In the modern world, women have recently begun to occupy government positions. But in ancient times, women more than once came to power and became strong and powerful rulers. The names of the Egyptian queens - Cleopatra, Hatshepsut and Nefertiti - are familiar to everyone. What made these women so great?
Women in Ancient Egypt
Egyptologist and author of When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, Kara Kuni says: “Women at that time were victims of patriarchy in the context of social inequality. They had to give way in favor of their husbands, brothers and sons.
The reason why there were several female rulers in Egypt is that this country was ready to take any risk for its own well-being and prosperity. The Egyptians knew that women rule differently, that they are not military leaders and not prone to violence, they will not strangle you in a dream. Not that they were incapable of murder in principle, but still, even in the modern world, women are less likely to commit crimes, and we have no reason to believe that in ancient Egypt it was different.
The queen is a child of incest
The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra belongs to the Ptolemaic dynasty. Each descendant of this dynasty had his own environment, his own values and his own sources of power. In addition, they regularly killed each other. For example, Cleopatra II married her brother. They quarreled violently, and the brother was killed. Then she married another brother. Her daughter, Cleopatra III, overthrew her mother and entered into a relationship with her uncle. And he, in turn, once sent her as a birthday present a parcel with her own son, chopped into small pieces. A charming family, isn't it?
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Cleopatra VII is the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty. We used to think that she was a woman of stunning beauty. But in truth, her genetics are not very good: she is a child conceived in an incestuous relationship, and such children are rarely beautiful. Yes, Cleopatra was not a beauty, her contemporaries confirmed this, but she had an amazing combination of intelligence, cunning and diplomatic abilities. When the woman set a goal to conquer the Roman rulers, she used her strengths to the fullest. Cleopatra has used her personal connections for social purposes better than most women in history.
Wisdom and Reproductiveness
What helped this ruler achieve such power? One of the main tricks of Cleopatra is to combine her intellectual and … reproductive abilities. She, like a man giving birth to heirs, strengthened her influence at the expense of children.
Usually in history, women came to power in two ways: either by ruling the country as regent, if the heir to the throne was too young, or if the dynasty had no male heirs at all. Cleopatra managed to give birth to offspring from two Roman military leaders at once. She conceived one child by Julius Caesar and three by Mark Antony. Subsequently, she diligently appointed her children as governors in various parts of the Eastern Empire. If not for some unreasonable decisions made by her partner Mark Anthony, then perhaps we would now speak differently about the famous queen and her legacy.
The mystery of Nefertiti
Nefertiti, more than any Egyptian queen, represents the era of wise and successful female rule. She managed to save Egypt at a critical moment in history.
This woman is still one of the mysteries for research. One reason is that it is only now that Egyptologists have begun to uncover the truth about her rule and personality. Nefertiti was amazingly beautiful, but she managed to become a real leader because she literally changed her personality. She changed her name and denied her femininity.
A sacrifice for the people
During his reign, Nefertiti had to literally clean up the mess left by the male rulers. To do this, she had to use her own emotionality. The woman did not have vivid ambitions. As historians confirm, she hid her identity and abandoned her past.
Egyptologists are still not sure whether she was a co-ruler or reigned independently. If the latter is true, then she has destroyed all traces of her femininity and charm. This phenomenon is typical of women in political power.
Pharaoh woman
Another ruler of Egypt worth mentioning is Hatshepsut. This is the only woman in history to be awarded the title of "Pharaoh". The name of this ruler is on a par with Ramses, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, Akhenaten and Thutmose III, who, by the way, was her son, and on whose behalf she initially ruled the country. By the end of her reign, Egypt was in much better condition than at the time of her accession to the throne.
Hatshepsut managed to ensure the safety of her dynasty, and her son Thutmose III became a kind of "Napoleon of Egypt", expanding the empire to unprecedented proportions.
God's Chosen
Hatshepsut used religious ideology in an interesting way to solidify her position. She told people: “God chose me to rule. These are not my ambitions, not my will. My father, the god Amon-Ra, spoke to me and said that I must do it."
Kara Kuni stresses: “I love Hatshepsut because she did almost everything perfectly. It is sad that in history so little attention is paid to the success of women rulers, but their mistakes are discussed in every way."
Why were women considered so insignificant
Kara says: “Women were pawns in the men's game. They were necessary, first of all, as a means of continuing the dynasty - so that the next man in the family could take his rightful place. Simple biology helps us understand that it is more difficult for a woman to play a major role in this game.
She can give birth to one, well, a maximum of two children a year. At the same time, a man can conceive hundreds of sons during the same time and still not suffer from hormonal changes and increased vulnerability. Therefore, in moments of crisis, to protect patriarchy, a woman was used as a guarantee of continuity from man to man. When the situation was getting better, the woman did not play a role at all.
The legacy of the Egyptian queens
What, according to Kara Kuni, the ancient rulers left as a legacy for history?
The first conclusion of the Egyptologist: “We must understand that if the tendency to racism is inherent in us by nature, then the same applies to sexism. Until we learn to speak out loud and discuss these issues, we will not be able to solve them."
Second conclusion: “We used to think that the biggest problem of a woman is her excessive emotionality, her ability to cry at any moment, or her excessive tendency to compassion. But this is what allowed the human race to survive into the 21st century. Emotionality of a woman does not allow her to commit acts of violence, to unleash wars and makes her make decisions more carefully. This is what takes her hand off the red button at the moment when others are ready to push her fist. These women ruled so that people were more secure and ensured the continuation of their dynasties.
The great women of the past turn to us for caution. Their propensity to protect, their ability to work together, their interest in little things, their ability to build bridges rather than burn them - that's what attracts me. If they have taught us anything, it is to focus on distant prospects, not the near future."
What do you know about these great women?
Author: Maxim Ewald
