Ruler Archives - Page 23 of 25

Binao

Binao was a queen of the Bemihisatra group of the Sakalava people of Madagascar from 1881 to 1927. She controlled a relatively small territory on Madagascar’s northwestern coast, consisting of the island of Nosy Be and a stretch of the mainland coast. In the early years of her reign, she faced threats from the ambitions of the mainland’s dominant power, the Merina Kingdom.
Binao allied with France when it intefered in Malagasy politics during the first Franco-Hova War (1883–85), but when the ear ended with France taking de facto control of Madagascar’s foreign policy, Binao was to be disappointed by the French recognising the Merina as the dominant native power on the island.
In 1894–95 France took complete control of the island and established the Malagasy Protectorate, exiling the Merina monarch, Ranavalona III. Binao supported the French and opposed the Menalamba rebellion against the European power two years later. She was confirmed by the French as gouverneur principal of Nosy Be, which had effectively been converted into an internal protectorate within colonial Madagascar under the French politique des races.
Relations with the French deteriorated dramatically in 1918 when a major dispute arose over levying corvée labour under the traditional practice of fanompoana, in which Sakalava subjects paid their respects to their deceased ancestors and reconfirmed their loyalty to the monarch. Binao had been required to obtain French permission for maintenance on the royal tombs but had sought to evade this by sending a request timed to reach colonial authorities after the work had already begun. The plan failed and led to reprisals against subjects who participated in the fanompoana and against Binao herself, who was evicted from her doany (royal palace) and made to pass it on to her half-brother Amada. She was forced to live instead in the town of Hellville (now Andoany), a humiliating blow against the monarchy.

Queen Tiye

Queen Tiye was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III, the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. Amenhotep III reputedly relied heavily on his wife’s political advice, being more interested in sports and the outdoors than in his royal duties. She was an important power during both her husband’s and son’s reigns. Known to be wise, intelligent, strong, and fierce, she was able to gain the respect of foreign dignitaries, and foreign leaders were willing to deal directly with her. She was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts.
During her son’s reign, Akhenaten’s correspondence speaks highly of the political influence she wielded at court, and she continued to correspond with people of influence herself.
Between Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, who may have had an incestuous relationship with his mother, many shrines were built for Tiye, most of them during her lifetime. She is shown on the walls of the tomb of Huya – a “steward in the house of the king’s mother, the great royal wife Tiyi” – depicted at a dinner table with Akhenaten, his wifeNefertiti, and their family and then being escorted by the king to her sunshade. In 2010, DNA analysis confirmed her to be the mummy known as “The Elder Lady” found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) in 1898.

Teriitaria II

Teriitaria II became Queen of Tahiti when she and her sister Teremoemoe married their second cousin King Pōmare II and later, she ruled as Queen of Huahine and Maiao in the Society Islands.
In 1815, Teriitaria became the Queen of Huahine and Maiao. The previous ruler, Mahine, had fought alongside her at the Battle of Te Feipī, and formally presented the government of the islands to her while he remained the resident chief until his death in 1838. She ruled as a largely absentee monarch while residing on Tahiti for the first few decades of her reign. Teriitaria had no children with Pōmare II, but Pōmare fathered the next two Tahitian monarchs, King Pōmare III (r. 1821–1827) and Queen Pōmare IV (r. 1827–1877), by Teremoemoe. Pōmare II died in 1821, and Teriitaria and Teremoemoe served as regents for Pōmare III and (after his death in 1827) for Pōmare IV.
Teriitaria was removed from the regency in 1828, but continued to have a significant role in Tahiti, including leading Tahitian forces in the Taiarapu rebellion of 1832. She joined her niece, Pōmare IV, in exile on Raiatea during the Franco-Tahitian War (1844–1847). During that time, she repelled a French invasion force at the 1846 Battle of Maeva, which secured the independence of the Leeward Islands.

Zenobia

Zenobia was a 3rd-century Syrian queen who led a revolt against the Roman Empire.

Yaa Asantewaa

As Queen Mother of Ejisu, Yaa Asantewaa led the Asante in a war against British colonization between 1900 and 1901, known as the War of the Golden Stool or the Yaa Asantewaa War.

Taytu Betul

Empress Taytu Betul ruled the Ethiopian Empire from 1889 to 1913, and she founded Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa. Even before she was named empress, she wielded significant political power, leading the conservative faction at court, which resisted the modernists and progressives who wanted to develop Ethiopia along western lines and bring modernity to the country. Her opinon was highly valued by her husband, the often hesitant Emperor Menelik II, and she was a key player in encouraging her countrymen to stand up tp the Italians, of whom she was rightfully suspicious and who wanted to make the kingdom and Italian protectorate. When the Italians invaded, the empress marched north with the Emperor and the Imperial Army, personally commanding a force of cannoneers at the historic Battle of Adwa. The battle resulted in a humiliating defeat for Italy in March 1896, which was the most significant of any African army battling European colonialism.
When her husband’s health began to decline around 1906, Taytu began making decisions on his behalf, angering her rivals by appointing favorites and relatives to most of the positions of power and influence. Due to political maneuvering, she was forced from power in 1910, and a regency under Ras Tessema Nadew took over. After her husband’s death in 1913, Taytu was banished to the old Palace at Entoto, next to the St. Mary’s church she had founded years before, and where her husband had been crowned Emperor.
Many believe Taytu may have played a part in the plot that eventually removed Emperor Iyasu V (Menelik’s grandson from a previous marriage) from the throne in 1916, replacing him with Empress Zauditu. Zauditu, Menelik II’s daughter by yet another previous marriage, had always been close to her stepmother and invited Taytu to live with her. Although Taytu declined, she resumed her role as a political advisor.

Æthelflæd

Æthelflæd was an Anglo-Saxon warrior queen in 9th and 10th century England, who fought to protect her land from Viking invasion.
The princess of Wessex she was married to Æthelred circa 886 to create an alliance between Wessex and the kingdom of Mercia. On the way to the wedding, she personally fought off a Viking attack, which may have been an assassination attempt to prevent the marriage. She effectively ruled Mercia almost from the beginning of her marriage, particularly after Æthelred began to suffer a wasting illness in 902 and, with her brother Edward the Elder, played a key role in routing the Danes from eastern England. After her husband died in 911, she received the title “Lady of the Mercians.” A brilliant military strategist, she led her forces in repelling a Viking attack on the port of Chester in 905, and in 907 she took an army deep into Danish East Anglia to retrieve the bones of a Christian saint. In 917 she went to war against the Vikings at Derby and against Welsh kings who had been opening their borders to Viking forces. This tactical move le dto alliances with some Welsh rulers. A cunning politician, she cultivated ties with the king of Alba (modern-day Scotland) and even with disaffected Viking lords. She also captured Derby and Leicester and remained in the thick of fight against the Danes until her death in 918, just days before the Vikings surrendered to her at York and accepted her as their overlord. Her decades of work resulted in a combined kingdom of Mercia and Wessex that lay the foundation for a united nation of England.

Begum Samru

Joanna Nobilis Sombre began her career as a Nautch (dancing) girl in 1700s India, and eventually became the ruler of Sardhana, a small principality near Meerut.

Agrippina the Younger

Julia Agrippina was a powerful Roman empress and one of the most prominent and effective women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Ancient sources describe Agrippina as ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering, as well as beautiful.
She was a major figure in succession intrigues and served as a behind-the-scenes advisor in affairs of state, as the sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, and ally of statesmen Seneca the Younger and Sextus Afranius Burrus. She maneuvered Nero, her son by a previous marriage, into the line of succession. Her husband Claudius became aware of her plotting, but died in 54 (possibly poisoned by Agrippina, as she was accused by ancient historians), and Nero took the throne. Agrippina exerted a commanding influence in the early years of his reign, but in 59 he had her killed, ending skillful machinations and her political influence once and for all.

Shima

Known as a just and wise ruler, Shima was the queen regnant of the 7th-century kingdom of Kalingga on the northern coast of Central Java circa 674 CE.
Reported to be strict in the area of law and order, she introduced a law against stealing to encourage her people to be honest. The harsh punishment for stealing was to lose one of both of their hands. No one was exempt from the laws, including members of the court. According to tradition, a foreign king placed a bag full of gold on a busy intersection in Kalingga to test the famed truthfulness and honesty of Kalingga people. No one dared to touch a bag that did not belong to them, until three years later Shima’s son, the crown prince accidentally touched the bag with his feet. The queen reportedly issued a death sentence to her own son, but was convinced to change her mind by a minister that appealed to the queen to spare the prince’s life. Instead, he argued that because it was prince’s foot that touched the bag of gold, it was the foot that must be punished through mutilation, resulting in his toes being cut off. Though strict, Shima was also reportedly beloved by her people, from the court to the commoners. Under her rule, her people also had extensive trade and sharing of knowledge with those from other lands. She also reportedly developed subak, the water management (irrigation) system for paddy fields on Bali island.