Traditionally, it is believed that power is a male occupation. However, history has repeatedly refuted this statement. There are plenty of examples when women's hands confidently coped with the reins of government of the world's greatest empires. Moreover, women often did it much better than men.
Women saved world empires from collapse
Women are often referred to as the weaker sex. And no less often they prove that this title is unfair. Ladies ran huge industries and commanded armies. They invented, created and developed. And some of them will forever be remembered as the greatest rulers who influenced the fate of not only their country, but the whole world.
Guardian of Egypt
Cleopatra VII's first rival was her younger brother, whom she married according to an ancient Egyptian custom. The court clique behind the juvenile co-regent did not want to admit a woman to power. However, Cleopatra also had many supporters. The matter quickly came to an armed confrontation.
In the midst of this conflict, Gaius Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt. At first, his plans were very pragmatic - he intended to quickly knock debts out of the Egyptians, put his puppet on the throne and return to Rome, to real big politics. But Cleopatra judged otherwise. Fascinated by her beauty and intelligence, the commander helped the queen to win the civil war. And he stayed in Egypt much longer than he expected.
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After some time, Cleopatra had a son, who was named Ptolemy Caesar. Together with him in 46 BC, she came to Rome. Soon, rumors spread throughout the Eternal City that Caesar was going to officially marry an Egyptian and move the capital of the republic to Alexandria. Many noble Romans, catching the wind of change, hastened to pay their respects to Cleopatra.
However, all brilliant plans collapsed in 44 BC, when Caesar's life was cut short by the daggers of the conspirators. And here Cleopatra demonstrated that she is not just the dictator's favorite. In the ensuing civil war between Caesar's assassins and his followers, she displayed wonders of political resourcefulness and foresight. Egypt retained its independence, and the new companion of the queen was the commander Anthony, who ruled all the Roman eastern provinces.
For the next 10 years, the center of life in the Roman East moved to Alexandria. Anthony with obvious reluctance was distracted by military campaigns, preferring to spend time with his beloved. And Cleopatra enjoyed his company and undivided power over Egypt, which she managed to secure for herself for a whole decade.
Alas, everything comes to an end. Antony caused more and more claims from Rome. And soon Octavian, who concentrated power in his hands, moved his troops to the east. It is very significant, by the way, that Octavian called it a war of the "Roman people against the Egyptian queen." The wise politician understood perfectly well who actually plays the first violin in this union.
The Egyptian troops and legions of Anthony could not resist the power of the Roman military machine. After being defeated at the Battle of Cape Actium, the lovers fled to Alexandria, but in 30 BC they were forced to surrender and commit suicide. They say that Cleopatra tried to charm Octavian to the last, but realizing that it was useless, she preferred death to the position of a prisoner. After her death, Egypt lost its independence and turned into an ordinary Roman province.
Sultan's wife
The origin and real name of this woman is still a mystery. It is reliably known only about its Slavic origin. Polish historians call her Alexandra Lisowska; the name Anastasia appears in Ukrainian literature. The world knows her as Roksolana. Somewhere between 1517 and 1520, a 15-year-old girl, captured by the Crimean Tatars, presumably somewhere in Western Ukraine, ended up in the harem of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent. There she received the name Khyurrem (Merry).
They say that the young concubine was not distinguished by written beauty. But she impressed the Sultan with her cheerful and courageous character, as well as by asking permission to visit the palace library. And she really visited her, thanks to which she mastered Turkish, Persian and Arabic. She wrote letters to the Sultan, sang songs, recited poetry. And little by little, she completely captured his heart and mind.
Very quickly she became the beloved concubine of the Sultan and the mother of his children. And in 1534 the incredible happened - Suleiman, contrary to tradition, took Roksolana as his official wife. For her, they came up with a special title - Haseki Sultan.
By that time, she was already the sovereign mistress of the palace. “There has never been another woman in the Ottoman palace who had such power,” wrote the Venetian ambassador to Navaggero in 1533. She received embassies, conducted diplomatic correspondence, and supervised the construction of new structures in Istanbul. It is worth noting that at this moment the Ottoman Empire was perhaps the most powerful in the world. And the threads of power of this bulk were in the hands of the former concubine.
Suleiman spent a lot of time on distant military campaigns. And all this time Roksolana ruled for him. Moreover, the rules were real, which led to despair of the courtiers, for whom it was humiliating to obey a woman, and even of low origin! It is said that the grand vizier even outfitted a special expedition to steal the famous Italian beauty Julia Gonzaga to outshine Roxolana. But the expedition failed, and the grand vizier himself soon said goodbye to life.
Roksolana never hesitated to act harshly and even cruelly. All the male offspring of the Sultan, except her children, were killed on her orders. She achieved what she wanted - her son Selim became the heir and in 1566 ascended the throne. True, he did not reach even a tenth of the power that his mother possessed.
Mother Empress
When in 1744 the modest princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst arrived in St. Petersburg to marry the heir to the Russian throne, the future Peter III, hardly anyone could suspect her of the future great ruler. However, the girl, as it turned out, had a rare intelligence and an iron grip. At first, she showed this, masterly deceiving her unlucky husband. She gave birth to a child from her lover Grigory Orlov so that her husband did not even know about it. But she soon realized that her ambitions extended much further. On June 28, 1762, Catherine organized a coup, as a result of which she became the sovereign mistress of the Russian Empire.
You can often hear that instead of Catherine, her favorites actually ruled. She was really spoiled by male attention. And she willingly gave her favorites titles, positions and awards. But in any situation, the last word always remained with her. The most influential courtiers and dignitaries trembled at the thought of falling out of favor with "mother".
The reign of Catherine II is known as "enlightened absolutism", but this does not mean that everyone lived well with her. Catherine's Russia is a time of maximum enslavement of the peasants and colossal privileges for the nobility. And the extravagance of the empress herself and the irrepressible passion for embezzlement of her favorites made significant gaps in the state budget. In any other country, this state of affairs could lead to a serious crisis. But the steady hand of Catherine confidently led Russia to prosperity, no matter what.
Under her, successful campaigns took place, pushing the boundaries of the empire and tempering the army. The public administration system was reformed, 144 new cities were founded. Remaining an agrarian power, Russia at the same time came out on top in the world in terms of the production of pig iron, although it did not manage to become a full-fledged industrial power. But the most important thing is that Russia has confidently stood in line with the great European states. Moreover, it took not the last place in this row.
Social contradictions, the habit of living on a grand scale and the global expansion of the empire, of course, gave rise to many problems. But the heirs of Catherine had to deal with them. And her time will forever remain in the memory of many as a golden age.
Grandmother of Europe
Queen Victoria gave the name to an entire era. It was under her that the British Empire became truly great. Interestingly, this happened against the background of the gradual weakening of royal power and the growth of the role of parliament. But the importance of the figure of Victoria lies precisely in the fact that she had the wisdom not to oppose the construction of a constitutional monarchy as a more progressive and just form of government, instead of clinging to medieval vestiges.
At the same time, she did not allow herself to turn into a decorative figure and until the last days was actively involved in politics, arguing with prime ministers, influencing appointments in the government and making foreign visits. Although there were times when, under the influence of personal reasons (for example, the death of her beloved husband, Prince Consort Albert), for a long time she stopped appearing in public and was interested in business. It is worth noting that it was then that the perfection of the structure of her empire was fully manifested, which continued to work like a clock in the absence of the queen.
Victoria was tough on many issues, but never violent. She has always strongly opposed granting partial independence to Ireland. But during the Great Famine, which killed about 1.5 million Irish people, the Queen made the largest private donation to help the hungry. Under her, Britain successfully won several campaigns (including the Crimean War with Russia). But she also did a lot to establish friendly relations with the old enemies of her country - France and Spain, rightly judging that a bad world is better than a good quarrel.
Victoria spent 63 years, seven months and two days on the throne, setting a record that was only recently broken by the current Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth II. She had nine children and 42 grandchildren, thanks to whom she established family ties with many ruling families. For this she was nicknamed "the grandmother of Europe." Indeed, at the beginning of the 20th century it was difficult to find a crowned person who was not to some extent related to Victoria. The Queen's reign was not without scandals, but in 1901 she died, surrounded by universal respect and honor.
Regent of China
The second half of the 19th century was not the easiest time for China. But the country would clearly have survived it with even greater losses and problems, if not for the activities of the Empress Tsi Xi (Cixi). This seems paradoxical, since outwardly her reign is a continuous series of defeats, failures, bloody internecine struggle and internal intrigues. However, if you do not make Tsi Xi responsible for the objective processes, which she could not influence with all her desire, then it should be admitted that her rule was good for China.
The fate of Tsi Xi is in many ways similar to that of Roksolana, taking into account all the differences between countries and centuries. Once at the court as a concubine, she managed to achieve tremendous influence, and having given birth to an heir to the throne, she began to enjoy the unlimited trust of the emperor. After his death, Qi Xi was able to outsmart all competitors and become regent under the new minor ruler. Since 1881, the actual power belonged to her. Until 1908, no decision in the country was made without its approval. For a while, competitors managed to push it aside. But the response was always quick and ruthless. However, she never arranged mass repressions and executions. Punishment was always intended only for those who openly opposed the authority of the regent.
Maneuvering between internal and external enemies, which China had plenty of, Qi Xi thought by no means only about herself. Despite all her cynicism and lust for power, she literally became the person who brought the Celestial Empire out of the Middle Ages into the New Time. Under her, railways, electricity, and the telegraph appeared. Gone are the barbaric customs of torture and corporal punishment, girls from aristocratic families have ceased to bandage their legs to give their feet a "graceful" look. The country began to develop education (the right to receive which women finally gained) and even an independent press appeared. Nevertheless, in modern China, Tsi Xi is most often remembered as a cruel intriguer who usurped the throne. Forgetting that the current successes of this country would hardly have become possible, including without that moral revolution,which was arranged at the end of the 19th century by Tsi Xi.
Magazine: Mysteries of History No. 10, Viktor Banev