Taytu Betul (c.1851-1918) The Bad Cop Empress of Ethiopia This stubborn empress led her native Ethiopia to do the unthinkable - defeat one of the major European powers in war.
Comics Zenobia (240-?) Syria's Rebel Queen 3rd century Rome had a major woman problem. Her name was Zenobia, and she took over a huge chunk of their empire in her brief and tumultuous career as rebel queen.
Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) The Desert Queen 100 years before Lawrence of Arabia, this British woman traveled the Middle East by herself, surviving shipwrecks, plagues, and Bedouin attacks in the process.