?There was, in fact, no formal Egyptian word for ?queen?, and all the ladies of the royal household were titled by reference to their lord and master: the consort of the king was either a ?King?s Wife? or a ?King?s Great Wife?, the dowager queen was usually a ?King?s Mother? and a princess was a ?King?s Daughter?. An Egyptian queen regnant simply has to be known as ?king?; she had no other title? (Tyldesley, 1996:135).The theme of Hatshepsut?s reign was no less than a complete rebuilding of the land of Egypt and she considered herself as the one chosen by Amun ?? predestined since the moment of creation to restore the ritual purity of the temples and to recapture the perfection of the world?s origins? (Ray, 1994:3). The combination of historical perspective and a return to religious purity were the characteristics of Hatshepsut?s reign that were most validated and accepted by her Egyptian subjects. And since her position as Pharaoh was unorthodox, an appeal to fundamentalism was necessary. The lack of a legitimate Pharaoh was a clear sign in ancient Egypt that the gods were displeased, ?and that maat was absent from the land. Maat, a word which may be translated literally as ?justice? or ?truth?, was a term used by the Egyptians to describe an abstract concept representing the ideal state of the universe and everyone in it; the status quo or correct order, which had been established by the gods at the time of creation and which had to be maintained to placate the gods, but which was always under threat from malevolent outside influences seeking to bring chaos and disruption ( or isfet) to Egypt? (Tyldesley, 1996:8). It is not surprising, therefore, to find individual pharaohs using the concept of maat to their own particular advantages, i. e. to reinforce their own rule or to justify an action or behavior which might otherwise prove unacceptable to the conservative Egyptians. ?Hatchepsut, whose unusual succession may itself have been ...
