Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmosis I, the wife (probable half-sister) and Queen of Thutmosis II and step-mother and co-regent of Thutmosis III. She was Pharaoh, and was pictured as such in her mortuary temple and other monuments. She ruled for twenty-two year. When she died, Thutmosis III supervised her burial in the Valley of the Kings. Read her biography.

In the years after her reign, her successors defaced the temple and monuments, selectively removing her name or replacing it with their own. It is not known if Thutmosis III ordered the actual defacement out of anger at her assumption of power. There is some archaeological evidence that the defacement took place 20 years after her death, a long time to hold a grudge. Thutmosis III ruled for thirty-three years in his own right.

  Click on the thumbnail photos below to see details of parts of the temple.

		Hathor columns of the shrine of Hathor. Located on the south side of the second level. The rock cut shrine behind the columns is believed to be more ancient that the Temple.
		Osiride statue of the queen on the upper terrace.
		Painted relief showing offering to Horus. Note the ceiling decoration.
		Painted relief showing Feast table.
		Relief showing young queen being suckled by Hathor cow. The Cairo Museum contains a Hathor shrine with a colored mural showing Thutmosis III (Hatshepsut's nephew), his wife and son, Amenhotep II. In front of the mural, Amenhotep II is being suckled by a life sized statue of the Hathor cow. The shrine was removed from the cliffs above the temple.

This is the stele commemorating the installation of the obelisks at Karnak, showing Hatshepsut on the left.

See Pages 329-336 of The Penguin Guide for a detailed description of the area and the Temple. Page 289 of the Lonely Planet Guide focuses on Hatshepsut's temple and provides directions for a walk across the top of the rock bay to get a spectacular view.

The temple was severely damaged in ancient times by rock slides. It is being restored by the Polish National Academy of Sciences. The above picture was taken in 1989. Restoration is continuing.