Zenobia was a Queen of the Palmyrene Empire, in what is now Syria, during the third century A.D. She was able to seize power and rule as Empress upon the death of her husband, Septimius Odaenathus.
Zenobia conquered Egypt in 269, and had the Roman prefect of Egypt beheaded after he attempted to retake the country. For five years she ruled this expanded Palymrene Empire, until she was defeated in turn and taken captive by the Roman General Aurelian.
Carried back to Rome in bondage, Zenobia so impressed her captors that they freed her. This remarkable woman made a new life for herself in Rome, where she became a prominent socialite and matron.
The famously beautiful samurai warrior Tomoe fought in Japan's Genpei War (1180-1185). She was known throughout Japan for her skills with the sword and the bow. Her wild horse-breaking skills were also legendary.
The lady samurai fought for Yoshinaka in the Genpei War, playing a pivotal role in the capture of Kyoto city. However, Yoshinaka's force soon fell to that of his cousin and rival, Yoshimori. It's unknown what happened to Tomoe after Yoshimori took Kyoto.
One story has it that she was captured, and ended up marrying Yoshimori. According to this version, after the war-lord's death many years later, Tomoe became a nun.
A more romantic story says that she fled the field of battle clutching an enemy's head, and was never seen again.
During Korea's Three Kingdoms period (57 - 668 CE), Queen Seondeok ruled the Kingdom of Silla. Her rise to power in 632 marked the first time ever that a female monarch ruled in her own name in Korean history - but she would not be the last.
Although Queen Seondeok led her kingdom in a war-torn and violent era, she was able to hold the country together and advance Silla culture. Her success paved the way for future ruling queens of Silla.
As the oldest child of a queen, and a young woman of great intellectual power, Princess Deokman was selected to be her father's successor. In Silla culture, family descent was traced through both the matrilineal and patrilineal sides in the system of bone ranks, giving high-born women more authority than in other cultures of the time.
As such, it was not unknown for women to rule over the Silla Kingdom. Previously, however, queens had ruled only as regents for their sons or as queens dowager - never in their own names. When King Jinpyeong died in 632, the 26-year-old Princess Deokman became the first ever outright female monarch, Queen Seondeok.
Queen Vishpala's name and deeds come down to us via the Rigveda, an ancient Indian religious text. Vishpala was probably an actual historical figure, but that is difficult to prove 9,000 years later.
According to the Rigveda, Vishpala was an ally of the Ashvins, the twin horsemen-gods. The legend states that the queen lost her leg during a battle, and was given a prosthetic leg of iron so that she could return to the fight. Incidentally, this is the first known mention of someone being outfitted with a prosthetic limb, as well.
Sammuramat was a legendary queen of Assyria, famed for her tactical military skills, nerve, and cunning.
Her first husband, a royal advisor named Menos, sent for her in the midst of a battle one day. Upon arrival at the battle-field, Sammuramat won the fight by directing a flanking attack against the enemy. The king, Ninus, was so impressed that he stole her from her husband, who committed suicide.
Queen Sammuramat asked for permission to rule the kingdom for just one day. Ninus foolishly agreed, and Sammuramat was crowned. She immediately had him executed, and ruled on her own for another 42 years. During that time, she expanded the Assyrian Empire vastly through military conquest.
Some legends have Semiramis raised by doves in the desert, born the daughter of the goddess Atargatis. Her first husband was said to have been the governor of Nineveh, Menones or Omnes. King Ninus of Babylon became captivated by the beauty of Semiramis, and after her first husband conveniently committed suicide, he married her.
That may have been the first of his two biggest mistakes in judgment. The second came when Semiramis, now Queen of Babylon, convinced Ninus to make her "Regent for a Day." He did so - and on that day, she had him executed, and she took the throne.
S
cholarly debate has raged for centuries about the existence of Hua Mulan; the only source of her story is a poem, famous in China, called "The Ballad of Mulan."
According to the poem, Mulan's elderly father was called up to serve in the Imperial Army (during the Sui Dynasty). The father was too sick to report for duty, so Mulan dressed up as a man and went instead.
She showed such exceptional bravery in battle that the emperor himself offered her a government post when her army service was finished. A country girl at heart, though, Mulan turned down the job offer to rejoin her family.
The poem ends with some of her former comrades-at-arms coming to her home to visit, and finding out to their surprise that their "war buddy" is a woman.
From the third century A.D. to the seventh, disorder and crime increased. There was a northern, an eastern, and a western kingdom, and there were attacks by the Huns. One emperor favored Buddhism; another banished or slew its priests and destroyed their books. In the very death chamber of an emperor one of his sons struck down another that he might gain the kingdom for himself. Extravagance was carried so far as to become wickedness. One ruler built himself a magnificent palace, large enough to shelter ten thousand attendants. His bodyguard was a regiment of superbly dressed women mounted on horseback. On his amusements money was spent like water. Wherever he went, he found bodies of his subjects hanging from the trees, for they had chosen suicide rather than death by starvation; but this was nothing to him. One emperor used to run through the streets with a drawn sword, slaying everyone that was so unfortunate as to come in his way. Another saw the enemy coming, and instead of defending his city, he occupied himself in burning the royal library, saying that all his studying of books was of no avail when the time of his need had come, and now they should be destroyed. Freaks and vagaries ruled the land. Now and then an emperor arose who loved his people and punished whoever oppressed them. One such sovereign was poisoned by his own mother. From this time of warfare come many stories of brave deeds. In these times of constant fighting, it happened more than once that a woman held a fort against an invading enemy. Such a warrior was Mulan.
source:
http://asianhistory.about.com
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