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When Women Ruled the World Six Queens of Egypt Kara Cooney 9781426219771 Books

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When Women Ruled the World Six Queens of Egypt Kara Cooney 9781426219771 Books

Like a bad History Channel show, this book panders to the sensationalist, tabloid mindset audience. Prof Cooney is far too fond of conspiracies within the royal court and hyping the role of the harem as sexual stimulation for the king. She constantly presents her conjectures as established facts; and while it is almost impossible to know the thoughts and mindset of people so far removed from the present, Prof Cooney repeatedly makes statements about what these ancient people thought. For example, she refers to the early Dynastic era court of Merneith as "bloodthirsty", and claims that royal males were sacrificed after the new Pharaoh was chosen - despite no concrete proof whatsoever that any of the male human sacrifices were of royal blood.

It would take far too long to list all the items in this book that hit the wrong note with me - and there were quite a lot of them! - but I feel a need to mention a few of the more egregious. The reign of Hatshepsut and the Amarna Period are my own areas of special interest, and therefore rang the most false. That a ruler as evidently competent as Hatshepsut had to "buy off" the officials of the court and temple in order to remain in power is frankly insulting. And claiming that she was "lost to cultural memory" when girls of later generations were named Maatkare - her kingly throne name, NOT her personal name - overlooks the evidence to the contrary. Thutmose IV - the grandson of Thutmose III, who destroyed many of her monuments - held her in such high regard that he added his own name to an offering bowl she had dedicated where there was room, instead of removing hers, even adding the respectful title of Osiris to her name.

And then there are the blatant math errors in the chapter on Nefertiti! Prof Cooney states that Akhenaten was 30 when he became king and married the teenage Nefertiti. She then claims that Tutankhamon was the son of Akhenaten by one of Nefertiti's daughters. Most of those girls were nowhere near childbearing age by the end of the reign; while the eldest could have been, there was not enough time for her to have borne a child and for that child to have been as old as Tutankhamon was when he became king.

The constant emphasis on conspiracies and politicking within the court and the sexual role of the harem in each and every chapter gets old fast. Please avoid damage to your professional reputation and go back to your work on coffins, Kara.


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When Women Ruled the World Six Queens of Egypt Kara Cooney 9781426219771 Books Reviews

There is so much to recommend in this book. Cooney examines the trajectories of six female pharaohs from the Old Kingdom to the Ptolmiac period Merineth, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret, and Cleopatra, discussing the similarities of their experiences as kings and drawing parallels to wider truths and similarities of women and power - and patriarchy - today.

Most of these women were "placeholders" for men - tolerated as such so long as they did not "overstep" traditional gender roles as protectors of younger (male, of course) successors - essentially playing the part of the protective mother who has no interest in actually being in power. That these women also tended to act as regents during periods of upheaval and rapid political change is, Cooney argues, also part of the reason they were permitted to wield such authority.

The exceptions - Hatshepsut and Cleopatra (and, perhaps, Nefertiti) - were of particular interest, as much for how these women took and held power as for how they were (and are) remembered after their deaths. In short, Hatshepsut's monuments and name was largely erased (her name, like that of Smenkhare) removed from the king's list ostensibly because they reached too far as women. Cooney's discussion of Nefertiti - and whether she is or is not Smenkhare, and the subsequent end of the 18th dynasty - was fascinating even in its brevity. For those unfamiliar, among Egyptologists, the identity of Smenkhare specifically, and the details of how Ay and Horemheb came to power is one of tremendous controversy.

The real heart of the book, however, is the connections between the ancient past and the present. This is, after all, the whole point of studying history. Cooney does a masterful job of dating parallels between these powerful women and contemporary politics. That some, such as Benazir Bhutto, have learned how to align themselves with men of the past as they stake their political claim and therefore be accepted, as contrasted with Hillary Clinton who boldly sought to break away from the patriarchal power structure when she proclaimed, "... I challenge assumptions about women. I do make some people uncomfortable, which I'm well aware of, but that's just part of coming to grips with what I believe is still one of the most important pieces of unfinished business in human history - empowering women to stand up for themselves." That we in the early 21st century are seeing women in increasing numbers challenge traditional power structures in the workplace, in the military and in politics is both reason for celebration and, given the lessons of history, reason for concern, as power does not easily or readily concede.

Come readers may take issue with the strong connections Cooney makes about women and power and the strong, bright lines that connect attitudes across time around the issue. I found her evidence compelling, her reasoning unassailable, and her writing clear. I very much enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.
Like a bad History Channel show, this book panders to the sensationalist, tabloid mindset audience. Prof Cooney is far too fond of conspiracies within the royal court and hyping the role of the harem as sexual stimulation for the king. She constantly presents her conjectures as established facts; and while it is almost impossible to know the thoughts and mindset of people so far removed from the present, Prof Cooney repeatedly makes statements about what these ancient people thought. For example, she refers to the early Dynastic era court of Merneith as "bloodthirsty", and claims that royal males were sacrificed after the new Pharaoh was chosen - despite no concrete proof whatsoever that any of the male human sacrifices were of royal blood.

It would take far too long to list all the items in this book that hit the wrong note with me - and there were quite a lot of them! - but I feel a need to mention a few of the more egregious. The reign of Hatshepsut and the Amarna Period are my own areas of special interest, and therefore rang the most false. That a ruler as evidently competent as Hatshepsut had to "buy off" the officials of the court and temple in order to remain in power is frankly insulting. And claiming that she was "lost to cultural memory" when girls of later generations were named Maatkare - her kingly throne name, NOT her personal name - overlooks the evidence to the contrary. Thutmose IV - the grandson of Thutmose III, who destroyed many of her monuments - held her in such high regard that he added his own name to an offering bowl she had dedicated where there was room, instead of removing hers, even adding the respectful title of Osiris to her name.

And then there are the blatant math errors in the chapter on Nefertiti! Prof Cooney states that Akhenaten was 30 when he became king and married the teenage Nefertiti. She then claims that Tutankhamon was the son of Akhenaten by one of Nefertiti's daughters. Most of those girls were nowhere near childbearing age by the end of the reign; while the eldest could have been, there was not enough time for her to have borne a child and for that child to have been as old as Tutankhamon was when he became king.

The constant emphasis on conspiracies and politicking within the court and the sexual role of the harem in each and every chapter gets old fast. Please avoid damage to your professional reputation and go back to your work on coffins, Kara.