[Hatshepsut, biblical 'Queen of the South', was the daughter of Thutmose I
who we believe to have been King David himself, a warrior king]
Taken from:
http://www.egyptvoyager.com/features_womeninancientegypt_hatshepsut_02.htm
...
[Hatshepsut's] temple [at Deir el Bahri] was filled with many beautiful scenes that prove herself as Pharaoh. There was even some reference to military activity at the temple, even though she is often portrayed as a peaceful queen. She did, in fact, have some conquest, like the rest of her seemingly war-loving family.
This refers to a campaign in Nubia. She even sent Thuthmose III out with the army, on various campaigns (many of which little is known at all!). One inscription even says that Hatshepsut herself led one of her Nubian campaigns. The inscription at Sehel island suggest that Ty, the treasurer of Lower Egypt, went into battle under Hatshepsut herself. This proves her as a warrior Pharaoh to her people, and also depicts her expedition to the Land of Punt.
....
In 'Hatchepust, the Female Pharoah', Joyce Tyldesley writes:
'Evidence is now growing to suggest that Hatchepsut's military prowess has been seriously underestimated due to the selective nature of the archaeological evidence which has been compounded by preconcieved notions of feminine pacifism. Egyptologists have assued that Hatchepsut did not fight, and have become blind to the evidence that, in fact, she did. As so many of Hatchepsut's texts were defaced, amended or erased after her death, it is entirely possible that her war record is incomplete. Furthermore, Hatchepsut's reign, falling between the reigns of two of the greatest generals Egypt was ever to know (Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis III) is bound to suffer in any immediate comparison.
The Deir el-Bahri mortuatry temple provides us with evidence for defensive military activity during Hatchepsut's reign. By the late 19th century Naville had uncovered enough references to battles to convince him that Hatchepsut had embarked on the now customary series of campaigns against her vassals to the south and east. These subjects, the traditional enemies of Egypt, almost invariably viewed any change of pharoah as an opportunity to rebel against their overlords, while the pharoahs themselves seem to have almost welcomed these minor insurrection as a means of proving their military might.
The fragments and inscriptions found in the course of the excavations at Deir el-Bahri show that during Hatchepsut's reign wars were waged against the Ethiopians, and probably also against the Asiatics. Among these wars which the queen considered the most glorious, and which she desired to be recorded on the walls of the temple erected as a monument to her high deeds, was the campaign against the nations of the Upper Nile.
Blocks origionally sited on the eastern colonnade show the Nubian god Dedwen leading a series of captive southern towns towards the victorious Hatchepsut, each town being represented by a name written in a crenellated cartouche and topped by an obviously African head. The towns all belong to the land of Cush (Nubia). Elsewhere in the temple, Hatchepsut is portrayed as a sphinx, a human-headed crouching lion crushing the traditional enemies of Egypt. There is also a written, but unfortunately badly damaged, description of a Nubian campaign in which Hatchepsut appears to be claiming to have emulated the deeds of her revered father;
.....as was done by her victorious father, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Aakheperkare (Tuthmosis I) who seized all lands....a slaughter was made among them, the number of dead being unknown, their hands wre cut off....she overthrew (gap in text) the gods (gap in text)...
There is less direct evidence for military campaigning to the north-east of Egypt, although again the Deir-el-Bahri temple does hint at some skirmishes; in at least one inscription it is said of Hatchepsut that 'her arrow is amongst the northerners'. However, it is a consideration of the subsequent conquests of Thutmosis III which provides the best evidence for the maintenance of firm military control over the northereastern territories. When Tuthmosis III eventually became the sole ruler of Egypt, the client states in Syria and Palestine seized the traditional opportunity to rebel, a reaction which suggests that the death of Hatchepsut was viewed as a potential weakening rather than strengthening of Egypt's power in the Levant.
Hatchepsut's military policy is perhaps best described as one of unobtrusive control; active defence rather than deliberate offence. while either unwilling or unable to actually expand Egypt's sphere of influence in the near east, she was certainly prepared to fight to maintain the borders of her country. '
Source(s):
'Hatchepsut The Female Pharoah' by Joyce Tyldesley
