When the scholar who cracked the Rosetta Stone translated inscriptions beneath a powerful bearded king, the grammar described a woman. That contradiction is the key to Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh who ruled Egypt for over two decades, then had her name systematically chiseled off the walls.

This episode traces how Hatshepsut seized power as a regent, branded herself with the visual language of male kingship, and built a golden age, before her stepson tried to erase her from history. It's a story of power, propaganda, and political survival in an intensely patriarchal world.

• How a wine-jar seal dated to year seven revealed she had taken a royal throne name and elevated herself to pharaoh
• The gradual visual transition from female gown to false beard and broad shoulders, easing the public into a female king
• The exp ...