Within ancient Egyptian society, having a good Pharaoh was considered absolutely vital to the functioning of the country; and it is for this reason that Egypt was ruled by these supposed half-gods and half-humans for over three thousand years. The position of Pharaoh was auspiciously passed down through the royal family and traditionally to the eldest son when his father died. Hatshepsut was a significant individual who bucked this convention by describing herself as male so that after the sudden death of her husband/brother Thutmosis II she could become Pharaoh instead of the rightful successor, who was Thutmosis III. Because of the male-ruled society in which she had lived, Hatshepsut actually had to subvert the system to a large extent to become Pharaoh of Egypt in 1473 BC. This subversion is demonstrated by Hatshepsut's use of high levels of propaganda such as disguising herself as a man and pretending that the gods approved of her so that she could smoothly govern what she used. Despite the fact that his grip on power was based on deception and even deception, he was still able to rule successfully and could even compare himself with the most successful male pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Although ancient Egyptian society exhibited some level of gender equality, especially in comparison with its neighbors, this equality did not extend to the position of the Pharaoh. Although Egyptian women enjoyed much of the same privileges as their male counterparts in the larger society, men still enjoyed advantages that women did not share. For example, women were held “responsible for caring for the home and raising children” and had “clearly defined roles” (Steedman & Inglis, 2003, p. 26). This would imply that... in the center of the card... men. Inequality within the system was particularly evident among the highest positions of power which were typically reserved for men of the royal family. Hatshepsut's subversion of the patriarchal order to become Pharaoh is a significant topic as it reveals that her hard work and even deception had been accomplished in the end, when she became known as one of the most powerful historical figures ever . It was thus by exploiting the religious beliefs of the Egyptians and supporting propaganda (i.e. disguising herself as a man) that Hatshepsut managed to subvert the patriarchal order of the conservative population and become Pharaoh. However, despite such severe measures to gain power, Hatshepsut still ruled a prosperous kingdom, and Egypt flourished under her rule. Therefore, ruling Egypt was not a task that only men could successfully perform.