Goddesses, Empresses, and Warrior Queens

In this article, I discuss modern female leaders who became Prime Ministers, Presidents, or Chancellors as well as ponder why the US still hasn’t elected a female President.

In ancient times, however, leadership was granted in two ways — heredity or conquest.

Becuse most of the world was patriarchal, usually the rulers were men. But there were women leaders as well. There were more of them among the ancient Egyptians, Scandinavians, Celts, some Native American tribes, and, surprisingly, parts of India.

Even among the most patriarchal societies, however, women sometimes ascended to leadership.

In ancient Israel, Deborah was a Judge. This was a position of power that she earned due to her wisdom. Because she was a woman, she did not lead troops to war, leaving that to Barak, but she was the civilian head of government.

In China, the society was extremely patriarchal. As in ancient Rome and Greece, women were supposed to be subservient. In all three cultures, female babies were sometimes abandoned to die. Nevertheless, in China, there were a few cases where women had power.

There was Empress Wu Zetian, who ruled the Tang Dynasty and founded the Wu Zhou Dynasty. She was a royal concubine who ruled as regent after her second husband died and finally declared herself Emperor.

Empress Dowager Cixi; Katharine A. Carl (1865–1938); Oil on canvas with camphor wood frame, 1903; Transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, S2011.16; source: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/cixi-last-empress-dowager-china

Arguably the most powerful empress in Chinese history, Dowager Empress Cixi dominated the court and policies of China’s last imperial dynasty for nearly 50 years. She entered the court as a low-ranking consort of the Xianfeng emperor and bore his heir, the Tongzhi emperor. When Tongzhi ascended the throne as a child, Cixi became dowager Empress. After Tongzhi, Cixi installed her 4-year-old nephew as the Guangxu emperor. This consolidated her power, and she served as the de facto leader of the vast Qing Empire from 1861 until her death in 1908.

The portrait of Cixi shown above captures some of the complexities of her story. Her benign face contradicts Western newspaper reports that declared she had “the soul of a tiger in the body of a woman.

In Korea, Queen Seondeok was the 27th ruler of Silla, one of Korea’s three kingdoms at the time.

In Egypt, there were at least seven female pharoahs. These included Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra.

But female empowerment in Egypt was not restricted to royalty. Egyptian women could own property, represent themselves in court, and join the workforce. They also had more sexual liberty than in other parts of the ancient world.

This might be due to their pantheon.

In Egyptian mythology, Isis is the mother goddess. She was considered the giver of life, the healer, and the protector of kings. The God Horus is often portrayed sitting in her lap, and she was credited with resurrecting her husband, Osiris.

Unlike their Egyptian counterparts, Greek and Roman women were subservient to their male relatives. The exceptions were the women of Sparta and the Roman Empress Agrippina the Younger.

In the Byzantine Empire, the Empress Theodora ruled alongside the Emperor Justinian. She is also considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox church.

John Opie’s Boadicea Haranguing the Britons, source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica

Among the ancient Celts, Boudicca was an ancient British queen who led a revolt against Roman rule. Though Celtic society was patriarchal, woman had a great deal of freedom. They often trained as warriors, ran businesses, and became rulers.

According to Gaelic mythology, Scathach, a Scottish woman warrior, ran the school that trained Cúchulainn, considered the greatest hero of Irish legend. Another woman, Aife, was considered one of the fiercest warriors alive, and they both led armies.

Among the Vikings — in Denmark, Queen Thyra’s name was engraved on more stones than any other contemporary ruler. She was praised as being the strength and salvation of the Danes.

This reflects on the respect accorded Norse women. While it was a patriarchal society, women could own property, initiate divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended. They managed property and businesses as well as the household while their husband was away; if he died, this became their permanent role.

Contemporary historians recorded female Vikings fighting alongside them men in a battle against the Bulgarians in 971 AD. A 12th century Danish historian wrote of the “shield maidens” who dressed and fought like men, wielding swords.

There have also been women rulers in India. While it’s often misogynistic, its pantheon is not.

The Vedic deities were always referred to as pairs — Lakshmi/Vishnu, Saraswathi/Brahma, and Parvati/Shiva. In ancient times, the goddesses were called the Tridevi and the gods the Trimūrti.

While initially the male/female pairs were considered roughly equal, over time the goddesses were denigrated to being more subordinate. Nevertheless, perhaps they inspired female leadership.

Razia Sultan, led the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, the only woman to do so. She founded schools, academies, research centres, and public libraries because she cared for the welfare of her people.

Maharani Sethu Lakshm Bai, source: https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle-razia-sultan-to-rani-durgavati-know-6-queens-who-have-ruled-and-shaped-indias-history-3245776/

Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bai was the regent queen of Travancore in the 1920s. She encouraged women to pursue higher education and to work if they wanted to. She was the first to allow women to pursue legal studies and promoted women in government, to ensure they had an equal voice.

India also had warrior queens. There was Rani Abbakka, who fought the Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. She was wounded and taken prisoner at one point but prevailed.

Rani Kittur Chennamma; source: https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle-razia-sultan-to-rani-durgavati-know-6-queens-who-have-ruled-and-shaped-indias-history-3245776/

Another warrior queen was Rani Kittur Chennamma who led her troops into war agains the British. She won the initial engagement and captured two British officers, who were eventually freed after the British agreed to leave Kittur alone.

There were also Rani Durgavati with her army of 1,000 war elephants and 20,000 cavalrymen, and the famous Rani of Jhansi.

In most cases of hereditary rule, the queens came to power because there was no male heir. There were exceptions, however. Razia Sultana was chosen instead of her brothers.

There are also Queens that Western readers are probably more familiar with — the British Queens Elizabeth I and Victoria and the Russian Queen Catherine the Great. There are probably great women warriors and queens I have neglected to mention. Feel free to share their names and inform me and my readers.

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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