Relief of Hatshepsut’s expedition to the Land of Punt (Wikimedia Commons)
Egyptian Court Official Nehsi Dispatches Expedition to Ancient Somalia
On a voyage that archaeologist J.H. Breasted’s book “Ancient Records of Egypt” suggests is shown in the Egyptian carving “Punt Reliefs,” Nehsi, an official in Hatshepsut’s court in 15th century B.C., commanded an expedition to Punt. Texts in Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple state the expedition to what many researchers believe is modern-day Somalia and Ethiopia was meant to “extract tribute from the natives” who were aligned with the pharaoh. However, archaeologist Joyce A. Tyldesley argues in “Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh” that it was a trading mission to Punt, which is thought to have been a well-established post by that time.
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