Women in the Crusades: Medieval Female Warriors, Rulers, and Pilgrims
Women financed expeditions, managed territories, and supported armies on the front lines, taking part in religious wars that shaped political power across borders.
Women worth knowing
All Stories
Extraordinary women, overlooked stories, and a more complete history. Explore the lives, ideas, and achievements that changed the world.
queens
Amazing Queens of history from throughout the world.
Queen Manduhai the Wise: The Warrior Empress Who Reunited the Mongols
She combined military strategy with political leadership to reunite divided peoples, preserving a royal lineage and securing influence in a world shaped by warfare.
Queen Anna of Denmark, Theater Pioneer & Patron of the Arts
She used royal performances to celebrate powerful women and bring them into dramatic art, creating opportunities for participation that challenged the limits of a queen’s formal authority.
The Warrior Queen Chand Bibi
She defended her kingdom against a powerful invading army, combining battlefield courage with strategic judgment when military pressure and court politics threatened its survival.
Elizabeth Woodville, The White Queen
She navigated a royal marriage, civil war, and threats to her children, using family ties and political alliances to protect their place in a dangerous court.
Queen Liliʻuokalani, first and last queen regnant of Hawaii
She defended her people’s sovereignty as foreign interests threatened their kingdom, while her music preserved a love of homeland that political defeat could not erase.
Ana Nzinga Mbande, fearless African queen
She used diplomacy, warfare, and shifting alliances to resist colonial expansion, defending her kingdoms and building the political and commercial strength needed to survive.
Sayyida al Hurra, Islamic pirate queen
Forced from her homeland as a child, she became a ruler and pirate commander, using a fleet to challenge the powers that had displaced her.