This temple in its architectural conception was a departure from Egyptian models. It impresses us with its fine proportion and the skillful use of the colonnade. It has not long been accessible to visitors, having been uncovered only in the last few years. Other building enterprises were undertaken by Queen Hatshepsut, notably the erection of two obelisks of polished granite in honor of Amon. Possessing some tributary territory in Asia and Punt and maintaining a policy of peace, the national revenue was much increased. The proud queen left a record of her kingdom's prosperity chronicled in stone: "My southern boundary is as far as Punt; my eastern boundary as far as the marshes of Asia, and the Asiatics are in my grasp; my western boundary is as far as the mountain of Manu (or the sunset); my fame is among the Sand dwellers altogether. The myrrh of Punt has been brought to me, all the luxurious marvels of this country were brought to my palace in one collection. They have brought me the choicest products, of cedar, of juniper, and of meru-wood; all the goodly sweet woods of God's-land. I brought the tribute of Libya, consisting of ivory and seven hundred tusks which were there, numerous panther skins of five cubits along the back and four cubits wide."[3] In addition to new structures, Queen Hatshepsut repaired temples fallen in decay. In one of these temples she caused to be written: "I have restored that which was in ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished since the Asiatics were in the midst of the Northland, and the barbarians in the midst of them, overthrowing that which had been made while they ruled in ignorance of Ra."[4] Thutmose III., a younger brother--a mere child at the death of his father--grew restless at being held so long from the throne by his ambitious sister. The sudden death of the queen again raised the question as to whether the sovereign had died as a result of court intrigue. Certain it is that Thutmose III. retaliated for the restraint the queen had exercised over him by commanding that her name be stricken from all the monuments she had erected, his own to be substituted. Fortunately his workmen followed his instructions so badly that it has been possible to read the original name in many cases, and thus possible to trace the career of the world's earliest recorded queen. Thus have later ages been able to realize how well Queen Hatshepsut met the requirements of her day, and to appreciate her courage in overcoming the prejudices which as a woman on the throne of the Pharaohs she is sure to have encountered. [Illustration: QUEEN HATSHEPSUT.] FOOTNOTES: [1] These inscriptions are translated in Records of the Past, ed. by Sayce, Vol. X. [2] The translation is to be corrected to Punt. [3] Trans. by Breasted, History of Egypt, 280. [4] Ibid. CHAPTER VII. GREAT MILITARY KINGS.