Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women Before 1400

The experiences of Julia, the daughter of Caesar Augustus; a window into the way many pre-modern societies sought to control morality; Julia's life of thwarted potential; understanding what women had to overcome to make a mark on history.

The portrayal of the John the Baptist's death as the whim of the young femme fatale Salome; why the truth is much more complicated; the story of Salome's mother, Herodias; how Herodias's hunger for power and recognition left her exiled and forgotten.

China under the Han Dynasty; how imperial expansion threatened the matriarchal culture of Vietnam; the Trung sisters; leading tribal armies against the invaders; how the Trung sisters' story has become a touchstone of Vietnamese culture.

The end of Iron Age Britain and the birth of Roman Britain; the valiant but thwarted rebellion of the Celtic warrior queen, Boudicca; how Boudicca was motivated by personal tragedy; the revival of Boudicca's legacy by Queen Victoria.

Nero's reputation for excess and cruelty; how Poppaea became the wife of the mad emperor; how Poppaea's religious sympathies likely influenced Nero's persecution of Christians; a complex story of spiritual zeal and vicious cruelty.

The impact of Plotina on the reign of her husband, Trajan; how the moral influence of Plotina and other valued women shaped Trajan's policies and reputation; how Plotina's story demonstrates a particular version of female power in the ancient world.

The story of Vibia Perpetua, one of the earliest reliably verified Christian martyrs; tracing the events that led to Perpetua's tragic death; how Perpetua's record of her own experiences became a popular text in the early Christian church.

Emperor Caracalla's murder; the formation of an unlikely new dynasty by a family of Syrian women; how utilizing and upending ancient Rome's gender roles allowed Julia Maesa and her family to gain power; Julia's influence on the course of the empire.

The furthest edge of the Roman Empire; in Palmyra, the collapse of the Pax Romana opens the way for a rebellion; Queen Zenobia manages to bring substantial parts of the eastern Roman Empire under her rule; she attempts to declare her son emperor.

Helena is a tavern girl in Naissus (modern Serbia) who captures the heart of a powerful Roman soldier and gives birth to a son named Constantine; Constantine becomes emperor; his mother influences his religious policy; a foothold for Christianity.

The unusual life of the Roman Princess Galla Placidia shows how an odd series of events leads to astonishing results; Placidia is kidnapped by the Visigoths; she becomes a political advisor to the king; she then becomes a powerful empress of Rome.

The brilliant and controversial scholar, Hypatia, lives, teaches and dies in Alexandria in the middle of the 5th century; a rare example of respected female scholarship in a male-dominated world; her murder at the hands of an angry Christian mob.

A 13-year-old girl becomes the guiding force of the most powerful empire in the world; Pulcheria uses religion and a very strategic vow of chastity to ensure the success of her family's dynasty; her successful theological defense of the Virgin Mary.

A story of upward mobility; the rise of Theodora from prostitution to royalty; as a co-ruler with her husband, the emperor Justinian, she leads an influential life; improving the lives of women who experience the hardships she knows from her youth.

During the Merovingian dynasty, Queen Radegund stands out as an exception to the violence and cruelty of Western Europe; her religious convictions help her escape her abusive husband, building a convent that helps other women find freedom and safety.

Aisha bin Abi Bakr is the favorite wife of the prophet Muhammad; she becomes one of the most influential women in Islam; the ways Aisha's influence and authority help shape a burgeoning religion; one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

In all of Chinese history, Wu Zetian is the only woman who ever rules on her own; her rise to power from her lowly origins to the head of her own dynasty; the cutthroat nature of the Chinese imperial court; the ways Wu is brilliant and cruel.

The fierce warrior woman, Kahina, fights to defend the mountain tribes of Maghreb from Muslim incursion; the struggle between the North African tribes and Islam is not about religion, but rather about preserving independence; the role of olive trees.

A look at everyday life and politics in the Middle Ages; the chronicle kept by the Carolingian woman, Dhouda, for her young son; a rare insight into this time of constant warfare and shifting alliances from the perspective of a highly educated woman.

The life of Elfrida serves as a lesson in the difficulties of separating historical fact from rumor; the first crowned queen of England is often reduced to the archetype of the wicked stepmother; her contributions to England in the 10th century.

The sister of Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdottir, accompanies her brother on two of the six voyages he takes from Greenland to North America; a reputation for cunning along the way; the contributions of women to the Viking age that transform Europe.

Lubna rises to prominence as a renowned mathematician of her day in the glittering intellectual capital Cordoba; women's education in the Muslim world and beyond; while Lubna is extraordinary, she is not necessarily unique to her time and place.

At the height of the Heian period, Japan breaks from Chinese influence and develops its own courtly culture; women emerge as a powerful force in art and literature; Murasaki Shikibu writes the world's first novel, "The Tale of Genji".

One alliance changes the course of history in Eastern Europe; the marriage of a Byzantine princess and a pagan Scandinavian king brings Christianity to the area that becomes Russia; the marriage establishes a base of power to legitimize future tsars.

Anna Comnena is a significant historian of the First Crusade; she is denied her dream of ruling as empress in Byzantium; a different kind of mark on history; one of the most clear-eyed records of a momentous event that echoes through the ages.

The Crusades of the early Middle Ages have repercussions for centuries; the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, a young queen; her experience of the Second Crusade; personal politics in a world shaped by dynastic alliances and ruled by church doctrine.

The ideas of chivalry and romantic love are distinctive features of Western culture; one point of their origin is through the patronage of Marie of Champagne; her influence shapes literature through the artists she supports: Chretien de Troyes.

Heloise embodies the passion for ideas that define the time known as the 12th-century renaissance; her thirst for knowledge; her shocking love affair with the teacher Peter Abelard; spiritual and intellectual ideas that foreshadow modern philosophy.

Hildegard is a famous woman of the Middle Ages; Hildegard puts the knowledge she acquires to work through her writings; her texts on medicine are notable for their blending of ideas from the masculine and feminine spheres; medieval medical practice.

The Muslim sultanate of northern India in the 13th century; Razia becomes the first and only female sultan; her rule is challenged by conservative Muslims; Razia promotes compromise between Islam and Hinduism, the two competing religions.

An influential woman in Asian history; a marriage alliance with the Mongols at the tender age of 13, Sorkhakhtani grows to have a prodigious influence on the important Asian empire; a degree of power unavailable to many other women of the time.

The story of Licoricia is tied to the commerce that sweeps through England and its Jewish community through the 13th century; the new perception of money in the West; how Jews are both aided and restricted by the laws dictating how they make wealth.

Though her birth name is not known, the woman called Abutsu uses her talents as a writer to make her fortune in a time of immense change for Japan; the new regime of Confucianism; women's freedoms are curtailed; Abutsu finds a path to influence.

The story of the life of Brigitta is one of struggle with the social and environmental problems of her time; a struggle she approaches through religion. Brigitta seeks comfort through mysticism and passes her experience down through her writings.

Joan d'Arc stands at the turning point of the brutal Hundred Years' War; transforming the national identity in 14th-century Europe; an illiterate girl leads the armies of France against the English; the events of her life; the tragedy of her death.

Christine of Pisan is considered the first professional writer in history; her writings offer a clear window into the politics and culture of her day; a perspective based on reason rather than religion; a new view of women that is ahead of its time.