Hatshepsut (; also
Hatchepsut; meaning
Foremost of Noble Ladies; 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the
eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she ruled jointly with
Thutmose III who had ascended to the throne as a child one year earlier. Hatshepsut was the chief wife of
Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. According to Egyptologist
James Henry Breasted she is also known as "the first great woman in history of whom we are informed."