Hatshepsut (c. 1507–1458 BC) was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and the fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from c. 1479 BC until c. 1458 BC (Low Chronology).[​8] She was Egypt's second certain queen regnant, the first being Sobekneferu/Nefrusobek in the Twelfth Dynasty.

Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and his sister and Great Royal Wife Ahmose. Upon the death of her husband and half-brother Thutmose II, she ruled initially as regent to her stepson Thutmose III, who inherited the throne at the age of two. Several years into her regency, Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh and adopted the full royal titulary, making her a co-ruler alongside Thutmose III. In order to establish herself in the Egyptian patriarchy, she took on traditionally male roles and was depicted as a male pharaoh, with physically masculine traits and traditionally male garb. Hatshepsut's reign was a period of great prosperity and general peace. One of the most prolific builders in Ancient Egypt, she oversaw large-scale construction projects such as the Karnak Temple Complex, the Red Chapel, the Speos Artemidos and most famously, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.
Hatshepsut died probably in Year 22 of Thutmose III.[​9] Towards the end of the reign of Thutmose III and into the reign of his son Amenhotep II, an attempt was made to remove her from official accounts of Egyptian historiography. Her statues were destroyed, her monuments were defaced, and many of her achievements were ascribed to other pharaohs. Many modern historians attribute this to ritual and religious reasons, rather than personal hostility as previously thought.