The Archaeologist

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Archaeologists Discover Secrets of Egypt's Forgotten Pharaoh

Today’s video is all about Hatshepsut and why she is considered one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs.

Cleopatra the Great has become virtually synonymous with the term "female pharaoh." Yet, as Joann Fletcher reveals, Mark Antony's famous wife (Cleopatra) was merely the culmination of three millennia of female rulers. In the history of Egypt, during the dynastic period (3000 to 332 BC), there were only a few women who managed to rule as pharaohs, rather than wielding power as the ‘great wife’ of a male king. And among those, Hatshepsut is believed to be the first woman to rule the land with the full authority of a pharaoh. However, the existence of this great pharaoh is almost lost to the sands of time.