Rejected Princesses | History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Theodora (c.497-548)

The Concubine Who Conquered Constantinople

Sex worker who became empress of the Byzantine Empire, and used her political power to safeguard her interests, and her husband’s reputation.

Tomoe Gozen (c.1157-1247)

The Samurai Who Made Samurai Flee

Fearsome undefeated samurai warrior who was “a match for any god or demon,” and is one of Japan’s greatest heroines to this day.

Collection: Soldiers >

Mariya Oktyabrskaya

When her husband was killed in WW2, she sold all their belongings, bought a tank, named it Fighting Girlfriend, and started killing Nazis.

Mandukhai Khatun

Destined to be a mere political pawn, this Mongol queen rode into battle while pregnant, united the warring tribes, and was considered to be the second coming of Genghis Khan.

Naziq al-Abid

She traded a life of privilege for one spent fighting for justice on both literal and political battlefields so tirelessly that even exiling her five times couldn't keep her down.

Xtabay (Mesoamerican myth)

Siren of the Yucatan

Chaste and virtuous woman spends life assuming she’s better than her more sex-positive neighbor, and for this haughtiness becomes in death a demonic woman who lures wayward men to their death – a stunning indigenous inversion of the Madonna/whore complex.

Nanny of the Maroons (c.1680-1750)

The Mother of Us All

Led colony of escaped slaves and protected them from the English using borderline supernatural abilities.

Nana Asma’u (1793-1864)

The Princess Who Loved Learning

Massively educated princess who started all-female gang of itinerant teachers, who would roam the land and educate unsuspecting passersby.

Collection: Nuns >

Catalina de Erauso

After escaping from a convent, this swashbuckler had the strength to chase her dreams: which were apparently to drink, fight, and womanize.

Sor Juana Inés de La Cruz

This brilliant poet rose from illegitimacy and poverty to become one of the luminaries of her age - until she flew too close to the sun.

Masako Hojo

When her shogun husband cheated on her, she raised an army and destroyed the other woman's house. Later she deposed her incompetent son to become the first nun to rule Japan.

Chiyome Mochizuki (16th century)

The Widow Who Ran a Ninja Academy

Recruited widows, orphans, and prostitutes into an all-woman ninja spy group, the largest in Asia at the time.

Josefina Guerrero (1918-1996)

Leper Spy of the Philippines

Let her leprosy go untreated for years to make herself the perfect spy in the Japan-occupied Philippines - soldiers wouldn't touch her, so she could slip right through.

Mary Lacy (1740-1801)

The First Female Shipwright

This self-described “undutiful daughter” posed as a man to become the world’s first female shipwright.

Collection: Saints >

Mai Bhago

This Sikh warrior saint led 40 deserters back into battle and in so doing, possibly saved her entire religion from extinction.

Tamar of Georgia

Saint, sovereign, and fiercely independent woman, she quashed two rebellions from her ex-husband, expanded her nation's borders, and ushered in a golden age.

A’isha bint abi Bakr

Independent, bold wife of the Prophet Muhammad, she led armies in the Battle of the Camel and was one of the central figures of the Shia/Sunni civil war that continues to this day. (Note: this entry’s image follows Islamic artistic conventions to depict its figures respectfully)

Nwanyeruwa (Early 20th century)

Instigator (and Peacekeeper) of the Igbo Women's War

Instigated a massive "women's war" against British taxation, the effect of which was one part protest movement, one part comedy roast, and one part block party.

Pope Joan (9th century)

The Pope Who Gave Birth

This pope was largely assumed to be male until she gave birth in the midst of a procession - and largely assumed to be factual until the 13th century.

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Women in Combat

Women warriors are not new

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