Queen Hatshepsut was a powerful leader. She had herself portrayed in pictures as a man, with a male body and a false beard. She even claimed the god Amun as her father and insisted that he meant for her to take charge of Egypt: “I acted under his command; it was he who led me.”As pharaoh, Hatshepsut undertook ambitious building projects, particularly in the area around Thebes. Her greatest achievement was the enormous memorial temple at Deir el-Bahri, considered one of the architectural wonders of ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut, daughter of King Thutmose I, became queen of Egypt when she married her half-brother, Thutmose II, around the age of 12. Upon his death, she began acting as regent for her stepson, the infant Thutmose III, but later took on the full powers of a pharaoh, becoming co-ruler of Egypt around 1473 B.C. As pharaoh, Hatshepsut extended Egyptian trade and oversaw ambitious building projects, most notably the Temple of Deir el-Bahri, located in western Thebes, where she would be buried. Depicted (at her own orders) as a male in many contemporary images and sculptures, Hatshepsut remained largely unknown to scholars until the 19th century. She is one of the few and most famous female pharaoh of Egypt.
Moctezuma addressed Cortés in these words: “Our lord, you are very welcome in your arrival in this land. You have come to satisfy your curiosity about your noble city of Mexico. Cortés was surprised by the hospitality of Moctezuma
