Who is the author of When Women Ruled the World?

Kara Cooney is the author of When Women Ruled the World.

History

When Women Ruled the World Book Summary - When Women Ruled the World Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

When Women Ruled the World summary

Name: When Women Ruled the World
Rating: 4.1 (207 reviews)
Author: Kara Cooney

Kara Cooney

Six Queens of Egypt

4.1 (207 ratings)

24 mins

Brief summary

When Women Ruled the World by Kara Cooney is a fascinating historical exploration of the women leaders of ancient Egypt, showcasing their political prowess and cultural contributions.

Topics

Gender & Sexuality The Middle East

Table of Contents

When Women Ruled the World
Summary of 8 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Learn the history of Egypt’s female leaders.

Shrill, bossy, selfish – these are terms you may have heard used to describe women in power. In fact, many sociological studies show a bias against women as leaders that prevails even in our ostensibly progressive society. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign was, for many women, a particularly painful reminder of the opposition to female leadership that still exists in the modern world.

So it may come as a surprise that in ancient Egypt, a culture preceding ours by thousands of years, women were consistently called upon to lead the country. Royal women repeatedly stepped forward to claim the throne, from the first ruling dynasty of the Egyptian nation-state to the very last. How could women gain and hold so much power in a deeply patriarchal, ancient society?

Using the latest archeological evidence, Egyptologist Kara Cooney traces the stories of six of these women – Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret and Cleopatra – through the rise and fall of the Egyptian empire. Take a deep dive into ancient history and discover how these female trailblazers kept their country prosperous and safe – and find out what lessons the lives of these powerful women hold for us today.

In these blinks, you will learn about

the lives, losses and successes of Egypt’s six most important female leaders;
the mechanisms of power in ancient Egypt; and
the value of female leadership in times of crisis.

In times of crisis, ancient Egypt repeatedly called upon women to lead the country.

Thousands of years ago, in ancient Egypt, women ruled supreme. How was this possible? To answer this question, we need to take a look at Egypt’s unique system of power: divine kingship.

In 3000 BC, when northern Egypt defeated the south after centuries of conflict, the Egyptian nation-state was established. Protected by deserts and seas, rich in minerals and nourished by the Nile, Egypt became one of the most prosperous nations in the ancient world. This wealth may be the reason for Egypt’s relative political stability throughout the millennia.

At the same time that the nation was established, Egypt’s tradition of divine kingship was founded with Dynasty 1, the first of 20 royal dynasties. For the Egyptians, their king was a divine representative with incontestable authority – even when “he” was a woman.

Make no mistake: ancient Egypt’s regency system was undeniably patriarchal and authoritarian. Power was meant to transfer from father to son indefinitely, and female rule was an exception. This belief was rooted in the myth of the god Osiris, the primeval king of Egypt, who had passed his title on to his son Horus.

However, Egyptian mythology also has a representative of the divine feminine in the form of Osiris’s wife and sister, Isis. In texts inscribed on pyramid walls, the goddess Isis is portrayed as queen, mother, lover, daughter and nurturer. The titles of royal women, such as Great Royal Wife or King’s Mother, were modeled after these female archetypes. Their job was to protect the kingship, making sure the royal lineage could continue uninterrupted.

Trying to produce male offspring was considered a royal duty and, to maximize the king’s chances of reproduction, he had multiple wives. But despite this practice of polygamy, ancient Egypt faced no shortage of succession crises. Each time a royal family line ended, a new dynasty would arise.

It was often during the uncertain times at the ending of a dynasty that a woman stepped up to take power. Women often pulled strings from behind the scenes, making it even harder to trace their achievements. When a king was crowned too young, his mother would act as regent – as done by Egypt’s first female leader, Queen Merneith.

Though these female rulers often had short reigns as strategic peacekeepers, some of them accomplished as much as any male counterpart. But all too often, their names have been erased and forgotten.

Queen Merneith ruled in her son’s stead, cementing power in ritual sacrifice.

What do you do when your country’s new king is only two years old? You let his mother call the shots. That’s how Queen Merneith of Dynasty 1 came to rule Egypt. We know about her story from inscriptions in royal burial complexes, temples and monuments. The Palermo Stone, a famous fragment of a royal monument, lists her as King’s Mother – right alongside the male kings of Dynasty 1 through 5.

Young Merneith was no stranger to power. As the daughter of the revered King Djer, she grew up in the royal palace in Memphis and observed the king’s duties up close. When her father died, Merneith’s brother Djet took the throne and asked her to be his wife. You read that right: Merneith was now both the King’s sister and his wife.

Neferusobek became the first female king of Egypt – stalling a succession crisis caused by inbreeding.

As we’ve seen, incest wasn’t taboo for the ancient Egyptians. In fact, not only was incest a regular occurrence in the royal palace, but Egyptian royalty considered it the ideal strategy for reproduction – just as it did for patrilineal succession. After all, the myth of Isis and Osiris served as inspiration – a union that produced Osiris’s heir Horus.

And incest was a great way to “keep it in the family” when it came to royal power. Instead of marrying in another elite group who would suddenly want a bigger piece of the pie, wealth and power stayed within a close-knit family circuit.

Ruling Egypt for over two decades, Hatshepsut was the most influential female king of all.

A few centuries after Neferusobek’s dynasty was brought to its knees by the effects of inbreeding, Dynasty 18, led by warrior King Thutmose I, expanded Egypt’s borders into the Levant, crushing the mineral-rich provinces of Nubia and Kush.

Luckily, Thutmose I’s eldest daughter Hatshepsut, whom he appointed to the prominent office of High Priestess when she was just a girl, inherited her father’s determination and leadership skills. When Thutmose I died, Hatshepsut became the Great Royal Wife of her sickly brother Thutmose II. The new king Thutmose II accomplished little and died after only a few years of rule. A toddler born of his harem was then selected to be the next king. But Thutmose III’s biological mother was incapacitated, so Hatshepsut was chosen to rule in the boy’s stead.

Reinventing herself as a man, Nefertiti rose to power during a religious crisis caused by her husband.

Every year, half a million visitors flock to see the bust of Nefertiti at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. The mysterious queen is revered for her beauty – but recent evidence suggests Nefertiti was more than just a pretty face.

King Amenhotep IV of Dynasty 18 took Nefertiti as his Great Royal Wife when she was perhaps only ten years old. He had inherited a peaceful and prosperous Egypt, whose people bowed eagerly to the will of their divine king. Little did they know that Amenhotep’s maniacal religious agenda would throw the country into disarray.

Tawosret took the throne by force, becoming the first woman to rule Egypt unaccompanied.

Hatshepsut’s enrichment of the elites and Akhenaten’s religious fanaticism led to permanent shifts in Egypt’s balance of power. In Dynasties 19 and 20, politics became more decentralized and the kingship opened up, allowing other families to marry into royalty. This meant less royal inbreeding and more competition among elite families. At the same time, Egyptians tried to curtail female authority, removing previous women leaders from the king’s lists and making sure that no woman held multiple royal titles.

This systematic suppression was the reason why Queen Tawosret had to use unorthodox measures to gain power. Tawosret was born in an internationalized Egypt, where mass migration and foreign influence led to an explosion of complexity in social and political relations. At around 2000 BC, she became the wife of King Seti II, who had just ascended to the throne. There was only one problem: in Lower Egypt, a Theben man named Amunmesses claimed to be king as well. Thanks to superior military resources, Seti II proved victorious in the civil war that ensued.

Cleopatra was a master tactician and used her relationships with Roman politicians to build Egypt’s power.

Egypt’s last queen is undoubtedly its most famous, although she wasn’t actually Egyptian. Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, a Greek-Macedonian family that inherited Egypt after it was freed from Persian rule in 332 BC. The Ptolemies embraced Egypt’s system of divine kingship, combining it with the hypercompetitive political system of the Greeks. As a result, conspiracy and murder were rife.

At 14, Cleopatra was named co-ruler of Egypt by her father Ptolemy XII. When he died, he named his son Ptolemy XIII as successor. But Ptolemy XIII didn’t want to share the throne with his sister, driving Cleopatra into exile in Syria shortly after his accession.

Just as the Egyptians did millennia before us, we should learn to embrace female leadership.

Like many successful women, Cleopatra was relentlessly mocked by the men whose very power she threatened. The Romans ridiculed her for her excessive displays of wealth and emotional outbursts. Octavian accused her of being selfish, sexually manipulating Marc Antony for her own political benefit. She was the perfect scapegoat to convince the Roman Senate to wage war against one of their own. And yet Cleopatra is remembered because she nearly had it all.

Selfishness and emotional sensitivity are still common labels attached to women in power. The author argues that Hillary Clinton’s loss of the 2016 presidential election is a telling example of how women are still held back in progressive Western society for displaying ambition too openly, while men are rewarded for it. Moreover, strong leadership and the emotional sensitivity ascribed to women are often depicted as incompatible. But the ancient Egyptians understood that a woman’s emotionality, even her supposed indecisiveness, could be a political advantage in troublesome times.

Want to see all full key ideas from When Women Ruled the World?

Key ideas in When Women Ruled the World

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is When Women Ruled the World about?

Ancient Egypt is a historical anomaly: the Egyptians called upon women to lead their country more frequently than any other culture. Tracing their rise to power within the authoritarian system of divine kingship, When Women Ruled the World (2018) tells the stories of Egypt’s six most important female leaders – Merneith, Neferusobek, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Tawosret and Cleopatra – and explores what lessons they hold about female leadership for us today.

When Women Ruled the World Review

When Women Ruled the World (2018) explores the hidden power and influence of ancient queen rulers. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It sheds light on the remarkable women leaders throughout history, challenging traditional perceptions and highlighting their pivotal contributions.
Meticulously researched and filled with fascinating stories, the book provides a fresh perspective on the societal dynamics of ancient civilizations.
With its balanced portrayal of powerful women from various cultures, the book uncovers their enduring legacies and inspires readers to reimagine history.

Who should read When Women Ruled the World?

Folks who are interested in the history of female leadership
Women who want to be inspired by female trailblazers of the past
History buffs who want to learn more about life and death in ancient Egypt

About the Author

Kara Cooney is a professor of Egyptology at UCLA. Her studies focus on afterlife beliefs, preparations for death and gender dynamics in ancient Egypt. Her previous book, The Woman Who Would Be King, is about the life and death of Egypt’s female king Hatshepsut.

Categories with When Women Ruled the World

History

Book summaries like When Women Ruled the World

Ancient Egypt

Ian Shaw

A Very Short Introduction

The Science of Secrecy From Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Managing Your Emotions - So They Don't Manage You

22 min

4.3

Life in Three Dimensions

Shigehiro Oishi

How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life

A Brief History of Humankind

Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World

19 min

4.7

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Anonymous

A timeless tale of friendship, mortality, and the search for meaning

Six Steps to Unlock Your True Motivation, Harness Your Willpower, and Get Out of Your Own Way

16 min

4.0

The Accidental Superpower

Peter Zeihan

The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder

A Dystopian Novel Set in a Totalitarian, Loveless Police State

Why You're Not Built for Constant Happiness, and How to Enjoy the Journey

How Britain Made the Modern World

A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt

18 min

4.5

The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition

Peter Hollins

Advanced Methods to Learn, Remember, and Master New Skills and Information

The secrets of 40 millionaires' wealth, revealed

A Galloping History of Humanity

19 min

4.5

Through the Language Glass

Guy Deutscher

Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages

20 min

4.0

Hold on to Your Kids

Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Maté

Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers

16 min

4.5

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson

A journey into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer

The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos

25 min

4.7

7 Principles of Transformational Leadership

Hugh Blane

Create a Mindset of Passion, Innovation, and Growth

21 min

Buffett and Munger Unscripted

Warren E. Buffett

Insights from Decades of Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meetings

Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime

How to free yourself from philosophical dogmas and assert your own values

25 min

4.6

10 Days to Faster Reading

The Princeton Language Institute and Abby Marks Beale

Zip Through Books, Magazines, and Newspapers – Understand and Remember Everything You Read

14 min

4.4

Beth Thomas

How to Get and Stay Happy at Work

The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

22 min

4.4

Invisible Women

Caroline Criado Perez

Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Making Better Choices

Your Personal Guide to the Mastery of Magic Words

Understanding Self-Motivation

The Story of Ideas That Fly

11 min

4.1

7 Rules of Self-Reliance

Maha Abouelenein

How to Stay Low, Keep Moving, Invest in Yourself, and Own Your Future

20 min

4.2

Madness and Civilization

Michel Foucault

A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

19 min

4.4

Feeling Is The Secret

Neville Goddard

Ideas that Shape the World

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and It's All Small Stuff

Richard Carlson

Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life

15 min

The Courage to Be Disliked

Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness

Discover Cultural Divide in Colonial India

The Return of Race Science

28 min

4.2

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life

How Fabric Changed History

23 min

4.1

Human Hacking

Christopher Hadnagy with Seth Schulman

Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You

AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World

The Art of Healthy Arrogance & Dreaming Big

18 min

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Deepak Chopra

A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams

16 min

4.3

How Successful People Lead

John C. Maxwell

Taking Your Influence to the Next Level

19 min

4.2

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.