at probably
became very galling to him, Hatasu found herself under the necessity of
admitting him to a share in the royal authority, and allowed his name to
appear on her monuments in a secondary and subordinate position. About
this time she was especially engaged in the ornamentation of the old
temple of Ammon at Thebes, begun by Usurtasen I., and much augmented by
her father, Thothmes I. The chief of all her works in this quarter were
two obelisks of red granite, or syenite, drawn from the quarries of
Elephantine, and set up before the entrance, which her father had made
in front of Usurtasen's construction. These great works are unexcelled,
in form, colour, and beauty of engraving, by any similar productions of
Egyptian art, either earlier or later. They measure nearly a hundred
feet in height, and are covered with the most delicately finished
hieroglyphics. On them Hatasu declares that she "has made two great
obelisks for her father, Ammon, from a heart that is full of love for
him." They are "of hard granite of the South, each of a single stone,
without any joining or division." The summit of each, or cap of the
pyramidion, is "of pure gold, taken from the chiefs of nations," so that
they "are seen from a distance of many leagues--Upper and Lower Egypt
are bathed in their splendour"(!).

Hatasu reigned conjointly with Thothmes III. for the space of seven
years. Their common monuments have been found at Thebes, in the Wady
Magharah, and elsewhere. It is not probable that the relations of the
brother and sister during this period were very cordial. Hatasu still
claimed the chief authority, and placed her name before that of her
brother on all public documents. She was, as she has been called, "a
bold, ambitious woman," and evidently admitted with reluctance any
partner of her greatness. Thothmes III., a man of great ambition and no
less ability, is not likely to have acquiesced very willingly in the
secondary position assigned to him. Whether he openly rebelled against
it, broke with Hatasu, and deprived her of the throne, or even put her
to death, is wholly uncertain. The monuments hitherto discovered are
absolutely silent as to what became of this great queen. She may have
died a natural death, opportunely for her brother, who must have wished
to find himself unshackled; or she may have been the victim of a
conspiracy within the palace walls. All that we know is that she
disappears from history in about her fortiet