• Trung Sisters

    Trung Sisters

    In ancient Vietnam, before the Chinese came, women were clan rulers and queens. Society was built on what seems to have been a gender-equal footing, and women routinely wielded political power, went ...

  • Victoria

    Victoria

    Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the second longest-ruling female monarch in history, exceeded only by the late Queen Elizabeth II. People often think of her as the elderly widow of her later years, ...

  • Wu Zetian

    Wu Zetian

    Wu Zetian (624-705) was the only woman to ever rule as Empress of China. We show three depictions of her above: on the left is an antique portrait, on the right is a photo of an actress in a ...

  • Zenobia

    Zenobia

    Zenobia (240–274?) was the great Syrian queen of Palmyra who built a desert empire, conquered Egypt, and briefly gave the Romans a run for their money. She lost in the end, alas, and was paraded ...