Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"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
Review
"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
Review
"...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
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.