Question 1

True or false: Hatshepsut built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Accepted Answer

False. The Great Pyramid was built around 2560 BCE by Pharaoh Khufu, about 1,400 years before Hatshepsut’s reign.

Question 2

True or false: Hatshepsut often wore men's clothing and a fake beard to be accepted as pharaoh.

Accepted Answer

True. In official art, she is depicted with a male physique and ceremonial beard, reflecting the symbolic role of the pharaoh as a male figure.

Question 3

True or false: Hatshepsut organized a successful trading expedition to the land of Punt for myrrh trees.

Accepted Answer

True. She sent ships to Punt (likely in modern-day Somalia/Eritrea) and brought back live myrrh trees, which were planted at her mortuary temple.

Question 4

True or false: Hatshepsut ruled as a pharaoh, not just a queen or regent for her stepson.

Accepted Answer

True. She took the full titles and regalia of a male pharaoh, including the false beard, and ruled for over 20 years as a king.

Question 5

True or false: Hatshepsut was erased from history because she was a terrible, unpopular ruler.

Accepted Answer

False. Her stepson Thutmose III likely had her images and cartouches removed to legitimize his own reign, not because she failed as a leader.

Question 6

True or false: Hatshepsut claimed she was the divine daughter of the god Amun to justify her rule.

Accepted Answer

True. She propagated a myth that Amun appeared to her mother in disguise and fathered her, giving her a divine right to the throne.

Question 7

True or false: Hatshepsut was assassinated in a palace coup led by her stepson Thutmose III.

Accepted Answer

False. There is no evidence of assassination; she likely died of natural causes (possibly bone cancer) in her mid-40s.

Question 8

True or false: Hatshepsut was the first female pharaoh in Egyptian history.

Accepted Answer

False. Earlier female rulers like Sobekneferu (12th Dynasty) and possibly Nitocris ruled before Hatshepsut.

Hatshepsut Trivia Questions