The Forgotten Female Pharaohs of Egypt: Meet the Women Who Ruled the Nile

Ancient Egypt is famous for golden masks, towering temples, and powerful kings like Ramses and Tutankhamun. But behind that familiar story is another, almost erased from history: the women who ruled as pharaoh.

The Forgotten Female Pharaohs of Egypt, a new nonfiction audiobook from My Nova Books by Aminah Sarifet, brings these hidden rulers back into the light—Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut, Twosret, and the forces that tried to wipe them from memory.

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A Nonfiction Audiobook About Egypt’s Erased Queens

In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh wasn’t just a king; they were the living link to the gods and the guardian of Ma’at, the cosmic balance that kept the world from falling into chaos. Because this role was imagined as deeply masculine—the “Son of Ra,” the male body on temple walls—female rulers were treated as exceptions, even problems to be solved.

Sarifet’s audiobook explores how a handful of remarkable women stepped into that role anyway—and what happened next. You’ll meet:

• Hatshepsut, who began as regent for a child-king and transformed herself into “King of Upper and Lower Egypt,” commissioning grand temples and obelisks—only to have her images later hacked out and her name scratched from king lists.

• Sobekneferu, the first confirmed female pharaoh, whose short reign closed a great dynasty and was later overshadowed by political collapse.

• Twosret, last ruler of the 19th Dynasty, whose own tomb in the Valley of the Kings was literally overwritten by the man who took her place.

These are not side characters or “queens in the background”—they are full pharaohs whose power reshaped Egypt, even as later rulers tried to erase them.

What You’ll Learn in The Forgotten Female Pharaohs of Egypt

Listening to this audiobook, you’ll dive into much more than just biography. Sarifet weaves together archaeology, politics, and gender to show how history itself gets edited.

You’ll discover:

• How erasure worked in stone Chiseled-out faces, plastered-over cartouches, and reused statues weren’t random damage—they were political tools. Temples and tombs were edited like a living archive, rewriting who “deserved” to be remembered.

• Why female pharaohs threatened the system These women didn’t just rule; they reimagined what kingship could look like—mixing traditionally male regalia with feminine titles and language. Their flexibility made later kings nervous, who wanted to restore a “clean” line of fathers and sons.

• How modern technology is restoring their stories From 3D scans and CT imaging to digital archives and AI-assisted reading of faint hieroglyphs, new tools are revealing erased names and hidden layers of decoration—often showing where female rulers once stood.

• How bias shaped both ancient and modern history Just as ancient scribes skipped awkward reigns, early Egyptologists often dismissed short or “unusual” reigns—especially those of women. Only recently have scholars begun to read erasure itself as evidence worth studying.

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Why This Story Matters Now

The Forgotten Female Pharaohs of Egypt isn’t only about ancient history—it’s about who gets written into the story of the past at all.

By following Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut, and Twosret, the audiobook invites listeners to ask:

• When a name is missing, is it really because “nothing happened”—or because someone wanted it gone?

• How often have powerful women been turned into footnotes or erased completely?

• What does it mean to rebuild a more honest, inclusive record of the past?
  

If you’re interested in women’s history, ancient Egypt, feminist scholarship, or the politics of memory, this audiobook offers a compelling, accessible listen that stays with you long after the final chapter.

Whether you’re commuting, studying, or just in the mood for a thought-provoking historical deep dive, this audiobook is a powerful way to meet the women who once wore the Double Crown—and to understand why so many tried to make us forget them.