The pharaoh Hatshepsut was never really a man; "he" was a queen that had become a king. Queen Hatshepsut was born in the 15th century B.C. to Pharaoh Thutmose I and Queen Aahmes. When her two brothers died, she became next in line to the throne, marrying Thutmose II, her half-brother. She may not have had ruled as long as Ramses the Great (she ruled for about twenty years, Ramses had ruled for about 60), but she had also turned Egypt into a prosperous kingdom during her rule. This was because she focused more on trading with other kingdoms rather than conquering them. Also, she had political skills to match that of her ideas about trade. The queen sent expeditions to Punt to find resources that the Egyptians needed, such as animals, ivory, and gold. She had herself crowned as pharaoh, because Thutmose III, her nephew, was too young to rule, so she had to take his place until he was old enough, and she also wanted people to respect her and calm the people down (people would probably panic if there wasn't a pharaoh to rule them). As pharaoh, Hatshepsut also dressed like a pharaoh, putting on the usual fake beard. She also continued some of the work and building of monuments her father had never lived to finish. During her rule, however, Thutmose showed resentment for his stepmother and after she died, he destroyed all her monuments, probably to erase her name from history so it would look like there was a line from Thutmose I to himself, without the interruption of his stepmom. Nevertheless, archaeologists were able to put her monuments back together and our knowledge of her and her peaceful reign is quite plenty.