Queen Tawosret (Sitre)

The final female pharaoh

Tawosret was the Great Royal Wife of Seti II. During the reign of the young and sickly Siptah, she served as the powerful queen regent. Upon Siptah's premature death, Tawosret claimed full pharaonic titles and ruled Egypt directly. She began construction of her own royal tomb, KV14, in the Valley of the Kings, an unprecedented move for a queen consort.

Erasing the past

She systematically erased Siptah's name from official documents and his tomb, attempting to create the illusion that she directly succeeded her husband Seti II. However, her reign was highly unstable. Conservative Egyptian society was resistant to female rulers during times of internal turmoil. Her rule ended abruptly amid a renewed civil war, leading to her overthrow and the definitive collapse of the 19th Dynasty.