762: Calpurnia Wife of Julius Caesar Born: c.70 BC, Rome, Roman Republic (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: Unknown, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Full Name: Calpurnia Pisonis Though their wedding was for political purposes only at the outset, Calpurnia and Julius did grow to care for one another over time. It is believed Calpurnia and…
761: Valeria Messalina What is it With Romans and Their Family Connections? Born: c20-22 CE, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 48 CE, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Also Known As: Messalina Valeria Also Spelled: Messallina Messalina was all of the following: the great- grandniece of Augustus, second cousin of Caligula, cousin of…
755: Jezebel Biblical Figure Born: Phoenicia (Present-day Lebanon) Died: c. 843 BCE, Jezreel (Present-day Yizre’el, Israel) For most who know their Christian religious stories, Jezebel is the “bad-girl” of the Bible. She’s been called a prostitute, a murderer, and an enemy of god. Her name is so synonymous with sin (see what I did there?)…
753: Arawelo Queen Who is Remembered for Castrating Male Prisoners c.15th Century AD, Present-day Somalia, Possibly the Sanaag Region Arawelo became queen by being the oldest child of the King who only had daughters. Evidently when the king died, Arawelo took it upon herself to become queen, without asking anyone’s permission. She demanded there be…
727: Charlotte von Nassau-Weilburg Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Born: 23 January 1896, Berg, Luxembourg Died: 9 July 1985, Fischbach Castle, Luxembourg Charlotte became Grand Duchess after her sister Marie-Adélaïde resigned from the same position. Before their father’s death, women were not allowed to rule Luxembourg, however, the Grand Duke changed the laws of succession to…
“We have not nurtured and cherished [Charles the Dauphin] for you to make him die like his brothers or to go mad like his father, or to become English like you. I keep him for my own. Come and take him away, if you dare.” -Reportedly Yolande’s Letter to Isabeau of Bavaria 723: Yolande of…
721: Sparethra Queen who Fought Cyrus the Great -Lived Around 547 BC- Eurasian Steppes (Exact Location Unknown) Cyrus captured her husband in battle and pissed Sparethra off. Sparethra and her husband, Amorges, were leaders of a band called the Amyrgioi of Sogdiana and Bactria, one of the Saka tribes that lived between the Caspian Sea…
716: Octavia the Younger Marc Antony’s Fourth Wife Born: c.69 BC, Nola, Roman Empire (Present-day Nola, Italy) Died: c.11 BC, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Also Known As: Octavia Minor Octavia was also Octavian (later known as Augustus)’s sister, Octavia Major’s half-sister, and the great grandmother of Caligula and Agrippina the Younger. Oh, she…
669: Elizabeth “Bessie” Blount Mistress of Henry VIII of England Born: c.1498, Kinlet Hall, Shropshire, England (Present-day Shropshire, United Kingdom) Died: c.1540, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Bessie was Henry’s mistress for around five years. She previously served as maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon and was noted for her musical talents. Bessie was one…
668: Faustina the Younger Empress of Rome Born: c.130 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: c.175 AD, Halala (later Faustinopolis), Roman Empire (Present-day Cappadocia, Turkey) Full Name: Annia Galeria Faustina Minor She was the cousin and wife of Marcus Aurelius and the daughter of Emperor Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder. Faustina and…