Queen Hatshepsut

1508–1458 BC

Egypt

Queen Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. Though born a female, Hatshepsut donned male clothing and a false beard signifying kingship. Among Hatshepsut’s accomplishments, she established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty.