Hatshepsut: The Temple of Egypt's Female Pharaoh

Dan Snow's History Hit

On the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt sits a temple considered to be one of the great architectural wonders of ancient Egypt. The memorial temple of Hatshepsut, the great female pharaoh who came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC sits nestled beneath a dramatic amphitheatre of limestone cliffs on the edge of the Valley of the Kings. Hatshepsut lived as long before Jesus was born as Henry the 8th lived after and presided over rich and powerful Egypt. She established trade routes and her reign was marked by peace and prosperity. But, at her death her step-son Thutmose III did all he could to erase her from the history books, replacing her image with his own, burying her statues and scratching her name from the temple walls.

In this episode director of the West Bank Dr Bahaa Gaber takes Dan around her temple and fills him in on what kind of leader Hatshepsut really was.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges.

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore.

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