A student at TOPS Elementary in Seattle, Washington, Cash Guts devotes his time to his academic studies and giving back to others. Among other awards, he received his school’s 2016 Humanitarian Award for raising money for Syrian refugees, and he has donated time to Seattle’s homeless community. In his free time, Cash Guts enjoys learning about such topics as Egyptian history.
One of Egypt’s first and longest reigning female pharaohs was Queen Hatshepsut. Born around 1508 BC, Hatshepsut was the only daughter of King Thutmose I and the wife of her half-brother Thutmose II, whom she married following the death of her father. For 15 years, she ruled alongside Thutmose II as his queen. However, her husband died in 1479 BC when she was only 30 years old.
The only male heir to Thutmose II was still an infant at the time of his death, so Hatshepsut began serving as his regent until he could take the throne. However, she eventually claimed the throne for herself and became the pharaoh of Egypt.
Hatshepsut ruled for about 15 to 20 years, during which time Egypt experienced a period of relative peace. She was known as a prolific builder and was responsible for creating the building program that constructed her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. She also launched a sea voyage to Punt, which led to trading with the inhabitants.
During her early reign, Queen Hatshepsut was depicted as a woman in carvings and other relics. But later depictions showed her with a fake beard and in male attire holding the traditional objects of a pharaoh, perhaps as an attempt to assert her power. Although Egypt prospered under Hatshepsut’s reign, her stepson, Thutmose III, destroyed most evidence of her rule after he grew old enough to ascend to the throne.
