The sultanate of Aceh enjoyed no fewer than four reigning queens in a row. They defended their country against rampant expansion by the Dutch and then the English. The last queen, Zainatuddin Kamalat Syah, was eventually deposed in 1699, through a combination of religious and personal factors, ending 59 years of a highly unusual political experiment in which women were seen as not just acceptable rulers, but preferable to men. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235 ..read more

The history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is hard for historians because the best sources were all destroyed. Those that remain are of dubious historicity, but they do tell of the Queen Xiuhtlaltzin, who reigned somewhere in the 800s or 900s, shortly before the fall of the Toltec empire. Since the records are so sketchy, this episode is not exactly a biography, but it does cover: what written records the people of Mesoamerica left why the written records didn't survive (they got burned) how the people reconstructed their oral histories in the 1600s how those reconstructions tell a very little ..read more

The kingdom of Silla in ancient Korea had three queen regnants (a very good score, compared with most other countries of its time). Two reigned in Silla's golden age, but the last was Jinseong, who ruled at a time when decay had set in and the odds were not in her favor. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistor ..read more

The kingdom of Silla in ancient Korea had three queen regnants (a very good score, compared with most other countries of its time). Two reigned in Silla's golden age, but the last was Jinseong, who ruled at a time when decay had set in and the odds were not in her favor. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistor ..read more

Zenobia is one of the great enemies of Rome. From the oasis city of Palmyra (in modern-day Syria), she rose up in rebellion and conquered a great empire from Asia Minor through to Egypt. This episode covers: the background of Palmyra as an important stop on the Silk Road just how disastrous the 3rd century was for Rome how Zenobia's husband Odaenathus saved the eastern empire how he died how Zenobia took control on behalf of her son how she expanded her empire how Rome fought back and eventually won conflicting theories on how Zenobia died what has happened to Palmyra throughout the interveni ..read more

Rome stole her country, publicly flogged her, and raped her daughters. The woman known variously as Boudica, Boudicca, Boadicea, Bonducca, and a dozen other variations fought back with everything she had. This episode includes: How Rome came to the isle of Britain How the Icenian king split his country between Rome and his daughters How Rome wouldn't take half for an answer How the Icenian queen gathered an army and burned three successive cities to the ground How Rome won the last battle and the Iceni ceased to exist How Boudica resurfaced as a symbol of British nationalism, female power, an ..read more

She had many names: Salome, Alexandra, Shelamzion, and Schlomtzion, but the last monarch of an independent kingdom of Judea was a Queen Regnant. She ruled from (roughly) 78 to 69 BCE. Her time was remembered for generations as the golden age before Rome. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. Join Into History (intohistory.com) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bon ..read more

If you follow the royal news, you may be aware that we had a queen abdicate last month. Or possibly, you missed it because it wasn’t in the British royal family. It was Margrethe II of Denmark. I am researching last queens for series 12, fully aware that the word “last” is a little ambiguous here, but I must confess, the connection with this current event, never crossed my historically minded brain. Until I read a blog post on exactly that connection, and a definition of “last” I had not considered. There are currently no queen regnants in Europe at all! Author Cheryl Ciucevich graciously agre ..read more

It's Black History Month, and we're looking at LaVern Baker, the pioneering R&B singer LaVern Baker. Today's episode is a guest episode from the fabulously named Dead Ladies Show, which celebrates women - both overlooked and iconic, through live history storytelling on stage in Berlin, and beyond. Check out other episodes from The Dead Ladies Show on their website (https://deadladiesshow.com/podcast/) or wherever you get your podcasts. Visit my website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes ..read more

For most of human history, teenagers have been lumped in with children or with adults, depending on which way was most convenient at the time. People between the ages of 13 and 19 didn't become "teenagers" until the 20th century. In this episode, I talk about: how the Classical writers defined the difference between childhood and youth/adolescence how important it was for girls of that age to maintain virginity or marry, nothing in between how in 1904 an American psychologist informed us that adolescence was a time of "storm and stress" how the invention of the high school and the car allowed ..read more