Queens

Amina of Zaria

Amina (ca. 1533-1610) was a brilliant warrior queen of the northern Nigerian Hausa state of Zaria. She is remembered in song as "a woman as capable as a man," which is rather understating the ...

Boudicca

Boudicca (first century; died around 61 CE) was one tough lady. This British queen fought a war of resistance against the Romans, and though she lost, her heroism has echoed down through the ages. ...

Carlota of Mexico

Empress Carlota (1840-1927) is one of the most intriguing and tragic figures in Mexican history. Born Charlotte of Belgium, she married Archduke Maximilian of Austria when she was only seventeen ...

Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great (1729-1796) was probably the best tsar Russia ever had. She arrived in the country as a teenaged German bride, and eventually took the throne in a coup that deposed her idiot ...

Christina of Sweden

If you're unfamiliar with Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689), you might wonder why there are so many pictures of men in our main illustration. It's because Christina liked to dress as a man---not ...

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was the greatest lady of medieval Europe. In her own right she was Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers, ruling over a large chunk of what is now France. By ...

Elizabeth I

When Elizabeth I (1535-1603) became queen, people didn't expect much. "Get yourself married as soon as possible," she was told, "and lean on your husband for support." Elizabeth had other ideas. ...

Empress Theodora

How great was Empress Theodora (500-548)? This great: she outlawed wife-killing, banned sex trafficking and sex slavery, expanded women's property rights, gave mothers the right to raise their own ...

Esther

The Book of Esther is a subversive feminist tract masquerading as a Bible story. Okay, that probably isn't true, but by golly, it feels true. Esther, the eponymous heroine, is a courageous young ...

Fu Hao

Before Mulan, there was Fu Hao (ca. 1200 BCE). This Shang Dynasty queen was a remarkable figure: not only was she King Wu Ding's wife and the mother of his children, but she was also his chief ...

Grace O’Malley

To the English, she was Grace O'Malley (1530-1603), notorious pirate. To the Irish, she was Gráinne Ní Mháille, Queen of Clew Bay, and her crews were just collecting taxes from the ships that ...

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut (ca. 1508-1458 BCE) was an extremely successful pharaoh whose reign was full of accomplishments: important trade missions, gorgeous architecture, a booming economy. But the thing she's ...