History: People and Places: Mighty Female Warriors From Around the World

There are stories of women who are written into world history as mighty female warriors. But were they really?

The stories of these women are written into world history books and other publications as mighty female warriors. According to the historical accounts they were … a lot of “F” words. Fierce! Fearsome! Fighters! And??? Dare I say it? I dare. They were … Feminine.

Oh yes! Just because they could handle a weapon just as well or perhaps better than their male counterparts and boldly engage the enemy in a battle to the death, none of those from the opposite sex would ever say that they were not 100% woman. Indeed. Men would probably exclaim to each other: “What a woman!”

If you research the topic of women warriors you will find 7 listed in the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

1. Boudicca
2. Joan of Arc
3. Cleopatra
4. Penthesilea ( an Amazon queen in Greek mythology)
5. Susan B. Anthony
6. Rosa Parks
7. Harriet Tubman

Interesting list. Although I’m not sure the Amazon queen is a real person so I don’t know why she would be on the list. (O.o) But who am I to argue with a trusted encyclopedic resource that people rely on for research. The last 3 women on the list never even wielded a weapon of war. But they were fierce fearsome fighters nevertheless.

Live Science published a list of 12 women warriors and described them as “mighty”. They start their list with a woman in China. There are only 11 names below because Boudicca’s name is already on the Brittanica list.

1. Fu Hao (military general in the Shang Dynasty)
2. Gudit (Ethiopian queen)
3. Tomoe Gozen (female samurai)
4. Ana Nzinga (queen of Ndongo, an African-state)
5. Khutulun (descendant of Genghis Khan, “wrestler princess”)
6. Mai Bhago (Sikh warrior)
7. Rani Velu Nachiyar (Tamil woman, fought against the British colonials)
8. Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua (warrior woman of Peru, rebelled against the Spanish)
9. “Dahomey Amazons” (Not mythical; real West African female soldiers)
10. Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Native American; Northern Cheyenne warrior)
11. Yaa Asantewaa (led the Asante people (Ghana, West Africa) in an uprising against the British)

History Hit’s list named 10 great female warriors. Since Boudicca and Fu Hao are on the other lists, they are not mentioned again. Thus there are only 8 names listed.

1. Tomyris (Queen of the Massaegetae who waged war against Cyrus, King of Persia)
2. Artemisia I of Caria (Greek Queen of Halicarnassus and ally of Xerxes I. King of Persia)
3. Cynane (half-sister of Alexander the Great; but not half the warrior nor half the ambition)
4. Olympias (mother of Alexander the Great)
5. Adea Eurydice (daughter of Cynane, the half-sister of Alexander the Great)
6. Queen Teuta (Queen of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, fought with Rome and lost)
7. Triệu Thị Trinh (Vietnamese woman who freed her country from the rule of China, for a while)
8. Zenobia (Queen of Syria’s Palmyrene Empire; defeated by Roman Emperor Aurelian)

Boudicca, the Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe, left such a mark in history that she was not only on the 3 lists explored, but her name ends up on practically every list of woman warriors compiled by any publication. I don’t know what makes her so great. In the end, she was defeated and committed suicide. If you’re going to be a warrior, die fighting! Her true story is that she was just a woman driven mad with anger and grief who used war to ease her pain and lessen her sorrow. It is likely she died still in tremendous pain and extremely sorrowful. (Feel free to disagree. I am not a professional historian.)

Fu Hao, the Chinese general was on two lists. Were it not for the discovery of her tomb in 1096, it is not certain the world would have ever known that she even existed. There is not really a lot of information about her military exploits. She wasn’t just a general but she was also a high priestess, and she was one of the wives of the emperor Stories about her life seem to more the stuff of legend than of facts.

MY OPINION: I don’t know if I agree with labeling all of these women warriors. The word “warrior” (at least in my mind connotes a brave person who is fighting for a noble cause like … let’s say … freedom from oppressive rule. Some of those women, like Olympias and Adea Eurydice were just engaged in a power struggle. What’s so noble about that?

This is a very fascinating topic and you probably want to know more. But I am not writing a book, just publishing a brief introduction. So below is the combination of the three (3) lists, in alpha order, with links for further research: Have fun exploring!

1. Adea Eurydice
2. Ana Nzinga
3. Artemisia I of Caria
4. Boudicca***
5. Buffalo Calf Road Woman
6. Cleopatra
7. Cynane
8. Dahomey Amazons
9. Fu Hao**
10. Gudit
11. Harriet Tubman
12. Joan of Arc
13. Khutulun
14. Mai Bhago
15. Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua
16. Olympias
17. Penthesilea
18. Queen Teuta
19. Rani Velu Nachiyar
20. Rosa Parks
21. Susan B Anthony
22. Tomoe Gozen
23. Tomyris
24. Triệu Thị Trinh
25. Yaa Asantewaa
26. Zenobia

Boudicca: Warrior Queen of Ancient Britain (FULL MOVIE)

Original source

Alexander the Great - Boogie Man or Immortal?

The records of history indicate that is what Alexander the Great said when others informed him about his father’s conquests.

“My father will get ahead of me in everything, and will leave nothing great for me to do.” 

Statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia

Clearly, Alexander the Great was no prophet. However, he is known in Western history as a remarkable military leader. In India’s history, children are told he’s the “boogie man”. - Alexander was born on 21st July 356 B.C. - Although his name is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, many biblical scholars believe that he is the “mighty king” referred to in the book of Daniel the Prophet (Chapter 11). - The meaning of the name Alexander is: “man’s defender, warrior”. The name suited him. Almost everyone knows about this “hero” who set out to conquer and Hellenize the entire world. * Do you have an opinion about him? You can find mine at the link supplied below.

• Alexander the Great: God-King or Mere Mortal?

If you don’t have any thoughts regarding the actual historical person, care to share what you thought about the 2004 movie which starred Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer. Here’s a link to a review by Rebecca Murray, writer for About.com.

• "Alexander" Movie Review: Oliver Stone's Long Anticipated Alexander the Great Epic - movies.about.com

Her opinion as expressed in the article, summarily stated? She gave it a Grade C+. Which means: Eh! She didn’t think it was all that! Me? I thought it sucked! Bad plot. Bad acting. But that’s just me.

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#1 Best Seller in Historical Greece Biographies

Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman

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Ancient History: People and Places: Did Alexander the Great Think He Was Great?

Alexander the Great, a historical figure that many people like to write or talk about.  Name written in history or not, every human being is just an A-O-P (“another ordinary person.”) Most ordinary people and extraordinary people usually want the same thing. To be happy.  

Do you wonder sometimes if Alexander thought he great?

Here is what you see when you look up close at this son of a king.

• He was a teenager when he started out on the path wherein he was determined to become a memorable military and political leader, whom generals even to this day study to improve their leadership skills and abilities.

Eh! Not really. His dad didn’t like him and wanted to get him out of his face, so he sent him away to fight! No matter who you are, if one or both of your parents don’t like you, that messes with your head!

• He was dead by the time he reached his early 30s.

There are different stories about his death, but if you ask me, I say his mind and body just burned out!

When you look at him up close, you may be moved to think, ‘How awful!!’

There are different stories about how he died, but how he lived wasn’t really all that great either!

By contrast to my own life.

• At age 16, I was just figuring out who I was and what I wanted to be. 1972 marked the year I graduated from high school and my first year at the University of Miami. Also, my beloved father passed away. He was taken away from me, but he never sent me away from him.

• By the time I was in my 30s, I had been happily married to the man of my dreams, with kids, for about a decade. Seems to me like Alexander the Great had a sad life and didn’t do much living at all! After 15 years of nothing but fighting and killing, maybe he was thinking: ‘This is my life? What’s so great about it?’
  

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Related or Similar Articles:
The Seven Kings of Rome
Alexander the Great: God-King or Mere Mortal?
Ancient Greek and Roman Statues Shown in Their True Colors

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— CorneliaAmiri (@CorneliaAmiri) August 28, 2019

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2017 Content i republished; also appears at my partner blog. My Blog Stop! and LiteracyBase