Longest reigning pharaoh (female)

Born circa 1508 BCE, Hatshepsut ("Foremost of Noblewomen") was the de facto ruler of Egypt for approximately 21 years between circa 1479 and 1458 BCE. She first acted as regent to her infant stepson (Thutmose III) then reigned in her own right as co-ruler from 1473 BCE.

The eldest daughter of 18th Dynasty king Thutmose I, Hatshepsut first became a queen on marrying her half-brother, Thutmose II, c. 1492 BCE. They had one daughter, Nefeure, but no sons.

Hatshepsut was only the third woman to rule in ancient Egypt in around three millennia and assumed by far the most power up to that point. On her becoming co-ruler in 1473 BCE, depictions of her change to show her dressed in traditionally male attire, and even with a male body in some portraits, as she sought to cement her legitimacy as a woman king.

The reign of Hatshepsut preceded by more than 1,500 years that of arguably the most famous female regent of ancient Egypt, Cleopatra VII, who ruled 51–30 BCE.

The longest-serving pharaoh overall was the Sixth Dynasty pharaoh Phiops II, also known as Pepi II, who according to historical sources (such as the Turin Canon – a papyrus ledger of ancient Egyptian rulers),took power circa 2281 BCE at six years of age and reigned for around 94 years. However many scholars favour a more conservative tenure of 64–65 years, which nevertheless is still a record.