7. 100 BCE - 100 CE Women and the Roman Empire
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Roman history is packed full of unbelievably powerful and fascinating women. Famous women, like Cleopatra, helped to define Roman history through her relationships and power grabs with Roman leaders. The wives of those leaders, Octavia and Scibonia for example, as well as their daughters, like Julia, also played intricate roles in the history of Rome. Women close to the emperor could manipulate it. Cleopatra was not the only ancient woman to take on male Roman rulers. Outside of Rome women battling against its expansion from every direction, namely Buddica, Zenobia, and Kandake. These women were powerful anti-imperial forces. Importantly, both inside and outside the power of Rome, women played politics, fought, and led.
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River valleys settlements became city states. City states became empires. The Mesopotamian Empires that had dominated ancient times dissolved into the Persian and eventually Macedonian Empire, spreading Greek culture around the Mediterranean world. The Romans eventually surpassed the Greeks and thus Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, would be ruled from before 500 BCE to around 500 CE. In China the first empire, Qin, known for its harsh legal rule would be replaced by the Han from 200 BCE to 200 CE. Stability! Yay! But did women live and thrive in these Empires? Were any opposed to these Empires? Aw, heck yes– and two even took the Elephant back to defend their homeland.
Rome: Roman culture built on the Greek culture that preceded and paralleled it. Its polytheistic religious beliefs accounted for the renaming of most of the Greek gods into Roman equivalents. It adopted most of the Greek ideas about medicine, philosophy, culture, and a woman’s place. Check out Founding Myths and Women’s Place to learn more about these.
But the Romans developed their own ideas. As Rome expanded, it increasingly became a warrior society where masculinity was strictly defined and men were measured on their successes as soldiers and property owners: which included women. In their private lives, this meant absolute control over their wives, children, and slaves. Absolute control means exactly what it sounds like, including the right to kill them without interference from anyone– not even the government. Absolute freedom became a part of the male identity. As the Empire expanded and government control seeped into people's personal lives, so did the life and death power of the (male) head of household.
Rome: Roman culture built on the Greek culture that preceded and paralleled it. Its polytheistic religious beliefs accounted for the renaming of most of the Greek gods into Roman equivalents. It adopted most of the Greek ideas about medicine, philosophy, culture, and a woman’s place. Check out Founding Myths and Women’s Place to learn more about these.
But the Romans developed their own ideas. As Rome expanded, it increasingly became a warrior society where masculinity was strictly defined and men were measured on their successes as soldiers and property owners: which included women. In their private lives, this meant absolute control over their wives, children, and slaves. Absolute control means exactly what it sounds like, including the right to kill them without interference from anyone– not even the government. Absolute freedom became a part of the male identity. As the Empire expanded and government control seeped into people's personal lives, so did the life and death power of the (male) head of household.
Roman Gods and Goddesses, Public Domain
Roman Motherhood, Public Domain
Women participated in this warrior culture by raising brave sons and passing on the values of the warrior state to her children. Roman mothers were known to tell their sons off to war, "Return with your shield or on it.” Yikes!
The endless conquests of the Roman empire also meant that hundreds of thousands of women and men were brought into the empire as slaves. Female slaves did domestic work, worked in brothels, were dancers, actresses, and were sometimes used for sex by their male owners. Slavery was deeply embedded in the culture of Rome, many viewing it as punishment from the gods or God.
Despite the persistent beliefs that women should not be educated, upper class Roman women capitalized on the need to build strong and educated warriors to justify their own educations as mothers and future wives of military leaders. In order to protect family fortunes, elite women were sometimes married off without transferring legal control to their husbands.This allowed them to manage their own fortunes. Imagine that. However, more often their legal control just remained with their father or previous male guardian. During the reign of Augustus, he passed a law that stated free-born women who bore three or more children were free from guardianship. Otherwise women were under the control of a man.
Little changed for the average woman in regard to her contribution to the public sphere and intellectual prospects. Educated women were educated enough to serve the home and rear their children. Male contemporaries remained staunchly opposed to women’s education. Given that wealth in Rome led to greater male education, there is significant evidence to suggest that the ratio of literate women actually declined. Titus Livy, one of the first Roman historians, stated, “a woman’s mind is influenced by little things.” Publius Syrus said, “A woman who meditates alone meditates evil.” Another wrote his misogyny in a poem, “But out of all plagues, the greatest is untold; the book learned wife, in Greek and Latin bold.” If the scholars of the era held such hostile views of women thinking, let alone writing, there was little possibility for mainstream training, recognition, and archiving of female achievements.
Yet we do know about some women, notably the most elite of elite women. Their power or proximity to power meant that their lives and stories would be recorded.
The endless conquests of the Roman empire also meant that hundreds of thousands of women and men were brought into the empire as slaves. Female slaves did domestic work, worked in brothels, were dancers, actresses, and were sometimes used for sex by their male owners. Slavery was deeply embedded in the culture of Rome, many viewing it as punishment from the gods or God.
Despite the persistent beliefs that women should not be educated, upper class Roman women capitalized on the need to build strong and educated warriors to justify their own educations as mothers and future wives of military leaders. In order to protect family fortunes, elite women were sometimes married off without transferring legal control to their husbands.This allowed them to manage their own fortunes. Imagine that. However, more often their legal control just remained with their father or previous male guardian. During the reign of Augustus, he passed a law that stated free-born women who bore three or more children were free from guardianship. Otherwise women were under the control of a man.
Little changed for the average woman in regard to her contribution to the public sphere and intellectual prospects. Educated women were educated enough to serve the home and rear their children. Male contemporaries remained staunchly opposed to women’s education. Given that wealth in Rome led to greater male education, there is significant evidence to suggest that the ratio of literate women actually declined. Titus Livy, one of the first Roman historians, stated, “a woman’s mind is influenced by little things.” Publius Syrus said, “A woman who meditates alone meditates evil.” Another wrote his misogyny in a poem, “But out of all plagues, the greatest is untold; the book learned wife, in Greek and Latin bold.” If the scholars of the era held such hostile views of women thinking, let alone writing, there was little possibility for mainstream training, recognition, and archiving of female achievements.
Yet we do know about some women, notably the most elite of elite women. Their power or proximity to power meant that their lives and stories would be recorded.
Cleopatra, Public Domain
Cleopatra and Kandake Africa: Across the Mediterranean from Rome, one of the most famous female rulers came to power: Cleopatra. Even if she did famously escape her own palace once in a burlap sack. Cleopatra was not Roman, she was the last leader of Ptolematic Egypt, but her reign had a huge influence on Rome and is seen as a crucial part of the transition of Rome into the Roman Empire. Cleopatra was trying to keep Egypt in play as a major world power in the wake of the crushing Roman Republic and both internal and external threats. In 51 B.C., the Egyptian throne passed to 18-year-old Cleopatra and her 10-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII. As is all too common in politics, her brother’s advisors soon painted her as a political threat, and she was forced to flee to Syria. Refusing to see her power stripped away she raised an army of mercenaries and returned the following year to face her brother’s forces in a civil war. She was known to not only be financing the war, but also made sure to have a presence on the battlefield and in the officers’ planning.
She also used all the weapons at her disposal, including her political guile. When Julius Caesar came to Alexandria, Cleopatra had herself smuggled into his headquarters to ask for his support in this war against her brother. Finding mutually beneficial ground (power for her, money for him) they eventually united against her brother, and successfully overthrew him. She also gave birth to Caesar’s son.
Cleopatra would maintain a long, strained relationship with Caesar and Rome, but after Caesar’s assassination, she saw herself potentially in the crosshairs of the new Roman Empire. In her time as pharaoh, she worked to gain the respect of the people for herself and her son, even identifying herself as a vessel of the goddess Isis, which was typical of Egyptian royalty trying to secure their power.
However, internal strife always followed Cleopatra. Her younger sister Arsinoe who had been exiled was looking to dethrone Cleopatra, and seeking additional security, Cleopatra found herself in a political and romantic alliance with Mark Antony– her ultimate undoing. In her first formal meeting with the general, Plutarch wrote, “she brought with her her surest hopes in her own magic arts and charms.”
Antony though was in his own power struggle with Julius Caesar's designated successor, his nephew Octavian (the eventual Augustus), over control of the empire, which had been divided into three different sections. In an attempt to secure peace, Octavian's younger sister Octavia had been married off to Antony. The marriage was initially successful, but tensions mounted and Antony and Octavian were soon at war. In 36BCE Antony left to command troops in Parthia resuming his alliance and romantic liaison with Cleopatra. Octavia was a good and decent wife who, despite his betrayal and infidelity, brought him troops and money. When she arrived, he refused her, and three years later obtained a divorce.
Cleopatra brought her ships and soldiers to aid Antony in the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, but they lost and she and Antony fled back to Alexandria, only to be cornered. Both, famously, committed suicide and their bodies were paraded in a victory parade in Rome. Back in Italy, Octavia raised Antony’s children by Cleopatra along with their own children. Cleopatra brought her ships and soldiers to back Antony, but they lost.
Despite being mother to Julius Caesar's son, Cleopatra was labeled as a seductress by Roman historians due to her relationships, and while these relationships were undoubtedly romantic in nature, she used the opportunity to protect her power. Cleopatra stood toe-to-toe with some of the most famous figures of the classical world.
She also used all the weapons at her disposal, including her political guile. When Julius Caesar came to Alexandria, Cleopatra had herself smuggled into his headquarters to ask for his support in this war against her brother. Finding mutually beneficial ground (power for her, money for him) they eventually united against her brother, and successfully overthrew him. She also gave birth to Caesar’s son.
Cleopatra would maintain a long, strained relationship with Caesar and Rome, but after Caesar’s assassination, she saw herself potentially in the crosshairs of the new Roman Empire. In her time as pharaoh, she worked to gain the respect of the people for herself and her son, even identifying herself as a vessel of the goddess Isis, which was typical of Egyptian royalty trying to secure their power.
However, internal strife always followed Cleopatra. Her younger sister Arsinoe who had been exiled was looking to dethrone Cleopatra, and seeking additional security, Cleopatra found herself in a political and romantic alliance with Mark Antony– her ultimate undoing. In her first formal meeting with the general, Plutarch wrote, “she brought with her her surest hopes in her own magic arts and charms.”
Antony though was in his own power struggle with Julius Caesar's designated successor, his nephew Octavian (the eventual Augustus), over control of the empire, which had been divided into three different sections. In an attempt to secure peace, Octavian's younger sister Octavia had been married off to Antony. The marriage was initially successful, but tensions mounted and Antony and Octavian were soon at war. In 36BCE Antony left to command troops in Parthia resuming his alliance and romantic liaison with Cleopatra. Octavia was a good and decent wife who, despite his betrayal and infidelity, brought him troops and money. When she arrived, he refused her, and three years later obtained a divorce.
Cleopatra brought her ships and soldiers to aid Antony in the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, but they lost and she and Antony fled back to Alexandria, only to be cornered. Both, famously, committed suicide and their bodies were paraded in a victory parade in Rome. Back in Italy, Octavia raised Antony’s children by Cleopatra along with their own children. Cleopatra brought her ships and soldiers to back Antony, but they lost.
Despite being mother to Julius Caesar's son, Cleopatra was labeled as a seductress by Roman historians due to her relationships, and while these relationships were undoubtedly romantic in nature, she used the opportunity to protect her power. Cleopatra stood toe-to-toe with some of the most famous figures of the classical world.
Cleopatra, Public Domain
Kandake, Wikimedia Commons
Further south, another female African monarch prepared to face Rome and cease their expansion southward, and unlike Cleopatra, she would succeed–sort of. Romans began incursions south toward the Empire of Kush, so the Kushites planned a preemptive attack on Roman-held cities in southern Egypt and were initially successful, but their king died in battle.
Back home the Queen, Kandake meaning “great woman,” Amanirenas, and her son, again led the Kushites north to engage the Romans. Romans responded by leading 10,000 soldiers southward. The result was basically a stalemate. By succeeding in the negotiations, Kandake Amanirenas spared her people domination– like a bad-ass boss-woman of the ancient world.
Empresses of Rome: Back in Rome, Cleopatra’s defeat and continued Roman expansion would lead to wealth and a long line of powerful empresses. Octavian was surrounded by powerful women who defined, and navigated the political leadership like a boss– although a lot of them ended up tragically dead.
Back home the Queen, Kandake meaning “great woman,” Amanirenas, and her son, again led the Kushites north to engage the Romans. Romans responded by leading 10,000 soldiers southward. The result was basically a stalemate. By succeeding in the negotiations, Kandake Amanirenas spared her people domination– like a bad-ass boss-woman of the ancient world.
Empresses of Rome: Back in Rome, Cleopatra’s defeat and continued Roman expansion would lead to wealth and a long line of powerful empresses. Octavian was surrounded by powerful women who defined, and navigated the political leadership like a boss– although a lot of them ended up tragically dead.
Livia Drusilla, Wikimedia Commons
The Julias: Octavian’s wife, Scibonia, gave him his only child, a daughter: Julia. When she was only a few days old, apparently Augustus fell in love with Livia Drusilla on sight and they both promptly divorced their spouses. As empress consort, Livia was active in politics and governed her own affairs. She pushed him towards making his heir, Tiberius, Livia’s from her first marriage. Augustus forced him to divorce his wife and instead marry his daughter Julia, her second political marriage, and a marriage neither wanted. Julia already had two daughters, another Julia and Agrippina the Elder. When Julia and Tiberius’ only child died in infancy, any semblance of happiness they had was gone. Julia was left alone in Rome, where by many accounts she lived a pretty promiscuous life. Roman author Macrobius claimed was a witty and intelligent woman and was loved by the people, but her sexual activity led Augustus to exile her as a “disease in my flesh.” She died from malnutrition on a random island, because as we know, promiscuity by women is NEVER tolerated.
Augustus gave his wife Livia the title of Augusta, which meant that she would maintain her title after he died. He left her one third of his estates– which is a lot. Her son Tiberius found her power hard to maneuver around, an influence she maintained through political allies. But Tiberius’s rule was problematic for other reasons. Mostly Julia the Elder’s daughters were wreaking havoc on his legitimacy. Agrippina the Elder accused him of murdering her husband, whom she had nine children with! So many children! When Tiberius’ son died, hers came into the line of succession, so she and her older sons were exiled and died. Yikes! It’s a wonder all of these exiles didn’t band together and start their own civilization!
Her remaining son became Tiberius’ successor, Emperor Caligula, and three daughters survived. Caligula was by all accounts a terrible ruler, so his sister, Julia (yes the third one) and Agrippina the Younger plotted to kill him. Agrippina was exiled for a bit, but when Caligula was finally murdered, her uncle and third husband, Claudius, brought her back to Rome. Agrippina was labeled by historians as the “first true empress of Rome.”
Claudius was Livia’s grandson. His third wife was executed for having an affair with a Senator. So Agrippina the Younger needed to navigate her path cautiously and by all accounts she did. He elevated her title to the one his grandmother had, Augusta, and elevated Livia to deity status! According to some sources Claudius was sickly, weak and not suited for imperial life, although by the standards of his successors he did a pretty okay job. Despite being an Empress consort, Agrippina wanted to exercise real power. She was visible in politics and sat next to Claudius at occasions of state. For five years there was prosperity, but Roman historians tell us Agrippina wanted even more influence, so she murdered Claudius and installed her infamous son: Nero. Good prospects: zero.
Gold coins from right after Nero became emperor show him nose to nose with his mom, with the title, “Wife of the Deified Claudius, Mother of Nero Caesar.” But Roman historians who recorded his legacy sought to paint him as the epitome of a corrupt, debaucherous, and evil ruler. In doing so they told the stories of his violence against women. It’s hard to know what is true and what is not, because the authors of these texts were blatantly biased against him. According to later Roman historians, he and his mother were sometimes lovers— ew! Then in order to solidify his rule, he had her killed because she was too powerful and Senators were teasing him for being “ruled by a woman” and his manhood was threatened. A little bit of ancient toxic masculinity, anyone? The Roman historian Tacitus alleged that Agrippina was so desperate for power after murdering her husband that she seduced her own son! Regardless of the likely exaggerations, Nero did order his mother killed. Later, Nero apparently had his first wife, and step-sister, Claudia Octavia (the daughter of Claudius) banished, bound, and stabbed before suffocating her in a hot bath. He then murdered his second wife, Poppaea Sabina, by kicking her pregnant belly. But a lot of this probably tells us more about the historians than Nero and his wives. It is interesting though that ill-treatment of women was used to demonstrate the evil nature of a ruler, which perhaps suggests that treating your women well was to be admired (a controversial opinion in those days!)
Although Nero is remembered for killing Christians, intentionally burning Rome, and other ridiculous things, a lot of evidence shows that Nero was not hugely unpopular with the people. He clashed with the Senate and wealthy elites because they wanted to maintain their wealth, but the Roman Empire was huge and could no longer be governed like a city state - taxes had to be raised, and soldiers sent to defend far off lands. The government had difficulty defending its vast territory from the many “barbarian” tribes moving into Roman lands.
Augustus gave his wife Livia the title of Augusta, which meant that she would maintain her title after he died. He left her one third of his estates– which is a lot. Her son Tiberius found her power hard to maneuver around, an influence she maintained through political allies. But Tiberius’s rule was problematic for other reasons. Mostly Julia the Elder’s daughters were wreaking havoc on his legitimacy. Agrippina the Elder accused him of murdering her husband, whom she had nine children with! So many children! When Tiberius’ son died, hers came into the line of succession, so she and her older sons were exiled and died. Yikes! It’s a wonder all of these exiles didn’t band together and start their own civilization!
Her remaining son became Tiberius’ successor, Emperor Caligula, and three daughters survived. Caligula was by all accounts a terrible ruler, so his sister, Julia (yes the third one) and Agrippina the Younger plotted to kill him. Agrippina was exiled for a bit, but when Caligula was finally murdered, her uncle and third husband, Claudius, brought her back to Rome. Agrippina was labeled by historians as the “first true empress of Rome.”
Claudius was Livia’s grandson. His third wife was executed for having an affair with a Senator. So Agrippina the Younger needed to navigate her path cautiously and by all accounts she did. He elevated her title to the one his grandmother had, Augusta, and elevated Livia to deity status! According to some sources Claudius was sickly, weak and not suited for imperial life, although by the standards of his successors he did a pretty okay job. Despite being an Empress consort, Agrippina wanted to exercise real power. She was visible in politics and sat next to Claudius at occasions of state. For five years there was prosperity, but Roman historians tell us Agrippina wanted even more influence, so she murdered Claudius and installed her infamous son: Nero. Good prospects: zero.
Gold coins from right after Nero became emperor show him nose to nose with his mom, with the title, “Wife of the Deified Claudius, Mother of Nero Caesar.” But Roman historians who recorded his legacy sought to paint him as the epitome of a corrupt, debaucherous, and evil ruler. In doing so they told the stories of his violence against women. It’s hard to know what is true and what is not, because the authors of these texts were blatantly biased against him. According to later Roman historians, he and his mother were sometimes lovers— ew! Then in order to solidify his rule, he had her killed because she was too powerful and Senators were teasing him for being “ruled by a woman” and his manhood was threatened. A little bit of ancient toxic masculinity, anyone? The Roman historian Tacitus alleged that Agrippina was so desperate for power after murdering her husband that she seduced her own son! Regardless of the likely exaggerations, Nero did order his mother killed. Later, Nero apparently had his first wife, and step-sister, Claudia Octavia (the daughter of Claudius) banished, bound, and stabbed before suffocating her in a hot bath. He then murdered his second wife, Poppaea Sabina, by kicking her pregnant belly. But a lot of this probably tells us more about the historians than Nero and his wives. It is interesting though that ill-treatment of women was used to demonstrate the evil nature of a ruler, which perhaps suggests that treating your women well was to be admired (a controversial opinion in those days!)
Although Nero is remembered for killing Christians, intentionally burning Rome, and other ridiculous things, a lot of evidence shows that Nero was not hugely unpopular with the people. He clashed with the Senate and wealthy elites because they wanted to maintain their wealth, but the Roman Empire was huge and could no longer be governed like a city state - taxes had to be raised, and soldiers sent to defend far off lands. The government had difficulty defending its vast territory from the many “barbarian” tribes moving into Roman lands.
Octavian's (Augustus) daughter Julia, Public Domain
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Agrippina the Elder, Wikimedia Commons
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Claudia Octavia, Wikimedia Commons
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Boudicca, Wikimedia Commons
Boudicca of Britain: In 60 CE, half a world away, an Iceni queen on the island of Britain, Boudicca, took up the mantle of warrior for her people, a woman who makes Xena Warrior Princess look like a pacifist.
The Iceni had once welcomed the Romans, seeing them as a powerful, and potentially beneficial ally during the early expeditions by Caesar. However, in the later colonial efforts, the Romans made a number of enemies among the British tribes, including those who had offered alliances to Caesar in the years before by forcing them into economic and political arrangements that only benefited Rome. Increased oppression over the years would lead to a number of rebellions, large and small, but none created such fear as Boudicca’s.
When her husband died, he left behind a will that named the Roman emperor co-heir with his two teenage daughters. His hope had been that this would protect his people by maintaining some of their power, but also please Rome by giving them a piece of it as well. However, Rome had no interest in obeying the will of a dead king, and claimed the entirety of the tribe’s lands as their own.
Soon the Romans showed up to take their lands, and when Boudicca objected, she was mercilessly flogged in front of her people. Far worse, her daughters were dragged in front of her and raped. Boudicca rose up and avenged her own family, as well as her tribal family. She gained support from surrounding tribes who banded together to free themselves from “the Roman menace.” Some argued that she used false omens and potentially even witchcraft to convince others to follow her, though that comes mainly from Roman historians–the invention of conspiracy theories, perhaps? Thanks a lot Romans!
Soon she led her united tribal armies against Roman colonial towns. Brutality was clearly not just a Roman tactic, as her armies were known to brutalize the population, even burning down a Roman temple with hundreds inside. Her pattern of success seemed marked by a blaze of glory as she destroyed multiple Roman and Roman-allied towns, to the point that Roman officials had no choice but to attack.
10,000 Romans confronted Boudicca and her people at an unknown location. When they met, she supposedly had an army of 230,000, though it is quite clear that this an example of inflation to make Rome’s military look unbelievably superior. It is very likely that Boudicca had the larger force, but many of her forces would be undertrained or ill-equipped compared to professional Roman forces. Still, it is said that Boudicca’s forces consisted of men and women, young and old, following her and her daughters’ carriage into battle. According to Tacitus, she rode in front of her people on a chariot with her daughters, “avenging, not, as a queen of glorious ancestry, her ravished realm and power, but, as a woman of the people, her liberty lost, her body tortured by the lash, the tarnished honour of her daughters. Roman cupidity had progressed so far that not their very persons, not age itself, nor maidenhood, were left unpolluted."
Unfortunately, her forces would be routed by the Roman legionaries, and Boudicca, like Cleopatra, would choose suicide over capture. She still remains a symbol of freedom, unity, and courage in British culture. Her statue stands, ironically, in the very city she burned down: London.
The Iceni had once welcomed the Romans, seeing them as a powerful, and potentially beneficial ally during the early expeditions by Caesar. However, in the later colonial efforts, the Romans made a number of enemies among the British tribes, including those who had offered alliances to Caesar in the years before by forcing them into economic and political arrangements that only benefited Rome. Increased oppression over the years would lead to a number of rebellions, large and small, but none created such fear as Boudicca’s.
When her husband died, he left behind a will that named the Roman emperor co-heir with his two teenage daughters. His hope had been that this would protect his people by maintaining some of their power, but also please Rome by giving them a piece of it as well. However, Rome had no interest in obeying the will of a dead king, and claimed the entirety of the tribe’s lands as their own.
Soon the Romans showed up to take their lands, and when Boudicca objected, she was mercilessly flogged in front of her people. Far worse, her daughters were dragged in front of her and raped. Boudicca rose up and avenged her own family, as well as her tribal family. She gained support from surrounding tribes who banded together to free themselves from “the Roman menace.” Some argued that she used false omens and potentially even witchcraft to convince others to follow her, though that comes mainly from Roman historians–the invention of conspiracy theories, perhaps? Thanks a lot Romans!
Soon she led her united tribal armies against Roman colonial towns. Brutality was clearly not just a Roman tactic, as her armies were known to brutalize the population, even burning down a Roman temple with hundreds inside. Her pattern of success seemed marked by a blaze of glory as she destroyed multiple Roman and Roman-allied towns, to the point that Roman officials had no choice but to attack.
10,000 Romans confronted Boudicca and her people at an unknown location. When they met, she supposedly had an army of 230,000, though it is quite clear that this an example of inflation to make Rome’s military look unbelievably superior. It is very likely that Boudicca had the larger force, but many of her forces would be undertrained or ill-equipped compared to professional Roman forces. Still, it is said that Boudicca’s forces consisted of men and women, young and old, following her and her daughters’ carriage into battle. According to Tacitus, she rode in front of her people on a chariot with her daughters, “avenging, not, as a queen of glorious ancestry, her ravished realm and power, but, as a woman of the people, her liberty lost, her body tortured by the lash, the tarnished honour of her daughters. Roman cupidity had progressed so far that not their very persons, not age itself, nor maidenhood, were left unpolluted."
Unfortunately, her forces would be routed by the Roman legionaries, and Boudicca, like Cleopatra, would choose suicide over capture. She still remains a symbol of freedom, unity, and courage in British culture. Her statue stands, ironically, in the very city she burned down: London.
Zenobia in Chains, Public Domain
Zenobia of the Middle East: Boudicca would not be the only leader to challenge Rome. Zenobia was queen of the Palmyrene Empire, formed as a breakaway kingdom from the Roman Empire amid power struggles in the Third Century CE. Unlike Boudicca, who charged at Rome headfirst, Zenobia cleverly played loyal and constructed an expansive empire right under their nose, until her power could no longer be ignored.
Born into a Roman province, Zenobia was a Roman citizen and possibly had ties to prominent, historic Roman families. However, she would proclaim that she was a descendant of Hellenistic royalty, including Cleopatra and Dido. Long before she came to power, she played a principal role at her family farm, where Arabic histories indicate that she developed her characteristic stamina, equestrian skills, and her experience in leading men.
She would later be married to the Roman governor of Syria from the city of Palmyra, which was an important trade center on the Silk Road where merchants had to pay taxes both on their way to and from Rome. Yet, with increasing incursions by the Parthian Empire, the Romans attempted to reassert their authority and reconquer their territories in the region, which failed epically until Zenobia’s husband, Odaenthus, marched against the Persians and reinstated Roman rule. He was rewarded with governorship of the whole eastern portion of the empire.
Odaenthus became more and more powerful, being seen as more of an authority in the region than Rome itself. However, in 266/267 CE he was assassinated by his nephew after a dispute following a hunting trip. Some ancient historians hinted that Zenobia herself was behind the assassination. Because his son with Zenobia was still a child, she ruled in his place.
Palmyra had a solid relationship with Rome at the time, and Odaenthus was even considered a possible successor for the emperor. Initially, Zenobia saw the same potential for herself and her son, but as the chaos of the Crisis of the Third Century continued, she decided not to wait to build her empire. In 269 CE, she sent her army into Roman Egypt and claimed it as her own, but cleverly did so under the guise of putting down a local revolt, and thereby looking like she was doing so in favor of Rome. Contemporary historians contended that she had sent instigators in to start the revolt herself. (Are we sensing a pattern of blame? A little like an ancient Napoleon, hm?) She not only gained control of Egypt, but soon the areas of the Levant and parts of Asia Minor, all while proclaiming loyalty to Rome. Only five years into her rule as regent, and two years after her conquest of Egypt, she created an empire that began to rival the two major powers to either side of her. The Palmyrene Empire quickly wedged its way between the Roman and Persian Empires, both of whom had long oppressed the people of the region and saw Zenobia’s empire as a favorable alternative, and neither of whom seemed to even realize what she was doing.
However, she couldn’t fly under the yet-to-be-invented radar forever. When Aurelian became emperor, he had not been a politician who manipulated his way into the position as many of his predecessors, but a military man who was intent on bringing order back to Rome through force. He soon turned on Zenobia’s blooming empire in 272CE, destroying everything in his path once he crossed her borders. Cities soon surrendered to him before he even reached them to ensure their safety. Zenobia, too, tried to reach the emperor and assure him of her (questionable) loyalty, but in his silence, she raised her army in preparation for the epic Battle of Immae in 272 BCE.
Unfortunately for the warrior queen, Aurelian’s forces would slaughter hers, not only at the Battle of Immae, but again outside of Emesa where Zenobia had retreated to regroup.. Though defeated, this is not to say her and her people didn’t put up quite a fight in the process. The Historia Augusta indicates that Aurelian wrote, “It cannot be told what a store of arrows is here, what great preparations for war, what a store of spears and of stones; there is no section of the wall that is not held by two or three engines of war, and their machines can even hurl fire. Why say more? She fears like a woman, and fights as one who fears punishment. I believe, however, that the gods will truly bring aid to the Roman commonwealth, for they have never failed our endeavors."
Her and her son, after one more attempt at a stand near the capital, fled toward Persia. The skilled equestrians had outpaced his pursuing cavalry for some time, but was ultimately caught trying to cross the Euphrates River, and was brought back to Rome.
Her fate is questionable. Some historians have claimed she was paraded through the capital city, as many prisoners had been, chained and publicly shamed. Some proclaim that she died on the way to Rome, varying from being executed or committing suicide to evade capture. Others say she was put on trial in Rome, but was ultimately acquitted when claiming that she was innocent and simply misled by advisors. Others still say that she was not only acquitted, but actually married a prominent Roman and had a daughter who was later married to Aurelian himself. Get it straight, Antiquity!
While she may or may not have met a noble end fitting for the warrior queen that she was, Zenobia, like the other leading women of the ancient world, had proven her ability to weather the hardships and consequences of war. Historians described her as being a leader who worked her soldiers hard, and could out-hunt and out-drink any one of them. More modern historians have analyzed that she had deftly used the stereotypes of her gender both in her methods of building her empire and possibly in her trial after the fact (if that ever happened), allowing the men around her to assume she was weaker or more naïve than she truly was. In doing so, she created a powerful army and empire, that while short-lived, was one of her own creation, and her authority became a primary target of the greatest empire of the ancient world. Zenobia became one of the most iconic, though under appreciated figures of the ancient world. Let’s reinstall her in her proper, impressive place.
Born into a Roman province, Zenobia was a Roman citizen and possibly had ties to prominent, historic Roman families. However, she would proclaim that she was a descendant of Hellenistic royalty, including Cleopatra and Dido. Long before she came to power, she played a principal role at her family farm, where Arabic histories indicate that she developed her characteristic stamina, equestrian skills, and her experience in leading men.
She would later be married to the Roman governor of Syria from the city of Palmyra, which was an important trade center on the Silk Road where merchants had to pay taxes both on their way to and from Rome. Yet, with increasing incursions by the Parthian Empire, the Romans attempted to reassert their authority and reconquer their territories in the region, which failed epically until Zenobia’s husband, Odaenthus, marched against the Persians and reinstated Roman rule. He was rewarded with governorship of the whole eastern portion of the empire.
Odaenthus became more and more powerful, being seen as more of an authority in the region than Rome itself. However, in 266/267 CE he was assassinated by his nephew after a dispute following a hunting trip. Some ancient historians hinted that Zenobia herself was behind the assassination. Because his son with Zenobia was still a child, she ruled in his place.
Palmyra had a solid relationship with Rome at the time, and Odaenthus was even considered a possible successor for the emperor. Initially, Zenobia saw the same potential for herself and her son, but as the chaos of the Crisis of the Third Century continued, she decided not to wait to build her empire. In 269 CE, she sent her army into Roman Egypt and claimed it as her own, but cleverly did so under the guise of putting down a local revolt, and thereby looking like she was doing so in favor of Rome. Contemporary historians contended that she had sent instigators in to start the revolt herself. (Are we sensing a pattern of blame? A little like an ancient Napoleon, hm?) She not only gained control of Egypt, but soon the areas of the Levant and parts of Asia Minor, all while proclaiming loyalty to Rome. Only five years into her rule as regent, and two years after her conquest of Egypt, she created an empire that began to rival the two major powers to either side of her. The Palmyrene Empire quickly wedged its way between the Roman and Persian Empires, both of whom had long oppressed the people of the region and saw Zenobia’s empire as a favorable alternative, and neither of whom seemed to even realize what she was doing.
However, she couldn’t fly under the yet-to-be-invented radar forever. When Aurelian became emperor, he had not been a politician who manipulated his way into the position as many of his predecessors, but a military man who was intent on bringing order back to Rome through force. He soon turned on Zenobia’s blooming empire in 272CE, destroying everything in his path once he crossed her borders. Cities soon surrendered to him before he even reached them to ensure their safety. Zenobia, too, tried to reach the emperor and assure him of her (questionable) loyalty, but in his silence, she raised her army in preparation for the epic Battle of Immae in 272 BCE.
Unfortunately for the warrior queen, Aurelian’s forces would slaughter hers, not only at the Battle of Immae, but again outside of Emesa where Zenobia had retreated to regroup.. Though defeated, this is not to say her and her people didn’t put up quite a fight in the process. The Historia Augusta indicates that Aurelian wrote, “It cannot be told what a store of arrows is here, what great preparations for war, what a store of spears and of stones; there is no section of the wall that is not held by two or three engines of war, and their machines can even hurl fire. Why say more? She fears like a woman, and fights as one who fears punishment. I believe, however, that the gods will truly bring aid to the Roman commonwealth, for they have never failed our endeavors."
Her and her son, after one more attempt at a stand near the capital, fled toward Persia. The skilled equestrians had outpaced his pursuing cavalry for some time, but was ultimately caught trying to cross the Euphrates River, and was brought back to Rome.
Her fate is questionable. Some historians have claimed she was paraded through the capital city, as many prisoners had been, chained and publicly shamed. Some proclaim that she died on the way to Rome, varying from being executed or committing suicide to evade capture. Others say she was put on trial in Rome, but was ultimately acquitted when claiming that she was innocent and simply misled by advisors. Others still say that she was not only acquitted, but actually married a prominent Roman and had a daughter who was later married to Aurelian himself. Get it straight, Antiquity!
While she may or may not have met a noble end fitting for the warrior queen that she was, Zenobia, like the other leading women of the ancient world, had proven her ability to weather the hardships and consequences of war. Historians described her as being a leader who worked her soldiers hard, and could out-hunt and out-drink any one of them. More modern historians have analyzed that she had deftly used the stereotypes of her gender both in her methods of building her empire and possibly in her trial after the fact (if that ever happened), allowing the men around her to assume she was weaker or more naïve than she truly was. In doing so, she created a powerful army and empire, that while short-lived, was one of her own creation, and her authority became a primary target of the greatest empire of the ancient world. Zenobia became one of the most iconic, though under appreciated figures of the ancient world. Let’s reinstall her in her proper, impressive place.
Women in Roman Empire, Public Domain
Conclusion: Inside and outside the Roman Empire, women existed and participated in the issues of the time. Women labored in the domestic sphere as homemakers and mothers, in markets, were prostitutes, slaves, and jockeyed for power. Women also played prominent roles in securing and challenging the empire. These women rose to power amid the restrictions and expectations of their societies. While these outliers are known, many thousands of female leaders have been lost to time. If they would only make a Back to the Future reboot, we could take the Delorean back there and figure some of this out!
In many ways the Han Empire was similar to the Roman Empire. Compare and contrast these empires with Women and the Han Empire. What more can we learn about these women? How did the layers of class and region change their experiences? Why are these women symbolic of their time or region? What lessons do their stories hold for female leadership in the centuries to come?
In many ways the Han Empire was similar to the Roman Empire. Compare and contrast these empires with Women and the Han Empire. What more can we learn about these women? How did the layers of class and region change their experiences? Why are these women symbolic of their time or region? What lessons do their stories hold for female leadership in the centuries to come?
Draw your own conclusions
Public Domain
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Why did women resist empire?
Women in the ancient world took up arms to fight empires. Despite all the gender barriers women crossed the gendered threshold into a man's world? Why? In this inquiry there are four examples of women who resisted empire in Rome and the Han and Wu empires in China. Why did they do it? 
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How did the founding myth of Rome establish gender norms?
In this inquiry, students explore the the primary material for the founding myths of Rome and try to uncover what these stories, in which women are central, tell us about women's place in Roman society.
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Hippocrates, Wikimedia Commons
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How were women’s bodies treated in healthcare?
In this inquiry, students explore Greek ideas about women's bodies and how those ideas impacted women's lives for millennia to come.
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Wikimedia Commons
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How were women treated in this culture? WEBQUEST
Measuring a culture by how they treat women is a great way to help students better understand society and time periods. Let the students become the historian and determine how "advanced" the society was. The following Webquest requires students to have access to the internet. On whatever time period or culture you are learning about in a World History, Geography, or Cultures class, ask students to look for articles that answer these questions, and ultimately let students decide how they treated their women.
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- This website, Women in World History has primary source based lesson plans on women's history in a whole range of topics. Some are free while others have a cost.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in World History.
Bibliography
Beard, Mary. SPQR : A History of Ancient Rome. Liverlight paperbacked. New York: Liverlight Publishing Corporation, 2016.
Beard, Mary. Women & Power: A Manifesto. Liveright Publishing Corporation: New York, NY, 2017.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Octavia." Encyclopedia Britannica, November 13, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Octavia-wife-of-Mark-Antony.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Julia Agrippina." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 1, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Julia Daughter of Augustus." Encyclopedia Britannica, October 14, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-daughter-of-Augustus.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vipsania Agrippina." Encyclopedia Britannica, October 14, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vipsania-Agrippina.
Clabaugh, Gary K. “A History of Male Attitudes Toward Educating Women.” Educational Horizons. Vol. 64, No. 3, Spring 2010, 166. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ887227.pdf.
Cleghorn, Elinor. Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World. 2021. Dutton: New York: 2021.
Fikes, Robert. “Kandake Amanirenas.” Black Past. May 22, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/kandake-amanirenas-10-bc/.
Hinsch, Bret. “The Criticism of Powerful Women by Western Han Dynasty Portent Experts.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 49, no. 1 (2006): 96–121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25165130.
Mead, Rebecca. “How nasty was Nero really?” The New Yorker Magazine. June 14, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/14/how-nasty-was-nero-really.
Roller, Sarah. “6 of Ancient Rome’s Most Powerful Empresses.” History Hit. September 28, 2021. https://www.historyhit.com/ancient-romes-most-powerful-empresses/.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Beard, Mary. Women & Power: A Manifesto. Liveright Publishing Corporation: New York, NY, 2017.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Octavia." Encyclopedia Britannica, November 13, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Octavia-wife-of-Mark-Antony.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Julia Agrippina." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 1, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Julia Daughter of Augustus." Encyclopedia Britannica, October 14, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-daughter-of-Augustus.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vipsania Agrippina." Encyclopedia Britannica, October 14, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vipsania-Agrippina.
Clabaugh, Gary K. “A History of Male Attitudes Toward Educating Women.” Educational Horizons. Vol. 64, No. 3, Spring 2010, 166. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ887227.pdf.
Cleghorn, Elinor. Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World. 2021. Dutton: New York: 2021.
Fikes, Robert. “Kandake Amanirenas.” Black Past. May 22, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/kandake-amanirenas-10-bc/.
Hinsch, Bret. “The Criticism of Powerful Women by Western Han Dynasty Portent Experts.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 49, no. 1 (2006): 96–121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25165130.
Mead, Rebecca. “How nasty was Nero really?” The New Yorker Magazine. June 14, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/14/how-nasty-was-nero-really.
Roller, Sarah. “6 of Ancient Rome’s Most Powerful Empresses.” History Hit. September 28, 2021. https://www.historyhit.com/ancient-romes-most-powerful-empresses/.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
AUTHOR: |
Jacqui Nelson, MMH
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Reviewer: |
Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer
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Consulting Team
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EditorsAmy Flanders
Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy Ron Kaiser Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy Chris Canfield Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy ReviewersAncient:
Dr. Kristin Heineman Professor of History at Colorado State University Dr. Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon Professor of History at Wilson College Sarah Stone PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Medieval: Dr. Katherine Koh Professor of History at La Sierra University Dr. Jonathan Couser Professor of History at Plymouth State University Dr. Shahla Haeri Professor of History at Boston University Lauren Cole PhD Candidate in History at Northwestern University Modern: Dr. Jack Gronau Professor of History at Northeastern University |
Remedial Herstory Editors. "7. 100 BCE- 100 CE WOMEN AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE" The Remedial Herstory Project. November 1, 2022. www.remedialherstory.com.
