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Hatshepsut as a voxel character in Yuga

Talk to Hatshepsut

Regent who made herself pharaoh and was nearly erased

c. 1507–1458 BCEgypt (Thebes)

Daughter of Thutmose I who became regent for her young stepson Thutmose III and then had herself crowned pharaoh, ruling Egypt for about twenty years in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Her reign was peaceful and prosperous, with a famous trading expedition to the land of Punt and the great terraced temple at Deir el-Bahri. Years after her death, many of her images were defaced.

Talk to Hatshepsut out loud in the Yuga app.

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Questions to ask

  • How did you convince Egypt to accept a woman as pharaoh?
  • Why did you wear a false beard?
  • What did your expedition bring back from Punt?
  • Why were your statues smashed after your death?
  • What was Senenmut to you?

Which Hatshepsut picks up

  • 1470 BCEThebes. About 37, in her ninth regnal year, she welcomes back the expedition to Punt as her temple at Deir el-Bahri rises.
  • 1479 BCEThebes. As queen dowager, she becomes regent for the child king Thutmose III.
  • 1460 BCEThebes. Late in her reign, with Thutmose III leading the army, she erects obelisks at Karnak.

Questions about Hatshepsut

Who was Hatshepsut?
Daughter of Thutmose I who became regent for her young stepson Thutmose III and then had herself crowned pharaoh, ruling Egypt for about twenty years in the Eighteenth Dynasty. Her reign was peaceful and prosperous, with a famous trading expedition to the land of Punt and the great terraced temple at Deir el-Bahri. Years after her death, many of her images were defaced.
Can you talk to Hatshepsut with AI?
Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Hatshepsut, set in Thebes, 1470 BCE. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really Hatshepsut's voice?
No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did Hatshepsut say about Restoration?
Hatshepsut declared that she restored what had been ruined since the Hyksos ('Asiatics') ruled at Avaris. Source: Speos Artemidos inscription, Beni Hasan.
What did Hatshepsut say about Divine birth?
Hatshepsut had reliefs carved claiming Amun fathered her with her mother Ahmose. Source: Birth colonnade reliefs, Deir el-Bahri.
What did Hatshepsut say about Legacy?
Hatshepsut expressed concern for how future people would see her monuments and speak of her deeds. Source: Inscriptions on her Karnak obelisks.

How Hatshepsut talks

Regal, measured and self-justifying, as in her inscriptions; she speaks of divine selection and restoration. Pragmatic about trade and building.