A (non-exhaustive) list of historical women who commanded military forces
Ahhotep I, Queen of Egypt’s 17th dynasty has her name written in stones 3700 years old claiming she pulled Egypt together as a nation and collected its armies, unified the people and quelled rebellions.
Ahhotep II, likewise a Queen in the 17th dynasty, was buried with medals commemorating her for military valour and rank.
Pharaoh Hatsheput is the longest ruling female Pharaoh and her legacy survived attempts to destroy it by jealous contemporaries and pharaohs after her. She led military campaigns against Canaan and Nubia. Despite this, Hatsheput’s reputation came from her eagerness to grow Egypt economically, focusing more on trade than conquest, and as a result, Kemetian culture prospered.
In 13th Century BC, Shang Dynasty China, Lady Fu Hao leads 3,000 men into battle against tribes surrounding her Empire’s territory. Over time, she mobilised as many as 13,000 men to fight below her, raising through the ranks of slave society to become Queen of China.
The Vedic period of India was home to Vishpala, a woman written about in the Rigveda as being a warrior who lost her leg in battle, was fitted with an iron prosthetic, and returned to continue fighting. (It’s worth pointing out that some translations of this section of the Rigveda [RV.112, 116-8] claim that Vishpala was in fact, a horse, but this is contested)
11th Century BC, modern day Kazakhstan, a woman was buried with weaponry and possessions indicating she was both a warrior and a VIP, a Warrior Princess, if you will. She is believed to have been the leader of a group of nomads who wandered the area.
Between 811 and 808BCE, Shammuramat was the first female Emperor of Assyria to rule without a man by her side. She is considered to be the inspiration for the legendary Warrior Queen Semiramis
Zabibi and Samsi, both Arabian warrior queens, rebelled against Tiglath Pileser III in 732 BC, the then king of Assyria.
Lady Xu Mu was the first recorded poet in Chinese history, and is considered the saviour of state of Wei, having made it her life goal to save the relatively weak province from foreign aggression. She famously returned to Wei in a chariot after it was invaded by the forces of the province of Di, soliciting military aid from the provinces she travelled through on her way.
Artemisia I of Caria is historically distinguished as leading the Persians to victory in the Naval Battle of Salamis, 480BCE.
Cynane was the daughter of the Macedonian King Phillip II, and was the half-sister of Alexander the Great. She beat an Illyrian leader named Caeria in hand to hand combat and defeated his armies.
Boudica was the celtic Queen of the Iceni tribe who rebelled against Roman rule after the death of her husband, Prasutagus. The Romans went back on a deal they had made with her husband to ensure her lands remained hers after his death. She marched on Roman armies and united the Celtic tribes, forcing the imperial army to flee to Gaul, for a time.
In 1803, Lorenza Avemanay, an indigenous Ecuadorian, led a revolt against Spanish occupation in Guamote.
In 1813, Juana Ramirez commanded a 100 strong, entirely-female artillery unit in the Venezuelan War of Independence. In 2015, she was posthumously honoured in Venezuela’s National Mausoleum.
Begum Hazrat Mahal was an Indian freedom fighter who fought against British occupation in the great rebellion of 1857, leading a band of supporters.
Anne-Josèphe Théroigne de Méricourt was the leader of the march against the Bastille during the French Revolution.
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