When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt

by Kara Cooney

Overview

This riveting paperback explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra, and shines a piercing light on perceptions of powerful women today.

Female rulers are a rare phenomenon—but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, women reigned supreme. Regularly, repeatedly, and with impunity, queens like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra controlled the totalitarian state as power-brokers and rulers. But throughout human history, women in positions of power were more often used as political pawns in male-dominated societies. Why did ancient Egypt provide women this kind of access to the highest political office? What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? What did Egypt gain from its liberal reliance on female leadership, and could today's world learn from its example?

In this captivating narrative, celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney delivers a fascinating tale of female power, exploring the reasons why it has seldom been allowed through the ages—and why we should care.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426219771
Publisher:	National Geographic Society
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	105,988
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

KARA COONEY is a professor of Egyptology at UCLA. Her academic work focuses on death preparations, afterlife beliefs, and gender studies. She has participated in digs with the Metropolitan Museum of New York at the Royal Pyramid complex of Senwosret III and the Theban Necropolis with Johns Hopkins University. Cooney's writing has appeared on nationalgeographic.com and she presented a multi-city lecture tour in 2019. She was a lead expert in the popular Discovery Channel special The Secrets of Egypt's Lost Queen, and is a recurring team member of the History Channel's Digging for the Truth. Her book The Woman Who Would Be King was published in 2014.

Table of Contents

Ancient Egypt Chronology 6

Introduction: Why Women Don't Rule the World 9

Chapter 1 Merneith | Queen of Blood 23

Chapter 2 Neferusobek | The Last Woman Standing 59

Chapter 3 Hatshepsut | Queen of Public Relations 99

Chapter 4 Nefertiti | More Than Just a Pretty Face 161

Chapter 5 Tawosret | The Survivor 209

Chapter 6 Cleopatra | Drama Queen 253

Epilogue: Why Women Should Rule the World 311

Acknowledgments 321

Notes 327

Further Reading and Essential Resources 376

Index 391

Editorial Reviews

11/12/2018
Cooney, an Egyptologist at UCLA, profiles six women who rose to power in ancient Egypt. The women most closely connected to the king played a central role and could, when circumstances demanded, become kings themselves. Some of the names (Nefertiti, Cleopatra) are familiar, but this book breaks from trends in studies of ancient Egypt by not focusing exclusively on death rites and funerary architecture. Cooney discusses the women’s leadership (“Merneith and Neferusobek selflessly took up authority only to mitigate disaster,” but the power-hungry Hatshepsut was the only one who “managed to transcend the crisis had inherited and leave Egypt in better shape”) and speculates about what they must have experienced, including the habits and perspectives of the elite (Nefertiti was early in life “exposed to ancient Egyptian submission to authoritarian rule. She knew when to keep her mouth shut”). Attempting to draw parallels between the pharaohs and contemporary rock stars and politicians, Cooney occasionally asks too much of her narrative. But her stories of these remarkable women, who in flashes displayed “true, successful female power that tapped into the emotions of people, that embraced multiple perspectives, that reached out in a spirit of reconciliation to those who had been expelled or cast out,” will enchant those wishing to imagine what ancient Egyptian court life was like. Illus. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2019

In ancient Egypt, where authoritarian god kings dominated, a few women rose to positions of political power. Cooney traces the history of six women who ruled one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world, from Merneith, a mysterious and little-known first dynasty queen, to more familiar figures like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII. The author paints an evocative picture of female power in ancient Egypt. Her descriptions of archaeological evidence and her conclusions about these women's lives are fascinating and will appeal to a broad audience, while still remaining grounded in her extensive research. The book condenses a wealth of specific information into a readable, engrossing format. Cooney creates an effective narrative of political machinations, incest, murder, and deception that will intrigue adults and teenagers, especially given the young age of the queens represented. However, the work's attempt to compare female power in ancient Egypt to contemporary politics is less successful. Cooney engages in regressive gender essentialism, arguing about the so-called "biological predisposition[s]" that inform male and female leadership, and the connections she makes between ancient leaders and modern figures such as Hillary Clinton and Angela Merkel lack nuance and context. VERDICT Overall, Cooney's compelling writing about the ancient world outweighs her overly simplistic use of contemporary politics. Recommended for large high school and public library collections that feature ancient history and women's studies titles.—Molly Saunders, Homewood Public Library, AL

School Library Journal

2018-09-17

An accessible spin through the corridors of power in ancient Egypt, corridors that converged on thrones on which women reigned.

You wouldn't know it to read the standard survey texts, but the history of ancient Egypt is punctuated by periods of rule by women—and more of them than just Nefertiti and Cleopatra. Cooney (Egyptology/UCLA; The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt, 2014) digs into the tombs, papyri, and literature to look at the past of a polity that, though "no less cruel and oppressive to women than every other complex society on Earth," was not programmatically opposed to the notion that women could rule. Most of these women were on the throne for relatively short periods, often because they stood in when male heirs to the throne were too young or otherwise unable to assume it. One, Merneith, ruled without formal title as regent for one such too-young son; we know little about her largely because "the Egyptians, it seems, never wanted to directly state that the king's mother was calling the shots." When her son hit 16 or 17, she continued to advise him behind the scenes. As Cooney notes, it was the last such unacknowledged rule; other women who followed on the throne bore the title "king." One regent, Hatshepsut, connected to the venerable and powerful bloodline of the 18th Dynasty, was herself only 16 when she ascended the throne, having outlived a number of unlucky brothers (and avoided being married off to one of them, which would have made her queen). The author makes it clear that these female kings could be as tough, and sometimes as sanguinary, as their male counterparts; if forgotten, most were also skillful. The most famous, Cleopatra, was an exception, for Cooney reckons her a failure, having tied her fortunes too closely to a man, if one whose record has also been tarnished by "the Roman misinformation and propaganda campaign against her."

Cooney provides welcome insights into pharaonic politics while bringing numerous little-known Egyptian women to the fore.

Kirkus Reviews

An accessible spin through the corridors of power in ancient Egypt, corridors that converged on thrones on which women reigned…Cooney provides welcome insights into pharaonic politics while bringing numerous little-known Egyptian women to the fore.” –Kirkus

“Although Cooney occasionally flirts with gender essentialism, this book shines as an introduction to ancient Egyptian society and beliefs centered around elite women's experiences.” –Booklist

“…this book breaks from trends in studies of ancient Egypt…Cooney discusses the women’s leadership…and speculates about what they must have experienced…her stories of these remarkable women…will enchant those wishing to imagine what ancient Egyptian court life was like.”
–Publishers Weekly 
 
"Not since Leonard Cottrell’s Lady of the Two Lands (1966) has such an engrossing, well-researched collective study of Egyptian power queens been available. Definitively recommended for anyone with an interest in ancient Egyptian civilization or women’s studies." –Library Journal

“When Women Ruled the World (or at least the Egyptian part of it) draws the reader into many less known aspects of ancient history with an informal prose and style for the general reader.”
–NY Journal of Books  

“To this very day, a majority of countries have never elected or appointed a female leader, and yet one of the oldest civilizations in the world, the ancient Egyptians, had several women take the role of pharaoh during their long history…Dr. Cooney breaks down the lessons our modern world might take from their examples.” –Houston Public Media

“Cleopatra may have ruled more than two thousand years ago, but her reign is still teaching Kara Cooney about the relationship between women and power today.”  –Daily Bruin

“…full of shadowy stories of murder, incest, political power plays and enough intrigue to satisfy even the most jaded reader.” –HoustonPress

"I loved the lens through which this book viewed these women, studying their reigns and characteristics to see why women don't rule the world more and pointing out reasons why they should. I loved that this book used both historical and current context when discussing the theme." - Ms. Nose in a Book
 
“This is a truly fascinating look at 6 queens of Egypt…Their stories are rich and it’s important that they not be forgotten. This book assures that a new generation will learn about them and keep their memories alive.” –Broken Teepee
 
“I believe the takeaway for us today is that women have ruled before, and women will rule again. It is only a matter of time.” –Literary Quicksand
 
“I was absolutely entranced by this book.” –A Chick Who Reads





 

From the Publisher

★ 11/15/2018

Cooney (Egyptology, Univ. of California Los Angeles; The Woman Who Would Be King) explores the premise that "the ancient Egyptians brilliantly used female power…to keep a culture going for more than 3,000 years" through the prism of six queens who assumed kingship to varying degrees at times of dynastic crisis. Included are profiles of Merneith of Dynasty I (3000–2890 BCE), Neferusobek of Dynasty XII (1985–1773 BCE), Hatshepsut and Nefertiti of Dynasty XVIII (1550–1295 BCE), Tawosret of Dynsty XIX (1295–1186 BCE), and Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic Period (305–30 BCE). Despite ancient Egyptian society promoting greater gender equality than its contemporaries, each of these queens was compelled to manifest certain masculine trappings in order to succeed. Most intriguing is the author's persuasive explanation of the recent theory that Nefertiti morphed from queen to co-king, and ultimately sole king, evinced through changes in her titles and iconography. VERDICT Not since Leonard Cottrell's Lady of the Two Lands (1966) has such an engrossing, well-researched collective study of Egyptian power queens been available. Definitively recommended for anyone with an interest in ancient Egyptian civilization or women's studies.—Edward K. Werner, formerly with St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., FL

Library Journal

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