Senenmut, the secret lover of Pharaoh Hatshepsut?

Among the non-royal population, few people reached importance similar to Senenmut.

He came from a humble background, born to Ramose and Hatnofer, whose tomb near Thebes contained items that indicated that they were neither from a noble family background nor priestly office.

As a young man, he received an education that trained him for government work, and he joined the royal administration during the reign of Thutmose II, who ruled from approximately 1492 to 1479 BCE.

However, under Hatshepsut’s rule, he advanced quickly, earning around 80 titles.

These included “Overseer of the Works,” “High Steward of the King,” “Steward of the God’s Wife,” and a title often translated as a personal confidant of the pharaoh.

Each of these titles gave him control over key parts of the government and influence over ritual practices in addition to directing royal building projects. 

Also, he was tutor to Princess Neferure: a position that gave close access to the royal family.

On many statues and reliefs, artists showed him as the figure who held the young girl or who stood beside her in poses that highlighted care and authority.

Writings on his monuments praised his wisdom and described his duties in personal terms rarely used for royal tutors.

In many cases, the portrayals placed him in roles that blurred the line between servant and guardian, and they reinforced the idea of an unusually intimate connection with the throne.

Several of these statues, including examples now housed in the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, show him in casual settings or unusual poses, features that may reflect his distinctive role and informal access to the royal court.

Claims that he appears unshaven, however, remain disputed among Egyptologists. 

At the cliffs of Deir el-Bahri, Senenmut oversaw the construction of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple, Djeser-Djeseru, which became one of the most remarkable architectural achievements of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

The temple featured a series of terraces and colonnaded halls arranged in axial symmetry, and included reliefs that depicted Hatshepsut's divine birth and her expedition to Punt.

In the rock face directly below this monument, he carved his own tomb, TT353, which included a star ceiling usually reserved for members of the royal house.

The sky scenes, which depicted constellations and planets, are one of the earliest known examples of such decoration in a non-royal tomb.

The location and decorative elements suggest that he either received personal approval from the pharaoh or acted with confidence that showed his special status.

Besides this, he built a second tomb, TT71, on the western bank at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, and the tomb contained scenes that showed his loyalty, prestige, and connection to Neferure.

However, the unfinished burial shaft in TT353 indicates he was never interred there. 

On the walls of a workmen’s hut northeast of Deir el-Bahri, graffiti survives that has caused debate among Egyptologists.

The rough drawing shows a man and a woman, the latter crowned in the manner of a pharaoh, engaged in a sexual act.

While the identities of the figures remain unnamed, the image led some scholars to argue that the scene represents Senenmut and Hatshepsut.

However, this understanding remains uncertain and is rejected by many experts.

Others believe that the drawing was used as a mockery of the relationship between a powerful woman and her favoured servant.

Some Egyptologists suggest the graffiti may have been created after Hatshepsut’s reign, during the period of her damnatio memoriae.

Although its meaning is unclear, this single piece of evidence influenced many modern interpretations of their possible affair. 

In later years, Senenmut’s name suddenly disappeared from public inscriptions. No official records explain the reasons for his fall from favour, but both of his tombs were left unfinished, and parts of TT353 show signs of damage that may result from intentional vandalism or later looting.

After Hatshepsut’s death, Thutmose III started a campaign to remove her monuments and her name from the king lists.

Senenmut’s monuments suffered a similar fate, and his image was chiselled off statues and reliefs, suggesting that later officials saw him as involved in Hatshepsut’s controversial reign.

Neferure, whom he had tutored, also vanished from historical records at some point during her mother’s rule, possibly before 1460 BCE, strengthening the impression of a dramatic change in fortunes for those associated with the pharaoh.