A Historian Reads: The Woman Who Would Be King

While on vacation I devoured Dr. Kara Cooney's most recent publication, The Woman Who Would Be King. Dr. Cooney, a practicing Egyptologist who teaches at UCLA, wrote this book as a biography based on her research in Egypt but also as an attempt to understand Hatshepsut's psychological development. In the preface, Dr. Cooney addresses that some of her conjectures may not be well received by the Egyptologist community but that it is necessary in places where there is no other evidence available. However, she defends her decision by explaining that her characterization of the Pharaoh is based on events, her actions, and Dr. Cooney's understanding of women in the ancient world.

The book begins by describing what life would have been like for the young princess living in the royal palace. Her family is new to the crown. Her father, Thutmose I, came to the throne after a power vacuum brought him into power. As a young child and royal family member, she would have been inducted into the religious practices and become witness to the political maneuvers required to run the kingdom. Her marriage to her half brother brought her the title of Wife of the King and Wife of the God. This marriage resulted in daughters but Thutmose II's concubine was able to produce the desired son. This son, Thutmose III, would play a large role in the life and career of Hatshepsut.

After the death of her husband/half brother, Hatshepsut began to position herself to take the throne. Her first action was to have herself declared co-regent. From here, she used national building projects, diplomacy, and political brilliance to cement herself (literally) as Pharaoh and supreme leader of Egypt. However, the young Thutmose III who she was able to keep under control would not stay young and impressionable forever. As he grew into a young man, he began to fight back and regaining his crown. After Hatshepsut's death, her successor would do everything within his power to remove her name, memory, and legacy from Egyptian record.

Dr. Cooney's writing is hypnotic. I found myself wanting the rest of the world to go away so I could devote myself to reading. Her ability to synthesize prose and history is envious and do not think for a second that Dr. Cooney is sacrificing education for entertainment. After finishing the book (that was a sad moment) I better understood what she meant in her preface. There is a lot of presumptions made but they are not unbelievable. Her characterizations of what Hatshepsut might have felt during ceremonies, childbirth, or in political debates makes logical sense and are part of what makes this book so enjoyable to read. Dr. Cooney humanizes the notorious Pharaoh and gives her flesh and blood emotions and desires. This is a book I will be reading over and over again!

Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition

This weekend Amanda and I took a day trip up to Los Angeles to visit the California Science Center to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. The scrolls are on exhibit here for the next couple of months on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The exhibit consists of a selection of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other artifacts from Israeli archeological sites. This is the first time the nearly two thousand year old Dead Sea Scrolls have visited Los Angeles and the first time in a while that they have been in the United States. The scrolls were found by Bedouins shepherds in 1946 when, according to legend, one threw a stone into a cave off the banks of the Dead Sea and heard pottery shatter. Inside was where they found the scrolls now known as the Dead Sea scrolls. The first discovery lead to a team of archeologist leading a search around the initial cave and neighboring caves. For the next several years archeologists discovered more scrolls that contained some of the most important texts to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. To this day, historians, archeologists, and theologians debate the origin of the scrolls and their authors. However, what is not in dispute is their importance to Abrahamic religions. They provide some of the oldest scripts of what would eventually make up the three largest religions in the world.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (or Dead Sea Jerky)

The exhibit just recently opened and the museum was packed when we arrived. The ticketed event took almost an hour of waiting in line to enter. Once we entered it became clear that the exhibit lacked a sense of direction or narrative. We were lead into a room with three large screens and three large antique containers. The screens showed the Dead Sea and very little understanding of what the visitors were suppose to do. I was expected a introductory video. Finally, the docent came in and began to explain the exhibit and gave some background information about the scrolls. Once he finished he explained how to enter the exhibit. However, upon entering it we were overwhelmed with many artifacts but very little explanation about what they were or what they were for.

After about two rooms of assorted jars, pillars, and small ivory carvings, we finally reached the Dead Sea Scroll room. On a large circular display case, visitors circled around (slowly I might add) to read the translation and minimal explanation of each section. To my surprise, the Dead Sea Scrolls were remarkably small. Made of animal skin, the script on the scrolls were very faded and took close inspection to see. In some you could see the lines the scribe had drawn to align the script. Sections came from different scrolls and represented the variety of text. Some were old Bible texts, one was a marriage contract, and another included a collection of Psalms. The collection on display make up a small percentage of the entire Dead Sea Scrolls and, in my opinion, where not the best selections for viewing. Their small size and bad display made it difficult for visitors to examine the scrolls. Despite this, I really did enjoy the opportunity to see the artifacts that play such a large role in world religion. I recommend this exhibit because it is such a rarity for these artifacts to be in Los Angeles area but also because there is no guarantee that they will be back again. This being said, I was not happy with the display and organization of the exhibit. I hope to visit Israel to see the full collection (hopefully that exhibit includes more information and a better layout) but until then I am content to have seen this rare exhibit opportunity.