Hatshepsut's temple: a royal funerary temple in western Thebes

The explanations distinguish finds, interpretations and open questions. Sources appear at the end of the page.

What the timeline says

Under the key events of Dynasty 18 (ca. 1550-1295 BCE), the Met's timeline for Egypt states: "Influenced by the temple of Mentuhotep II, Hatshepsut, the most powerful female ruler of pharaonic history, builds her unique funerary temple in western Thebes." The same section says that Memphis is the chief administrative center, while Thebes, cult center of the god Amun-Re and home of the dynasty, remains important as a religious and cultural center. Source 1.

What the UNESCO description adds

The page "Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis" of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (the property was inscribed in 1979) places the temple at Deir el-Bahari, "Thebes west", and describes "the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut with its immense porticos, its superimposed terraces flanking the mountain, and its frescoes which trace her journey to the country of Punt". Source 2.

Two sources, two wordings for Thebes

The two sources do not describe the status of Thebes in the same way. According to the timeline, in Dynasty 18 Memphis is the administrative center and Thebes the home of the dynasty; according to UNESCO, Thebes "was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms". The difference may lie in what each source calls a capital, an administrative center in one case and a dynastic and cult center in the other, but neither explains it. This article therefore does not decide which city was the capital, and gives both wordings. Sources 1, 2.

Funerary temples in western Thebes

What does a royal funerary temple show? In the sources read, it shows first of all a place and an architectural choice: the timeline explicitly links the temple to an earlier one, that of Mentuhotep II. The same timeline mentions, in its Middle Kingdom section, "Mentuhotep's innovative funerary temple in western Thebes", and in its Ramesside section Medinet Habu, "the mortuary temple of Ramesses III in western Thebes". In this source, then, western Thebes is a place where kings of different periods built such temples. Source 1.

What the sources do not say

Neither source gives a building year, the years of Hatshepsut's reign, measurements or building phases; the only date is the range of the timeline section, Dynasty 18. The article is therefore placed in the New Kingdom without a precise year. "Unique" and "the most powerful" are the timeline's words, and "immense porticos" is UNESCO's, not findings of this article. Sources 1, 2.

Scope of reading: the Met timeline page for Egypt, 2000-1000 BCE, and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre page "Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis" were read on 24 October 2026. Excavation and restoration publications on the temple at Deir el-Bahari were not read, so this page gives no plan, measurements or inscriptions from the temple itself.