1185: Arsinoë II Philadelphus Queen of Thrace, Asia Minor, & Macedonia Born: c.318-314 BCE, Most-Likely Memphis, Ptolemaic-Controlled Ancient Egypt (Present-day Mit Rahineh, Egypt) Died: c.270-268 BCE, Alexandria, Ptolemaic-Controlled Ancient Egypt (Present-day Alexandria, Egypt) Arsinoë was the daughter of Ptolemy I and Berenice I, the first Ptolemaic couple to rule over Egypt after the death of…
1183: Arachidamia Spartan Warrior Queen Born: c.340 BC, Sparta (Present-day Sparta, Greece) Died: c.241 BC, Sparta (Present-day Sparta, Greece) Also Spelled: Archidamia Arachidamia led the Spartan women against Pyrrhus during the siege of Lacedaemon. At the time, most of Sparta’s warriors were off fighting a war, leaving the city itself relatively undefended. Evidently the Spartan…
Image Courtesy of Malevus 1180: Hoelun Mother of Genghis Khan Born: c.1142, Mongolian Empire (Present-day Mongolia) Died: c. 1221, Mongolian Empire (Present-day Mongolia) Besides being known as the mother of one of history’s greatest warlords, Hoelun is also celebrated today for being a bada** single mom. She raised seven kids under the age of ten…
1171: Sammu-Ramat Empress Regnant of Assyria Born: c.850 BCE, Ancient Babylon (Present-day Iraq) Died: c.798 BCE, Ancient Babylon (Present-day Iraq) Also Known As: Semiramas Reign: c811-c808 BCE or Possibly c809-c792 BCE Sammu-Ramat was one of the first known women to rule an empire in world history. Because of this fact, her legacy has been twisted…
1165: Urraca of Zamora Infanta of Zamora Born: c.1033, Present-day León, Spain Died: c.1101, Present-day León, Spain Urraca was one of five siblings who split their father (Ferdinand the Great)’s empire after his death. Urraca was bequeathed the city of Zamora and ruled with palatine authority over the walled city. Urraca’s eldest brother tried to…
1157: Cartimandua Queen of the Brigantes Born: Unknown, Ancient Britannia (Present-day Britain, United Kingdom) Died: After c.69 AD, Ancient Britannia (Present-day Britain, United Kingdom) Also Known As: Cartismandua The Brigantes were the biggest territorial tribe in Britannia, encompassing modern-day Yorkshire. Most of what we know about Cartimandua comes from the Roman author Tacitus. According to…
1156: Cynisca Spartan Princess Born: c.440 BC, Ancient Sparta (Present-day Sparta, Greece) Died: Unknown Also Spelled: Kyniska or Kyneska Cynisca was also the first woman in history to win at the Olympic Games. She competed with a chariot drawn by four horses—notably, however, she did not physically compete as a driver. Cynisca was a breeder…
1149: Awashonks Sunksqua of the Sakonnet Tribe Born: c.1620-1640, Most Likely Present-day Rhode Island, United States of America Died: after 1683, Present-day United States of America Awashonks means “She who is Queen” and was her title, not her name. Unfortunately, her actual name has been lost to history. Sunksqua is the feminized term for Sachem,…
1144: Angelberga De-Facto Co-Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire Born: c.840 AD, Present-day Germany Died: c.890 AD, Present-day Piacenza, Italy Also Known As: Engelberga Angelberga was married to Louis II of Italy and served as Carolingian empress until her husband’s death. They had two daughters together. Angelberga would rule in her husband’s place when he…
1143: Alexandra of Jerusalem One of Two Women Known to Have Ruled Over Judaea Born: c.141 BC, Most Likely Ancient Judaea (Present-day Israel) Died: c.67 BC, Most Likely Ancient Judaea (Present-day Israel) Also Known As: Salome Alexandra Hebrew Name: Shelamzion Alexandra was the most powerful ruler of the Hasmonean Dynasty. She was married to Alexander…