was likely not personal jealousy from her stepson, but systematic action by male priests and government officials.
These officials viewed a woman running Egypt as an abomination and a danger to the law of mocked (Maat). They sought to remove her memory to prevent a precedent for future female rulers.