Queens with Swords: Three Women Who Went Up Against Ancient Rome

There’s something stirring about a warrior woman: one who refuses to bow down to the forces against her, no matter how vast they may be. And when they win out? Even better. I don’t know if I harped on ENOUGH about what an incredibly well-oiled machine Rome’s army was. To go up against it at ALL, even with sizable numbers, was not a gamble for the faint of heart. When these women went up against Rome, they risked everything. But they weren’t the only women in the fight. In this bonus episode, I give you three MORE sword-wielding females who went up against the Romans, terrifying all who looked on.

Now, you think we didn’t have much to go on when it comes to Boudicca and Zenobia. There’s even LESS by way of sources for these three epic queens. But we can explore the scraps history’s left us and imagine up the rest as we see fit.

sources

Teuta

amanirenas

mavia (mawiyya)

This map shows how the Roman Empire grew over the years and highlights some of the women who fought against that expansion. You can buy a copy of this poster at my Exploress shop! Just go to the Store page.

transcript

Teuta, the Pirate Queen

We begin in Illyria, in what is roughly modern-day Albania, in the third century BCE. You remember Illyria from our episodes on Olympias, right? The Illyrians were the ones who caused King Phillip II a lot of trouble in the form of skirmishes along his border. And I know you could never forget Cynane, Alexander the Great’s Amazon-inspired half sister. She of the horseriding, bow wielding, and terrifying prowess in war? Yes: that Illyria. When trying to picture Teuta’s way of life, it pays to think about Olympias’ clannish upbringing. The Illyrians are proud and feudal, wielding weapons and tools of both copper and iron. Councils of elders choose the chieftains who head each of the Illyrian tribes, who are often at odds with each other. Just like in Britannia, they don’t see themselves as some united Illyrian nation: the name “Illyria” is one used by the Greeks and Romans to describe all these peoples, but not one they used for themselves. 

This is a land full of fearsome warriors, but none more so than those of the Ardiaei tribe. Based on Illyria’s central coast, their kingdom goes through a rapid period of growth in Teuta’s lifetime, under a king named Agron. He focuses his energies on building up their navy, which is legend, using it to extend their power further. He unites several tribes under his banner and even conquers some Greek peoples, too. Then, according to legend, he drank so much in celebration that he got real sick and died. Whoops. But behind every great king is a great queen just waiting for him to die of pleurisy. We don’t know if Teuta is her actual name: it literally means ‘mistress of the people,’ so it could be a title. And it’s clear she’s more than ready to rule. She does it as regent for her stepson, the very young Pinnes, and she thinks it’s great that her late husband wanted to expand their holdings. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, ya know? And so her armies attack the regions of Elis and Messenia. On their way home, they stop off to capture the Greek city of Phoenice, Epirus’s most prosperous trading town. But truly, it’s not her powerful navy that people grow to be afraid of. It’s her band of roving pirates. Piracy has a very long history, and it’s not always considered disreputable...especially if you’re a queen who gets to reap its spoils. It’s legal at this time in Illyria, considered a totally viable profession. What’s your son do? Oh, he’s a pirate. It’s said that Teuta uses them to pillage her neighbors indiscriminately, commanding her officers to treat anyone outside their ranks as the enemy. That includes Italian merchants.

Right now, Rome’s a Republic on the rise. They’ve just defeated their great rival, Carthage, and they’re keen to build their brand and their reach. Teuta’s pirates are a huge nuisance, stealing their goods and disturbing trade routes. Eventually, enough merchants complain that it seems as if something must be done. Around 230 BCE, the Republic sends two ambassadors over to Teuta in the city of Scodra. ‘Hey,’ they say,’ listen...we’re kind of a big deal. So can you please just get these pirates under control and pay us back for all the booty they took?’ But she refuses. I mean, piracy is legal where she comes from, and sometimes a pirate’s just gotta pirate. She’s so insulted that Rome thinks they have ANY right to ask her for favors that she holds one of the ambassadors hostage and kills the other one. Apparently that old adage “don’t kill the messenger” has not made its way to Illyria yet. This seems like a terrible idea. But, as ancient writer Polybius helpfully points out to us, she is a woman, and thus has a “woman’s natural shortness of view.” Bite me, Polybius.

When Rome hears, they know the time for talk is over. Now it’s time to go to war. In 229, the Romans send 200 ships, full up with 20,000 soldiers, across the Adriatic. Teuta isn’t worried. She has forces, and she has her commanders’ loyalty. Right?! When the Romans get to the island city of Corcyra, a local governor AND her lieutenant betray her, joining up with Team Rome. Rude. Cassius Dio tells us that Teuta actually sends that lieutenant over to Corcyra, telling him to give it to the Romans in exchange for a truce. But shortly after, Teuta attacks both Epidamnus and Apollonia. She isn’t afraid to poke the Roman bear, is what I’m saying.

The Roman troops march up the coast, pillaging towns with abandon, until they reach the Ardiaean capital city of Scodra. Little by little, Teuta is forced to retreat, much as Zenobia will do centuries later. She swiftly loses what’s called the First Illyrian War. She’s forced to pay Rome tribute, and to relinquish most of her power and lands to them. Rather than put up with their overlording, she chooses to step down and off the throne. Another story has it that she throws herself over a cliff rather than surrender. That cliff is in Risan, the only town along this coast without a seafaring tradition. Rumor has it it’s because of the curse the Illyrian pirate queen laid on the place before jumping. Her rage reaching out from her watery grave.

Amanirenas, the one-eyed warrior

Now we fast forward a couple hundred years to Amanirenas. She lives in the kingdom in Kush, south of Egypt, in Nubia, or modern-day northern Sudan. Like Egypt, their civilization also grew up around the Nile River, south of Abu Simbel. There’s still a lot we don’t know about Kush, which is a shame, because it’s one of the world’s great ancient civilizations, and helped define northeastern Africa’s cultural and political landscape. Three Kushite kingdoms dominated Nubia for more than 3,000 years. They don’t start writing down their stories until the Meroitic Period, which is the period we find Amanirenas in, so much of our knowledge comes from Egyptian sources. Those sources often show pharaohs smiting Kush - the Egyptians sure do love their smiting! But this isn’t just some civilization on Egypt’s outskirts; it actually conquered Egypt during its 25th Dynasty, kicking off 100 years of black Kushite pharaohs that created a stable government, expelled invaders, and sparked a major religious revival. Nice work. And even when they’re at odds, they have plenty of economic and political interaction. Kush is a key transit point between Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa, and its deserts are rich in iron and gold. They build great temples and pyramids, carve great art, and even discover an early antibiotic: Nubian mummies have been found with tetracycline in their bones, which these days is used to treat everything from acne and malaria to syphilis. It seems to have found its way into their beer. They were famous for their archery: both men and women knew how to expertly wield a bow. You know that when the Egyptians call your country “Ta-Seti,” or “Land of Bows,” you must be pretty good at shooting down fast-moving targets. Nubian archers sometimes even fight for Egyptian pharaohs as mercenaries. 

Amanirenas was their kandake - the title for a ruling queen, which gives us the modern-day name Candace - between 40 and 10 BCE. Her reign coincided with Cleoptra’s - those final, bright days of conquest, when she and Mark Antony ruled together...you know, before they crashed and burned. Octavian moves in, annexes Egypt, then thinks: “you know? That land down south looks pretty good in terms of fertile land and trade routes, and I hear there’s gold and stuff in their deserts. Maybe me and my troops should just keep on going.” 

Amanirenas, her husband, Teritegas, and their son, prince Akinidad, have to make some quick strategic moves. Her country is rich in resources, and they have a kicking fighting force, but it’s smaller than Rome’s. She could just hunker down in a defensive position and wait for the Romans to come to her. But no: Amanirenas takes 30,000 of her best fighters and goes on the offensive, marching up to meet the threat head on. While Aelius Gallus, the chief magistrate in Egypt, is making war in Arabia, the Kushites move in, winning victories at Syene and Philae. She loses her husband in one of these battles, we think, but that doesn’t stop her. She captures at least two Roman-held cities, defacing statues of Augustus as she goes. Augustus is deeply angry. How dare this woman take his lands and draw mustaches on his likeness?! 

So his main man Petronius retaliates by marching south to one of they most important cities: Napata. They sack the city, enslaving thousands. Augustus thinks he’s heard the last of the Nubian queen. Who can blame him? For many, this would be a decisive death blow. But the fight’s not over yet. Amanirenas gathers her forces and goes nuts on the Romans in a series of intensive attacks. There’s a piece of art that shows her squaring up against her enemies with a sword in one hand and a pet lion at the other. It also shows her feeding her enemies to that lion, so...damn.

Some reports say she also brings war elephants to the party. No matter what her tactics, they’re clearly effective. The fighting goes on for three years. At one point, it’s said, Amanirenas is blinded in one eye. She lets it heal, hopefully puts on an eyepatch to terrify all comers, and heads back out into the fight. Eventually, Rome gets so tired of the whole business that they sign a peace treaty with the Nubians, called the Treaty of Samos. One that actually favors the Nubians. The Romans say they’ll leave their lands and cancel all taxes. The Nubian kingdom will survive for 300 years, all thanks to her.

In the early 1900s, archaeologists will finally start exploring what remains of Kush. It’s there they will find a perfectly preserved head from one of Augustus’ statues….under carving of a Kushite ruler. We don’t know which ruler, but let’s assume it’s Amanirenas. Making Rome bow down, even in death.

Mavia (Mawiyya), the Saracen Queen

Some hundred years after Zenobia gave Rome a serious run for their money, we see another rebellious Arab queen. Mavia, or Mawiyya, led a semi-nomadic Arab tribe against Rome in 378 CE. Her tribe are called the Tanukhids, though we’ll call them what many of the ancient did: the Saracens. They’re based in southern Palestine and northern Sinai. Much like Teuta, we think she rises to power after her husband dies. Although she’s often referred to as a queen, she’s really the leader of a coalition of tribes. Holding onto that power might be a big part of why she takes up arms against Rome.

What’s up with Rome around about now? It’s struggling. The current emperor, Valens, is having a devil of a time with the Goths. They first appeared in Roman territories in 238 CE and have been raiding ever since, causing some serious trouble. The Goth king Cniva actually killed one of Rome’s emperors, so they aren’t an idle threat.vValens fights a Goth king named Athanaric between 367 and 369, then embraces Athanaric's rival, Fritigern, when he comes to Rome for protection from the Huns. But provincial governors treat them badly, and they revolt, kicking off the First Gothic War. Needing some extra soldiers for the effort, Valens asks leaders like Mawiyya to help him, but asking for auxiliary troops is a tricky diplomatic affair. Her husband struck a deal with the Romans: they’d provide some warriors to fight in their army now and then, in exchange for Rome’s support in other matters. But Mawiyya didn’t sign on for that. No thank you! We don’t know why she decides to turn on the Romans. Maybe, as a new queen, she expected the Romans to come and redraw the terms of their arrangement - not just assume that, because she’s a woman, she’ll just blindly do whatever they say. Maybe, like Zenobia, she seeks a weakness and goes for the jugular. Either way, the Romans are going to rue the day they didn’t take her seriously. Girl knows how to run a good campaign. She’s well organized and a very capable commander, personally leading her armies. A 4th-century monk writes that, "Mavia, the queen of the Saracens, began to rock the towns and cities on the borders of Palestine and Arabia with fierce attacks..." Another ancient source tells us that “all the regions of the east were at that time ravaged...” They go into Phoenicia and Palestine, and even down into Egypt, “led by Mavia, a princess, who regarded not the sex which nature had given her and displayed the spirit and courage of a man.”

Our monk source says she "wore down the Roman army in frequent battles, killed many, and put the rest to flight." It becomes pretty clear that the Romans can’t beat her, so they scramble to strike some kind of deal. Mavia is powerful enough to be able to dictate the terms of negotiations, and apparently she only has one: she wants Moses, a monk, to become bishop of her people. Some think this means her people are Christian, but the ancient sources disagree. It’s just as likely that Mawiyya wants him for his other skills. He helps negotiate new terms, because Mawiyya knows that making peace with the Romans matters. It’s said she sends some soldiers to help Valens in battle. She even gives her daughter in marriage to the Roman commander-in-chief, Victor. So imagine her surprise when, around 382 CE, Rome negotiates a peace with the Goths that’s so favorable Mawiyya’s tribe revolts against them again. We don’t know if she’s still ruling at this point. But even if she isn’t, I imagine she’d approve.

I love to imagine it: three women so fierce that even Rome breaks against them, creating legends that even time couldn’t quite erase. So let’s raise our swords and toast to these epic queens!


Kate J. Armstrongancient women