Ruler Archives - Page 24 of 25

Lý Chiêu Hoàng

Lý Chiêu Hoàng was the ninth and last sovereign of the Lý dynasty from 1224 to 1225 and the only empress regnant in the history of Vietnam. Because she was only 6 when she succeeded to the throne, Lý Chiêu Hoàng ruled under the complete nfluence of Commander of Royal Guard Trần Thủ Độ and other members of the Trần clan. She was forced to marry another child when she was only 7, and her title diminished to Empress consort when her new husband, Trần Cảnh, was crowned. She was later further downgraded to “princess” when her husband stole another man’s pregnant wife and named her empress.

Queen Labotsibeni Mdluli

Nicknamed Gwamile for her strength of character, Labotsibeni was Swaziland’s queen mother from 1894 to 1899 and then regent from 1899 to 1921. Growing up in the royal court under the tutelage of Queen Mother Thandile, she married King Mbandzeni in 1874. Noted for being a remarkably intelligent, articulate, and astute spokesperson for the Swazi nation, she opposed domination of the kingdom by outside forces.
For most of the three-year South African War, Labotsibeni was, with the support of a co-regent and her council, the last independent ruler in Africa south of the Zambezi. During this time she adopted the habitual stance of a Swazi monarch and sought to preserve Swaziland as a neutral region and maintained a diplomatic relationship with the South African Republic. She largely succeeded in keeping Swaziland out of the war. Ever pragmatic, Labotsibeni encouraged her people to accept Western education as the path to financial success, seeing it as the source of much of the power held by white people.

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was the queen consort of Spain from 1829 to 1833 and regent of the kingdom on behalf of her daughter Isabella from 1833 to 1840. During the regency, she successfully fended off multiple attempts to steal her daughter’s birthright and place her dead husband’s brother, Carlos, on the throne.

Tin Hinan

Tin Hinan was the first queen of the Tuareg, a group of Berber clans of obscure origin. Legend states that she led them into the Sahara around 400AD. The Tuareg would later dominate lucrative trade routes across the desert in medieval times.

Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo

Lozikeyi was a senior queen of the Ndebele nation until 1893. She was known for being outspoken, and for her defiance of the white settlers – who described her as a “dangerous and intriguing woman” – in what would become Rhodesia. When her husband disappeared in 1893, she served for a time as de facto regent of the kingdom. She is credited with keeping the nation stable following not only her husband’s disappearance, but also their 1893 Matebele war with The British South Africa Company.
In 1896, along with her twin brother, Queen Lozikeyi led the resistance against colonial rule and land theft. Referred to as Imfazo or The War of the Red Axe (Impi Yehlok’elibomvu), this was the catalyst to what is commonly known as the First Chimurenga war. Queen Lozikeyi had wisely stored ammunition that had not been used by King Lobengula; the Imbizo regiment were able to use this ammunition against the Cecil Rhodes’ forces. The predominantly Ndebele Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) referred to her as the Foremother of ZIPRA; in a show of honour and for good fortune, ZIPRA forces buried two bullets at her grave years after her death.
By the end of that year, British forces and the Ndebele army had reached a stalemate. Queen Lozikeyi led peace negotiations in the Matobo mountains, resulting in amnesty and a ceasefire, though the Ndebele people had already lost their best land and control.
She remained defiant until her death in 1919 after she succumbed to influenza.
Author Yvonne Vera once referred to her as a “conspicuous and commanding figure. A big, bold and beautiful woman of ample proportions and clearly the leading spirit among the Ndebele queens. With quick intelligence and ready wit, she was also remarkable among Ndebele women.”
Near Nkosikazi in Bubi District is a school for which she campaigned and which she opened; it still serves students. She was the subject of a 2013 biography, Lozikeyi Dlodlo, Queen of the Ndebele by Marieke Faber Clarke and Pathisa Nyathi.

Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia

Sophia Alekseyevna ruled Russia with a firm hand from 1682 to 1689, as regent for her brother Ivan V and half-brother Peter I. The actions of this “bogatyr-tsarevna” was particularly extraordinary, given that upper-class Muscovite women of the time were confined to the upper-floor terem, and veiled and guarded in public, and were kept from any open involvement in politics.
In 1682, rebels attempted to stage an uprising, hoping to depose Sophia and to make her former ally, Prince Ivan Khovansky, the new regent. Gathering the gentry militia, Sophia suppressed the so-called Khovanshchina. Silencing the dissatisfied parties until Peter (later called Peter the Great) reached his majority, Sophia executed Khovansky and the other figureheads of the failed rebellion. This rebellion ingrained a distrust in nobility that later came to define Peter’s leadership.
During her regency, Sophia loosened detention policies towards runaway peasants, which caused discontent among the nobles. She also made an effort to further organization of the military. Intrigued by baroque style architecture, Sophia was responsible for promoting the foreign district, and creating the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy, the first Russian higher learning institution. Foregin policy highlights include the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 with Poland, the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk with China, and the Crimean campaigns against Turkey. Sophia’s reign oversaw two of the earliest diplomatic treaties and underwent internal growth and progress. Peter later banished her to a life of seclusion in a convent, where she lived until her death.

Nawab Sikander Begum

Her Highness Nawab Sikander Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI ruled as the the Nawab of Bhopal from 1860 until her death in 1868. Initially appointed regent on behalf of her 9-year old daughter Shah Jahan Begum in 1844, she was recognized as nawab in 1860. She was made a Knight Grand Commander for her pro-British stance during the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny. In 1863, she became the first Indian ruler to perform the Muslim pilgrimage of Hajj. Sikandar enacted many reforms in the state, including creating a mint, an administrative secretariat, a parliament and a modern judiciary.

Shahjahan Begum

Shah Jahan Begum GCSI CI was the Begum (ruler) of the princely state of Bhopal in central India for two periods: 1844–60 (with her mother acting as regent), and during 1868–1901. During her reign the first postage stamps of the Bhopal state were issued, in 1876 and 1878. She also published The Taj-ul Ikbal Tarikh Bhopal, Or, The History of Bhopal.

Queen Isabella II of Spain

Queen of Spain from 1833 until 1868.

Genmei

Empress Genmei (元明天皇, Genmei-tennō, April 20, 660 – December 29, 721), also known as Empress Genmyō, was the monarch of Japan from 707 through 715 CE.
Genmei was the fourth of eight women in Japan’s history to take on the role of empress regnant (see: Suiko, Kōgyoku/Saimei, Jitō, Genshō, Kōken/Shōtoku, Meishō, and Go-Sakuramachi).