Chronologic history of
female warriors, military commanders and duelists

The second-century relief from Halicarnassus carving two female gladiators
British museum

Ancient (pre-Christian) Era
(the 16th BC – 3st Century AD)

Русская версия

Circa 18 Century BC: Eurypyle, legendary leader of an all-female expedition against Ninus and Babylonia, captures the capital of the Amorites.

Circa 1540-1530 BC: Ahhotep I (Ahhotpe or Aahhotep, meaning "Peace of the Moon"), was an Ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560-1530 BC, during the early New Kingdom. A member of the Seventeenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, she was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri (known as Teti the Small) and Tao I. She was a highly decorated warrior. She is considered to have been a pivotal figure in the founding of the eighteenth Pharaoh dynasty. Considered a warrior queen, she was buried with, among other things, three flies of honor medals (awarded in ancient Egypt for exceptional military service) and ceremonial daggers. She also was presented with the Order of Valour. She was honored with a stela, commissioned by Ahmose I, in the temple of Amun-Re that praises her military accomplishments. Records indicate that Ahhotep led troops into battle against the Hyksos. Evidence such as the weaponry and jewelry found in her tomb, along with the following sentence on a stela devoted to her, indicates that she was a warrior queen who rallied troops.

Circa 14th Century BC: The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people. The Hittite empire reached its height in the 14th century BC. Pharaoh Ramses II often referred to the Hittites as “humty”, which translated from ancient Egyptian meant "women-soldiers", A notable characteristic of the Hittite state is the prominent part played by women, especially the queen. There was a caste of "magic-women" who had enormous power in the early era of the Hittite empire: they were the guardians of the symbols of kingship. Could these formidable women be part of the inspiration for the matriarchal Amazons? Many historian associated Amazons with the Hittite culture: the homeland the Amazons is practically the same as country of Hittites - the most archaic Indo-European people. Furthermore, Hittites was overwhelmed by so-called 'peoples of sea' surely identified with Achaeans, and the Cappadocian Amazons were defeated by heroes of Greek mythology — the same Achaeans. Also time of existence of Hittite empire practically corresponds well to the probable time of existence of mythological Amazons. Hittite fortresses dating from 1300 BC depict women warriors with axes and swords.

1209-1169 BC: Deborah is a unique character in the Bible. She is the only woman to be a Judge of Israel. She was a prophetess and Judge of Israel, the equivalent of king. Her commander Barak demanded Deborah to accompany him in military campaigns. This general is given a prophecy that his army will win but won’t go to battle without Deborah because Barak had incredible faith in Deborah, if not in God, and that Deborah was a courageous and faithful woman.

Circa 1200 BC: Fu Hao (died c.1200 BC), posthumously Mu Xin, was one of the many wives of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty and, unusually for that time, also served as a military general and high priestess.: Lady Fu Hao was a consort of the Chinese emperor Wu Ding. Fu Hao had entered the royal household by marriage and took advantage of the semi-matriarchal slave society to rise through the ranks. According to the inscriptions on Shang Dynasty oracle bone artifacts, she led numerous military campaigns. In a single decisive battle, Fu Hao defeated the old Shang's enemy, Tu which had fought against the Shang for generations. Further campaigns against the neighboring Yi, Qiang, and Ba followed, the latter is particularly remembered as the earliest recorded large scale ambush in Chinese history. She was the most powerful military leader of her time.

Circa 1200 BC: Yael (or Jael) was the wife of Heber the Kenite. She helped the Israel Judge Debora to defeat her enemy. She is mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. While accompanying her commander Barak into the battle against the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, Deborah decided to kill the enemy army's commander Sisera. Deborah prophesied that the honor of the killing would be given to a woman. Yael received the fleeing Sisera at the settlement of Heber on the plain of Zaanaim. Yael welcomed him into her tent with apparent hospitality. She 'gave him milk' 'in a lordly dish'. Having drunk the refreshing beverage, he lay down and soon sank into the sleep of the weary. While he lay asleep Yael crept stealthily up to him, holding a tent peg and a mallet. She drove it through his temples with such force that it entered into the ground below. And 'at her feet he bowed, he fell; where he bowed, there he fell down dead'. As a result of the murder of Sisera, God gave the victory to Israel. The praise given to 'blessed' Yael in the Bible, is given for her action.

Circa 1200-1000 BC: Vishpala, a legendary Queen mentioned in the Rigveda (an ancient Indian religious text). Vishpala, helped in battle by the Ashvins. As she lost her leg "in the time of night, in Khela's battle", they gave her a "leg of iron" so that she could keep fighting. Incidentally, this is the first known mention of someone being outfitted with a prosthetic limb.

Circa 11th – 8th Century: A bronze age cuirass for a woman dated between the 11th and 8th century BC was found at Haute Marne in the Netherlands. Cuirass is a breast protecting plate armor, formed of a single piece of metal or other rigid material or composed of two or more pieces, which covers the front of the wearer's person. Due to the specific female breast shape, cuirasses for women had correspondingly distinctive shape, sometimes consisting of two parts similar to contemporary bras. For an ancient female warrior, breast protecting armor was especially important. This finding shows that women in ancient times seriously participated in warfare.

1000s BC: Queen Gwendolen, a legendary ruler of Britain, She was the wife of King Locrinus of the Britons until she defeated him in battle and took on the leadership of Britain herself. Her husband Locrinus was in love with Estrildis, the daughter of the king of Germany whom he rescued from Humber the Hun. Locrinus left Gwendolen and married Estrildis. Gwendolen fled to Cornwall and built up an army. She met Locrinus in battle and defeated him. Gwendolen took the throne and ordered the murder of Estrildis and her daughter. .

Circa 814 BC: Princess Elissa ("Queen Dido"), legendary Phoenician founder of Carthage Phoenician colonists led by Queen Dido (Elissa) founded Carthage in 814 BC. Queen Elissa (also known as "Alissar), was an exiled princess of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. Before exiled she was a naval commander and pirate. At its peak, the metropolis she founded, Carthage, came to be called the "shining city," ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean and leading the Phoenician (or Punic) world.

9th Century BC: Sammuramat, Assyrian Queen. She is the subject of many myths about her reign as both the wife and mother of kings. She apparently accompanied her husband into battle, greatly expanded Babylonia's control over far-flung territories, irrigated the flatlands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and restored the fading beauty of her capital, Babylon

738-733 BC: Zabibe (Zabibi, Zabiba, Zabibah) was a queen of Qedar who ruled between 738 and 733 BC. A vassal of the Assyrian empire, she commanded armies containing large numbers of women. She had a long string of victories during her 5 year reign and was succeeded by another woman leader, Samsi who reigned another 5 years. The title accorded her is queen of both the Qidri ("Qedarites") and the "Aribi" ("Arabs").

733-728 BC: Samsi (also Shamsi) was an Arab queen who reigned in the 8th century BCE. As an ally of Rakhianu of Damascus, she fought the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. After her forces were defeated, she fled the battlefield. Later, she went to Assyria to pay tribute to the king and was permitted to reign, under official Assyrian supervision. Samsi's predecessor was Zabibe, and her successor Yatie.

Circa 8th Century – 2st Century BC: Scythians or Scyths were an Ancient people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. By Late Antiquity (after BC), the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in this area. Scythian burial mounds (kurgans) in Ukraine and Southern Russia were found during archeological excavations. Female burials were found with weapons designed for women, including swords, daggers, gorytos (arrow cases), battleaxes, whetstones, as well as richly ornamented belts (which the weapons fastened to). Scythian female warriors were buried as male warriors. Men and warrior women wore tunics. Perhaps, the Scythian society had features of Matriarchate; as in many nomadic tribes, Scythian women were trained for war in order to be able to protect their homes and families while their men took the field. Ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote that Scythian "women train for war just like men and they are equal to men in masculine courage".

700s BC: Queen Cordelia was a legendary Queen of the Britons, military leader and warrior. She was the youngest daughter of King Leir and the second ruling queen of Britain. She fought in person at numerous battles. Queen Cordelia, on whom the character in Shakespeare's King Lear is based, battled her nephews for control of her kingdom. She was eventually captured and imprisoned by her nephews. In her grief, she committed suicide.

Circa 597 BC: Judith, Jewish national heroine. A widow, who is upset with her Jewish countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, to whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelites. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, and then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved.

544-496 BC: Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military general and strategist, author of the famous manuscript “The Art of War” demonstrated Ho Lu, King of Wu, how to command an army by training an army of 180 women. Then Ho Lu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how to handle an army, and finally appointed him general.

Circa 540-529 BC: Pantea Arteshbod (Immortal General, 559 - 529 BC).was the greatest Persian commander during the reign of Cyrus the Great, the wife of General Aryasb. She was the commander of the elite force of Persian soldiers (“The Immortals”) who formed the elite core of the Persian army in times of war and the royal guard in times of peace in Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Immortals were kept constantly at a strength of exactly 10,000 men, every killed or seriously wounded member was immediately replaced.

529 BC: Tomyris, (Tahm-Rayiš), was a queen who reigned over the Massagetae, an Iranic people of Central Asia east of the Caspian Sea. Tomyris sent a message to Cyrus, denouncing his treachery and challenging him to an honorable battle. In the fight that ensued, the Persians were defeated again with high casualties. Cyrus was killed and Tomyris had his corpse beheaded, and shoved his head into a wineskin filled with human blood. She allegedly kept his head with her at all times and drank wine from it until her death. Persian and Central Asian folklore maintain a rich store of other tales about Tomyris

522 BC: Leutenant Artunis, Commander of Achaemenid's Persian Army, daughter of Artebaz, Sepahbod (Lieutenant General) of Darius the Great. She was a mighty brave woman. The name “Artunis” means: True and faithful.

510 BC: Telesilla was a Greek poet, native of Argos, and was named one of the nine lyric muses. According to the traditional story, when Cleomenes, king of Sparta, invaded the land of the Argives in 510 BC, and slew all the males capable of bearing arms, Telesilla, dressed in men's clothes, put herself at the head of the women and repelled an attack upon the city of Argos. To commemorate this exploit, a statue of the poet, in the act of putting on a helmet, with books lying at her feet, was set up in the temple of Aphrodite at Argos. The festival Endymatia, in which men and women exchanged clothes, celebrated the heroism of the women.

506 BC: Cloelia is a figure from the early history of the city of Rome. According to Roman tradition, Cloelia was one of the young Roman girls given as hostages to Lars Porsena, King of the Etruscan town of Clusium. Cloelia, however, escaped her captors, swimming across the river Tiber. She also led many of the other Roman girls to safety. Porsena honored her bravery when she returned to the camp.

Circa 6th Century BC: Greek historian Herodotus describes custom of tribes in Lybia: “They celebrate a yearly festival of Athena, where their maidens are separated into two bands and fight each other with stones and sticks, thus, they say, honoring in the way of their ancestors that native goddess whom we call Athena. Maidens who die of their wounds are called false virgins. Before the girls are set fighting, the whole people choose the fairest maid, and arm her with a Corinthian helmet and Greek panoply, to be then mounted on a chariot and drawn all along the lake shore.

Circa 496-465 BC: The Lady of Yue, also known as the Maiden of the Southern Forest, was a renowned swordswoman who lived in the State of Yue during the reign of King Goujian of Yue. On the counsel of his advisors, Goujian contacted the Maiden of the Southern Forest, who visited him. He was so impressed with her swordsmanship that gave her the title of "Lady of Yue", and appointed her to train his army officers, who in turn, instructed his army.

480 BC: Artemisia I of Caria, Grand Admiral, a naval and military commander and the ruler of the city-state of Halicarnassus and Cos as a client of the Persians – who in the 5th century BC ruled as the overlords of Ionia. Artemisia is best remembered for her participation in the Battle of Salamis on the side of Persian king Xerxes. The only one of his commanders to be female, Artemisia developed her own strategy and persuaded the Persian king Xerxes to coordinate a joint land-sea offensive. Xerxes refused this plan, instead moving to attack the assembled Greek fleet at Salamis. Artemisia participated in the Battle of Salamis in September, 480 BC as a Persian ally commanding five ships. At one point in the battle, with an Athenian ship captained by Aminias on the point of capturing her trireme, Artemisia managed to escape in an unusual way. By design or accident, she turned and bore down on a ship from her own side, a Calyndian (Persian ally) vessel, and ramming it amidships sank it with all hands. The Athenian ship then left her alone, presuming she must be fighting on the Greek side. Xerxes watching from a distant hill-side assumed the Calyndian ship to be one of the enemies and was full of praise for Artemisia's bravery. Apparently none of the Calyndians survived to tell the real story. She escaped back to the Persians, where, according to Herodotus, Xerxes declared "My men have turned into women and my women into men!" Artemisia convinced Xerxes to retreat back to Asia Minor after the defeat at Salamis. Xerxes then sent her to Ephesus to take care of his sons. In return, Artemisia's lands did well by their alliance with the Persians.

Circa 460 BC: The Greek historian Herodotus describes the practices and culture of some female warriors he called the Amazons, a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia (modern territory of Ukraine). Other historiographers place them in Asia Minor or Libya. Notable queens of the Amazons was Penthesilea, who participated in the Trojan War, and her sister Hippolyta, whose magical girdle was the object of one of the labours of Hercules. Amazonian raiders were often depicted in battle with Greek warriors in amazonomachies in classical art. The Amazons become associated with various historical peoples – from Sarmatians throughout the Roman Empire period and Late Antiquity. In Roman historiography, there are various accounts of Amazon raids in Asia Minor. From the Early Modern period, their name has become a term for woman warriors in general.

423 BC: Pari Satis was Arteshbod (General) of the Achaemenid's Imperial Army, wife of The Persian Emperor Darius II. The name “Pari” means: Angel-like.

Circa 5th Century – 1st Century BC: The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (in old Iranian - archers) were a people of Ancient Iranian origin. They migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around fifth century BC and eventually settled in most of southern European Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the eastern Balkans mixing with Scyths and other ancient inhabitants. Some historians associate Sarmatians with Amazons. According to Herodotus, some Amazons were captured in battle by Greeks in Pontus and the captives were loaded into three boats. They overcame their captors and their ships were blown north to the Maeotian Lake (the Sea of Azov) onto the shore of Scythia near the cliff region (today's southeastern Crimea). After encountering the Scythians and learning the Scythian language, they agreed to marry Scythian men, but only on the condition that they move away and not be required to follow the customs of Scythian women. Sarmatian women had unusual freedom, including participation in warfare, as an inheritance from their supposed Amazon ancestors. During archeological excavations in the steppes at the modern Kazakhstan-Russia border, it was discovered that Sarmatian women were buried with weapons as well as jewelry. Some of buried women were armed priestess, so-called warrior priestess. Significant number of weapons and combination of warrior and priestess artifacts were found in female burials during the archeological excavations, including swords, daggers, arrowheads and quivers. Scientists estimated that approximately 7% of female population turned out to be warriors and 3% - warrior priestesses.

Early 4th century BC: Pythagorean philosopher, Timycha, was captured by Sicilian soldiers during a battle. She and her husband were the only survivors. She is admired for her defiance after capture, because while being questioned by the Sicilian tyrant, she bit off her tongue and spat it at his feet.

381BC: Sissy Cambis (“Fortunate “) was the Queen of Persia and the Mother of Darius III. She was a remarkable Achaemenid noble woman who fought, resisted and did not surrender to Alexander the Macedonian Tyrant. Alexander was very much found of her and had a crush on her according to the Greek Historians! The name “Sissy” means: Fortunate.

353-350 BC: Queen Artemisia II of Caria, Rodhos and Harlikarnassos. Also Satrap of Asia Minor or Vice-Reine of the Persian King. Ca. 377-53 she had been co-ruler with her husband and brother, King Mausolos of Caria and Rodhos, who died 353. After Mausolos' death in 353, she became ruler in her own right being also a a strong military leader. She constructed the 49 meters high monumental tomb "Mausoleum" at the centre of the city which is a magnificent piece of art in the Hellenistic world and one of the Seven Wonders of the antique era.

340-320 BC: Queen Ada I of Caria. Co-ruler with her brother and husband Idrieus in succession to their sister, Artemissa II. After his death she ruled alone for three years until her younger brother, Pixadarus deposed her. She moved to her fortress Alinda, where she held out for several years. His daughter, Ada II, married a persian nobleman, Orontobates, who became satrap of Caria. Even after the death of Pixodarus, her son-in-law kept her a prisoner in Alinda. Seizing the opportunity afforded by Alexander’s invasion, Ada I opened negotiations with him offering the surrender of all of Caria if she were placed upon her rightful throne. She further offered to adopt him as her son making him at once the legal heir to the throne of Caria by Carian law. Alexander turned inland to face the armies of Orontobates and Memnon who stood ready to defend Halicarnassus. The siege was a short one as Alexander’s army was joined by the Carian forces loyal to their Queen and with Ada at the head of her armies given the honour of taking the acropolis. Though Orontobates and Memnon escaped by sea, Ada sat again on the throne of Halicarnassus and stayed there until her death sometime after the death of Alexander.

Circa 338 BC: Chinese statesman Shang Yang wrote "The Book of Lord Shang", in which he recommended dividing the members of an army into three categories; strong men, strong women, and the weak and old of both sexes. He recommended that the strong men serve as the first line of defense, that the strong women defend the forts and build traps, and that the weak and elderly of both sexes control the supply chain. He also recommended that these three groups not be intermingled, on the basis that doing so would be detrimental to morale.

336 BC: Estatira Sepahbod Princess (Lieutenant General) of the Persian Achaemenid's Army, daughter of Darius the Third. The name “Estatira” means: Creation of the stars.

334 BC: Youtab Aryobarzan was the Commander of Achaemenid's Army, sister of the legendary Persian Hero, Aryobarzan (Achaemenid's General), she stood side by side to her brother and fought the Greeks and Macedonians to death.

Circa 332 BC: Queen Candace of Meroe ruled Nubia. One of the earliest references to the kentakes (Candacs) comes from 332 when Alexander the Great set his sights on the rich kingdom of Nubia. The presiding kentakes, known in history as "Black Queen Candace of Nubia", designed a battle plan to counter Alexander's advance. She placed her armies and waited on a war elephant for the Macedonian conqueror to appear for battle. Alexander approached the field from a low ridge, but when he saw the Black Queen's army displayed in a brilliant military formation before him, he stopped. After studying the array of warriors waiting with such deadly precision and realizing that to challenge the kentakes could quite possibly be fatal, he turned his armies away from Nubia toward a successful campaign in Egypt. A wall painting on a chapel in Meroe depicts her wearing a helmet and spearing her enemies. Some historians propose that Alexander never attacked Nubia and never attempted to move farther south than the oasis of Siwa in Egypt.

326 BC: Cleophis was the reigning war-leader of the Assakenoi or Assacani people (sansktit, Ashvakas - 'horse people') at the time of Alexander’s invasion of the Ind valley (326BC). Ashvakas were a free people (Republican) who lived in parts of Swat and Buner valleys. The Ashvakas opposed the invader with an army of 20,000 cavalry, 38,000 infantry and 30 elephants. Alexander received a serious wound in the fighting at Massaga. Cleophis stood determined to defend her motherland to the last extremity and brought the entire women of the locality into the fighting. Eventually, Cleophis, realizing that her people could not hold out and wanting to do what she could for them, surrendered to the Macedonians trying to settle a treaty with them.

Circa 326-310 BC: Roxana ("Luminous Beauty"), sometimes Roxane or Roxanna (c.342-309BC), was a Bactrian noble and a wife of Alexander the Great. Roxana was the daughter of a Bactrian named Oxyartes of Balkh in Bactria. Alexander professed his love for her in the fortress around 327 BC. Roxana bravely accompanied him on his campaign in India in 326 BC. She bore him a posthumous son called Alexander IV Aegus, after Alexander's sudden death at Babylon. Roxana and her son became victims of the political intrigues of the collapse of the Alexandrian Empire. Roxana murdered Alexander's other widow, Stateira II, and Stateira's sister Drypteis. Roxana and her son were protected by Alexander's mother, Olympias, in Macedon, but after her assassination in 316 BC Roxana’s enemies managed to kill her around 310 BC

Circa 323 BC: Cynane was half-sister to Alexander the Great, and daughter of Philip II by Audata, an Illyrian princess. Audata trained her daughter in riding, hunting, and fighting in the Illyrian tradition. Her father gave her in marriage to her cousin Amyntas, by whose death she was left a widow in 336 BC. Cynane continued unmarried, and employed herself in the education of her daughter, Adea or Eurydice II, whom she is said to have trained, after the manner of her own education, in martial exercises. Polyaenus writes, "Cynane, the daughter of Philip was famous for her military knowledge: she conducted armies, and in the field charged at the head of them. In an engagement with the Illyrians, she with her own hand slew Caeria their queen; and with great slaughter defeated the Illyrian army." Diadochi, the rival successors of Alexander the Great, began wars followed Alexander's death. In the battle with Diadoch Perdicca, Cynane was killed but the circumstances of her death are unknown. Polyaenus writes, "The proud daughter of Philip preferred the honor death in the battle to being an ordinary person without her Queen rank."

Circa 322 BC: Greek writers describe the female bodyguard of a North Indian prince named Chandragupta

Circa 317-275 BC: Queen Berenice I of Egypt (born c.340BC) was first the wife of Philip, an obscure Macedonian nobleman. Upon Philip's death, she came to Egypt as a lady-in-waiting to Eurydice, bride of Ptolemy I, Alexander's general and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Berenice caught the eye of the king. Probably because she was not of royal blood, a genealogy was fabricated to make her a half sister of the king. Berenice I participated in battles alongside Ptolemy I.

Circa 317 BC: Eurydice II of Macedonia, the daughter of Cynane. Her mother trained her in riding, hunting, and fighting as she was trained herself. In a civil war, Eurydice herself assembled an army and took the field in person but the presence of Olympias among their enemies was alone sufficient to decide the contest: the Macedonian troops refused to fight against the mother of Alexander the Great, and went over to her side. Eurydice fled from the field of battle, but was seized and made prisoner. Olympias determined to get rid of her rival, and sent the young queen in her prison a sword, a rope, and a cup of hemlock, with orders to choose her mode of death. The spirit of Eurydice remained unbroken to the last; she put an end to her own life by hanging, without giving way to a tear or word of lamentation.

316 BC: Olympias (C.317-275BC) was a Greek princess of Epirus and mother of Alexander the Great. After Alexander's death she led an army to control Macedon. She was initially successful, defeating and capturing the army of King Philip III, whom she had murdered, but soon her enemy Cassander returned from the Peloponnesus and captured and murdered her in 316, taking Roxana (Alexander's widow) and the boy king into his custody

315 BC-308 BC: Queen Cratesipolis, ruler of several cities in Peloponnesus. She didn't delegate dirty work to others, she liked to be at the military front lines and control battles. On the murder of her husband at Sicyon, in 314 BC, she jumped into bellicosity full time; between 315 and 308 BC, she commanded an army of mercenaries, whipping more cities into submission. She  kept together his forces and when the Sicyonians, hoping for an easy conquest over a woman, rose against the garrison for the purpose of establishing an independent government, she quelled the sedition, and, having crucified thirty of the popular leaders, held the town firmly in subjection for Cassander

4th century BC: Amage, a Sarmatian queen, famous by her physical strength and courage. She attacked a Scythian prince who was making incursions onto her protectorates. She rode to Scythia with 120 warriors, where she killed his guards, his friends, his family, and ultimately, killed the prince in a hand-to-hand sword duel.

Circa 300BC: A woman's grave containing a chariot suitable for use in warfare was discovered in Yorkshire in March 2001

Early 3rd century BC: Huang Guigu acted as a military commander under Qin Shi Huang. Huang Guigu held the official title of 'Lady Sima' (sima is an ancient official post) and had command of three military units. She had "the strength to draw a strong bow", and led campaigns against the peoples of China's northern frontier. Huang Guigu was a dedicated soldier, "studying military texts at night and practising military formations in the day". She was also "skilled at reading the stars." After the Qin Dynasty was succeeded by the Han Dynasty, the founding Emperor of Han honored Lady Huang with an imperial decree rewarding her with 300 catties (40Lbs) of gold and jade.

296 BC: Leontium, an Epicurean philosopher, heroically obtained food for her fellow Epicureans during a siege of Athens by Demetrius the City-Taker. Exposed to danger, she saved them from the fate of many Athenians, who starved to death.

Circa 280-264 BC: Amastris (306-284 BC) was an influential noblewoman in Asia Minor. She was a niece of Persian king Darius III. Amastris governed Heraclea in her own right. She also founded a city called after her own name Amastris  Amastris, wife of Dionysius of Heracluria established her own city state by conquering and uniting 4 settlements. She was drowned by her two sons. She established her own city state by conquering and uniting 4 settlements. She was drowned by her two sons.

280 BC: Chelidonis, a Spartan princess, commanded her woman warriors on the wall of Sparta during a siege. She fought with a rope tied around her neck so that she would not be taken alive.

279 BC: During the Gallic Invasion of Greece a large Gallic force entered Aetolia. Women and the elderly joined in its defense.

272 BC: Spartan princess Arachidamia was one of a number of Spartan princesses who led female troops. She acted as captain of a group of women warriors who fought Pyrrhus during his siege of Lacedaemon. Pyrrhus was killed by a woman.

272 BC: When Pyrrhus of Epirus (the conqueror and source of the term pyrrhic victory) attacked of Sparta, the women of the city assisted in the defense. Pyrrhus died while fighting an urban battle in Argos when an old woman threw a roof tile at him, stunning him and allowing an Argive soldier to kill him.

Circa 250-236 BC: Laodice I was the first wife of Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Empire. He repudiated her and her children, when (as part of a peace treaty with Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt in 250 BC) he agreed to marry Berenice, Ptolemy II's daughter; and declared his eldest son by Berenice his heir. When Ptolemy died in 246 BC, Antiochus took Laodice back but died immediately thereafter. Then Laodice murdered Berenice and her son, which provoked the Third Syrian War (also known as the Laodicean War) between the newly crowned Seleucus and Ptolemy III of Egypt, Laodice attempted to take control over the Empire by insisting that Seleucus make his younger brother Antiochus Hierax co-regent and give him all Seleucid territory in Anatolia. She died before 236 BC.

Circa 248-221 BC: Berenice II (267 or 266 BC - 221 BC), was the daughter of Magas of Cyrene and Queen Apama, and the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes I, the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. In about 249 BC, she was married to Demetrius the Fair, a Macedonian prince, soon after her father died. However after coming to Cyrene he became the lover of her mother Apama. In a dramatic event, she killed him in Apama's bedroom. This happened around 248 or 247 BC. Afterwards she married Ptolemy III. Queen Berenice II participated in battles along with her husband. She was murdered by her son, Ptolemy IV in 221, soon after he became pharaoh.

Circa 231-228 BC: Queen Teuta was an Illyrian queen and regent. She acted as regent for her young stepson Pinnes. Teuta's first decision was to start piratical raids. Attempting this, she attacked Dyrrachium (modern-day Durrës, Albania) and fortified the city. Her Illyrian ships intercepted and plundered some merchant vessels of Rome. Encouraged by this success, Teuta's pirates extended their operations southward into the Ionian Sea, westward along the coast of Italy, and were soon feared as the terror of the Adriatic. She eventually fought against Rome when they tried to stop the piracy.

217 BC: Arsinoe III (246 or 245 BC - 204 BC) was Queen of Egypt (220 - 204 BC). She was a daughter of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. She took active part in the government of the country, at least in the measure that it was tolerated by the all-powerful minister Sosibius. She rode at the head of infantry and cavalry to fight Antiochus the Great at the battle of Raphia in 217 BC. When the battle went poorly, she appeared before the troops and exhorted them to fight to defend their families. She also promised two minas of gold to each of them if they won the battle, which they did. In 204 BC she was murdered in a palace coup, shortly before her husband's own death.

205 BC: Sophonisba, Carthaginian lady, queen of Numidia, the daughter of a Carthaginian general and politician Hasdrubal. She had been betrothed to Massinissa, the leader of the Massylian (eastern Numidians). But in 206 Massinissa allied himself to Rome. Hasdrubal having lost the alliance with Massinissa started to look for another ally, which he found in Syphax, King of the Masaesyli (or western Numidians). As was normal in those days, Hasdrubal used his daughter to conclude the diplomatic alliances with Syphax who had previously been allied to Rome. When Syphax was defeated in 203 BC by Masinissa, King of Numidia, and the Romans, Masinissa fell in love with Sophonisba and married her. Scipio Africanus refused to agree to this arrangement, insisting on the immediate surrender of the princess so that she could be taken to Rome and appear in the triumphal parade. Masinissa, upbraided by Scipio for his weakness, was urged to leave her. Masinissa feared the Romans more than he loved Sophonisba. He told her that he could not free her from capitivity or shield her from Roman wrath, and so he asked her to die like a true Carthaginian princess. With great composure, she drank a cup of poison that he offered her. The outrage that Sophonisba escaped through suicide may not have been rape or physical violence, but from being led in a triumphal parade at Rome, with its accompanying degradations and humiliations.

3th century BC: Graves of women warriors buried at during this period were found near the Sea of Azov.

186 BC: Chiomara, a Gaul princess, participated in a battle between Rome and Gaul and was captured and raped by a centurion. After a reversal, she ordered him killed by her companions, and she beheaded him after he was dead. She then delivered his head to her husband.

170-150 BC: : Queen Shanakdakhete of Meroe (Nubia) was a military commander. Her name is carved in a ruined temple where the earliest inscriptions in Meroitic hieroglyphic writing are found. Her pyramid at Meroe is one of the largest ever built for a Kushite ruler. It has a unique chapel with two rooms and two pylons. The chapel is among the most elaborately carved of any known. The scenes in the chapel show her military campaigns to the south and the capture of numerous cattle and prisoners.

150-121 BC: Cleopatra Thea (c.164-121 BC) .In 150-125 De-facto Ruler Cleopatra Thea of Syria. 125-121 Queen Regnant of Syria. 129-21 Joint Reigning Queen of Egypt. Married to Alexander Balas, 150, Demetrios II 146 and Antiochiaus VII 138-29, Co-ruler with son Antiochiaus VIII. Her husband Demetrius was weak and she was the de-facto ruler. After his death she ruled in her own right, having her other claimants to the throne killed. Her son, Antiochiaus VIII Grypus (121-96) was co-ruler only in name. But in 121 Cleopatra offers a cup of wine to Antiochiaus when he has returned from the hunt. He insisted that she drank the wine herself, which she did - and died.

Circa 143-138 BC: Celtic women were famous by their courage and readiness for military actions. In 145, Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus campaigned successfully against the rebelled Lusitani, but failed in his attempts to arrest their leader Viriathus. In 143, Viriathus formed a league against Rome with several Celtic tribes. Centurion Sextus Junius Brutus chasing  Viriathus, found women warriors defending Lusitanian towns alongside men. Women were "fighting and perishing in company with the men with such bravery that they uttered no cry even in the midst of slaughter". He also noted that women of another Celtic people Bracari, were "bearing arms with the men, who fought never turning, never showing their backs, or uttering a cry."

Circa 130 BC: Queen Rhodogune of Parthia was the daughter of Mithridates I and sister of Phraates II. Queen Rhodogune of Parthia was informed of a rebellion while preparing for her bath. She vowed not to brush her hair until the rebellion was ended. She waged a long war to suppress the rebellion, and won it without breaking her vow. She went to battle, riding out to the head of her army. She successfully directed the battle, and was depicted thereafter with long, disheveled hair because of her adherence to her vow

102-101 BC: Ancient teutonic women fiercely battled side by side with men. A battle between Romans under command of Gaius Marius and the Teutonic tribe of Ambrones took place at Aquae Sextiae (contemporary Provence). Plutarch described that "the fight had been no less fierce with the women than with the men themselves... the women charged with swords and axes and fell upon their opponents uttering a hideous outcry." Marius took 100,000 prisoners. The tribe of Ambrones were virtually destroyed. General Marius of the Romans fought the Teutonic Cimbrians. Cimbrian women followed the men in battle, shooting arrows from mobile "wagon castles", and occasionally left the wagon castles to fight with swords. Marius reported that when the battle went poorly for the men, the women emerged from their wagon castles with swords and threatened their own men to ensure that they would continue to fight. After reinforcements arrived for the Romans, the Cimbrian men all were killed, but the women continued to fight. When the Cimbrian women saw that defeat was imminent, they killed their children and committed suicide rather than be taken as captives.

Circa 66-65 BC: Hypsicratea, Queen of Pontus, ruled a confederacy of states with King Mithridates VI . The concubine or the sixth and the most famous wife of Mithridates, she loved her husband so much that shewanted to be useful in any situations – she donned a male disguise, learned warrior skills. She rode with him in battle, to suppress rebellions and to fight against the Roman Republic. She is noted to have fought with ax, lance, sword, and bow and arrow. When he was defeated and put to flight, wherever he sought refuge, even in the most remote solitude.

43-30 BC: Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 BC-30 BC) was the last effective pharaoh of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty. She ;ed her armies during the Roman Civil Wars. Cleopatra combined her naval forces with those of Mark Antonius to fight Octavian. She was defeated and retreated to Egypt. The ancient sources, particularly the Roman ones, are in general agreement that Cleopatra killed herself by inducing an Egyptian cobra to bite her.

42-31 BC: Fulvia (c. 83 BC – 40 BC) was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Through her marriage to three of the most promising Roman men of her generation, Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony, she gained access to power. Being the wife of Mark Antony, she organized an uprising against Augustus Octavian. According to Cassius Dio, Fulvia controlled the politics of Rome. In 41 BCE, tensions between Octavian and Fulvia escalated to war in Italy. According to Appian, Fulvia was a central cause of the war, due to her jealousy of Antony and Cleopatra's affair in Egypt, and she may have escalated the tensions between Octavian and Lucius in order to draw back Antony's attention to Italy. She was the first Roman non-mythological woman to appear on Roman coins.

24-21 BC: Queen Amanishabheto of Meroe (Amanishakhete) reigned over Kush or Nubia. She repulsed the Roman Army in three battles that Octavius had sent to conquer Nubia 24-21BC. When the Roman emperor Augustus levied a tax on the Cushites, she and her son, Akinidad, led a fierce attack on a Roman fort at the Egyptian city Aswan. A depiction of her on a pylon tower of a chapel shows her striking the shoulders of prisoners with her lance.

3 BC - 6 CE: Regent Thea Ourania of Parthia, also known as Musa of Parthia or Thermusa. She was an Italian slave given as a concubine by the Roman emperor Augustus to king Phraates IV of Parthia. He made her his legitimate wife and appointed her son, Phraates V, as his successor. She persuaded her husband to send his other sons to Rome as hostages. With all rivals out of the way, she and her son poisoned the king and assumed the throne in 2 BC. They appear together on their coins, and were apparently co-rulers.

Circa 1st Century BC: Celtic warrior queen Scathach ("Shadowy"). Scathach was a legendary warrior, fighter, wrestler and martial art teacher on the Isle of Skye. She trained the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat. The training included lessons in breath control, riding chariots, chess, sword-dancing, tightrope walking, and wrestling. Scathach taught him the use of a special spear with a barbed head which inflicted horrible wounds. Another warrior heroine, Aife was among those who trained with Scathach in Scotland. A war broke out between Scathach and Aife and their supporters had a battle. Scathach doubted that Cú Chulainn was ready for the battlefield and drugged him. When he woke up, he went immediately to the battlefield to support his teacher and killed several of Aife's best warriors. Following this Aife challenged Scathach to a one-on-one duel. Despite Scathach objections, Cú Chulainn took her place in the duel and defeated Aoife by cunning, These legends were popularized by Troubadours in the 12 century.

Circa 1st Century BC: Aife, (Irish: Aoife) is a legendary female warrior from the Ulster (Irish) sagas. She lived in the land of Alba (Scotland), where she was at war with a rival warrior-woman, Scáthach (who may be her sister or even double). She was ‘the hardest woman warrior in the world’. Aífe cared for nothing so much as her horses and her chariot, and may have links with such Continental figures as Epona. In the best-known story about her, a pupil of Scáthach, the great Ulster hero Cúchulainn, who broke into a single combat between Scáthach and Aífe on the side of his teacher, vanquished Aife and begot the child Connla upon her. Cúchulainn later unwittingly killed the son.

Circa 1st Century BC: Medb (also spelled Medhbh or Maeve, Celtic: “Drunken Woman” or "Intocicating"), legendary queen of Connaught (Connacht) in Ireland. She is a heroine of Celtic legends supposedly dated from the 8 th century. In the epic tale "The Cattle Raid of Cooley", she led her forces against those of Ulster and fought in the battle herself with weapons, unlike the other war goddesses, who influenced its outcome by means of their magical powers. Being bellicose and bloodthirsty, she liked her suitors to fight to the death offering them a crown as a prize. Medb was fierce and had an insatiable sexual appetite. The list of her mates is impressive; at the time of the battle against Ulster, the king Ailill was her mate, but she also had an affair with the mighty hero Fergus and Cú Chulainn, and many more. Even though Medb was a goddess, some historians consider her and other heroes of the Irish mythology as real historical figures (embellished though). Medb is very honored in Ireland - there are many monuments in contemporary Connaught, which are linked to her name. Queen Medb is depicted on the Irish pound note.

14-18 AD: A Chinese woman Lu Mu (Mother Lu) led a rebellion against Wang Mang dinasty. When her son, Lu Yu, was executed for not collecting taxes from the peasants, she began a peasant rebellion against Wang Mang.

21: Debate erupted as to whether or not the wives of Roman governors should accompany their husbands in the providences. Caecina Serverus said that they should not, because they "paraded among the soldiers" and that "a woman had presided at the exercises of the cohorts and the maneuvers of the legions".

33: Julia Vipsania Agrippina or most commonly known as Agrippina the Elder or Agrippina Major (14BC-33AD), granddaughter of Roman Emperor Augustus and mother of the Emperor Caligula accompanied Germanicus during the Syrian war Horace wrote of her, "You shall be described as a brave subduer of your enemies, on ship board and on horse back".

40-43: In the first century Trung sisters, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi, led a revolt of Vietnamese peasants against Chinese rule. Both sisters led their troops in battle and both were noted for their heroism. In 40 A.D. they led an army of 80,000 peasants against To Dinh forcing him to flee to China and freeing Vietnam of Chinese domination for the first time in over 1,000 years.

43-69: Cartimandua (Cartismandua), was a queen of the Brigantes, a Celtic people in what is now Northern England, in the 1st century. She came to power around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, and formed a large tribal agglomeration that became loyal to Rome. She is known exclusively from the work of a single Roman historian, Tacitus. He judged her "treacherous" role in the capture of Caratacus, who had sought her protection. She allied herself with Rome as a client state after delivering to the Romans a rebel war-lord Caratacus she had captured in battle.

50-59: Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger and Agrippina Minor (15–59) was a Roman Empress, wife of the Emperor Claudius. She was a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus, great-niece and adoptive granddaughter of the emperor Tiberius, sister to the emperor Caligula, niece and fourth wife of the emperor Claudius, and mother of the emperor Nero. Agrippina the Younger has been described by the ancient and modern sources as ‘ruthless, ambitious, violent and domineering’. She commanded Roman legions in Britain. The defeated Celtic captives bowed before her throne and ignored that of the emperor. Many ancient historians accuse Agrippina of poisoning Emperor Claudius.

60-61: Boudica (Boudicca), was a queen of the Brittonic Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia in England, who led a major uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. The Battle of Watling Street took place in Roman-occupied Britain in AD 60 or 61 between an alliance of indigenous British peoples, led by Boudica, and a Roman army led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Although hugely outnumbered, the Romans decisively defeated the allied tribes, inflicting huge losses upon them; their leader Boudica was killed. The battle marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in Britain in the southern half of the island, a period that lasted until 410 AD. Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom.

63-200: Roman authors reported about female gladiators (gladiatrices). Tacitus in his Annals writes about Roman emperor Nero staging in 63 AD "a number of gladiatorial shows, equal in magnificence to their predecessors, though more women of rank and senators disgraced themselves in the arena". Petronius' Satyricon mentions a Roman circus which featured a female chariot fighter competing against men. The Roman poet Statius wrote a poem about a gladiatorial contest staged by the Emperor Domitian in 92 AD which included, "Moors, women and pygmies“ He wrote, "the sex untrained in weapons recklessly dares men's fights! You would think a band of Amazons was battling." In 88 AD mosaic of a woman gladiator armed with spear. According to Suetonius, the Emperor Domitian (reigned AD 81-96) made women gladiators fight by torchlight at night. Women were members of the venatores, (gladiators who fought wild animals in the Roman arena), according to the writings of Martial and Cassius Dio. An excavation by the Museum of London found the remains of a woman who is believed to have been a gladiator in a Roman cemetary South of the Thames. The British Museum has a second-century relief from Halicarnassus carving of two women fighting – Amazonia and Achilia. Each has a short sword and a shield. There is an inscription at Pompeii which refers to women in the Arena. Emperor Alexander Severus (or Septimius Severus) issued an edict prohibiting women combatants in the arena in 200 AD.

Circa 69: Triaria (Junia Calvina Milonia Caecena Alba Terentia) was the wife of Lucius Vitellius the younger (the brother of emperor Aulus Vitellius). Triaria, dressed and armed as a centurion, accompanied her husband into battle and fought at his side, The historian, Tacitus, wrote that Triaria was accused of having armed herself with a sword and behaved with arrogance and cruelty while at Tarracina, a captured city. A Medieval French manuscript contains a miniature showing a bloody slaughter inside a walled city, with Triaria prominent among other warriors. In the "Famous Women", Boccaccio praised Triaria for her bravery.

69-70: Veleda was a völva (priestess and prophet) of the Germanic tribe of the Bructeri who achieved some prominence during the Batavian rebellion of 69-70, headed by the Romanized Batavian chieftain Gaius Julius Civilis, when she correctly predicted the initial successes of the rebels against Roman legions. She was acknowledged as a strategic leader, a priestess, a prophet, and as a living deity.

1st century: A Chinese annalist named Zhao Yi writes about a woman who was a great swordsman. She said the key to success was constant practice without the supervision of a master after a while; after awhile, she said, she just understood everything there was to know. But after that she accepted the job as swordsmanship instructor for the Kingdom of Yueh.

1st centuryy: In the mid-first century Hua Mu-Lan became one of China's most famous warriors when, disguised as a man, she took her father's place in battle for 12 years. She was celebrated in plays and poems. Her commanding officer was so impressed with her military skills that he offered his daughter in marriage to what he thought to be his greatest male warrior.

1st century: The tomb of a woman warriorTabriz, Iran. The tomb was discovered in 2004 and included a sword.

Late 11st – Early 2nd Centuries. In Kushan Empire women were warriors and guards

195: Julia Domna Julia accompanied her husband in his campaigns in the East, an uncommon event in a time when women were expected to wait in Rome for their husbands. Nevertheless, she remained with the emperor and among the several proofs of affection and favor are the minting of coins with her portrait and the title mater castrorum (mother of the camp).

2nd century: Queen Tania was a ruler of ancient Dardania. She took the throne after her husband's death, and she personally went into battle, riding on a chariot. She was an excellent general who was never was defeated. She had one daughter who married one of her trusted soldiers. A year after the wedding had taken place her son-in-law assassinated her as she slept.

200::Alexander Severus issued an edict prohibiting women combatants in the arena, but if it was enforced its effect appeared to be short lived.

Circa 209 – 2699:Jingu (c.169 - 269) was a legendary Japanese empress or consort to Emperor Chūai. She also served as Regent and de facto leader from the time of her husband's death in 209 until her son Emperor Ōjin acceded to the throne in 269. She was a military commander and a legend has it that she led an army and navy in an invasion of Korea and returned to Japan victorious after three years. She prohibited from raping or plundering when they took cities. Jingu seems to be a prototype of another legendary Japan ruler, Pimiko

Circa 220-2288: Princess Sura

Circa 2488: Trieu Thi Trinh of the Wu Kingdomm. When her forces were defeated after 6 months of battle, she committed suicide.

267-274: Zenobia Septimia (240 - after 274) was a Syrian queen, who led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire.

2711: A group of Gothic women Aurelianus' army paraded through Rome wearing signs that read “Amazons.” They were armed and dressed as men.

3rd Century – Early 7th Century: During permanent war between Persian Sassanid Dynasty (224-651) and Rome and Byzantine, many women had to be skilled with sword (like Queen Apranik and Azadokht Shahbanu) and participated in warfare. Female Persian soldiers fought in war bravely and fiercely next to male soldiers and valiantly defending their homeland until the last drop of blood was shed. During the Sassanid dynasty many of the Persian soldiers captured by Romans were women who were fighting along with the men. During the Sassanid dynasty many of the Persian soldiers captured by Romans were women.

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February 2010

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