Queens Around the World, 15201620: A Century of Female Power [Paperback]

This textbook explores the histories of royal women in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It argues that by dint of an unprecedented conjunction of historical shifts and powerful personalities, it was these women, and not men, who sat at the helm of global politics; moreover, it was they who in truth steered our worlds transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Organized into chapters devoted to each of the eras great states, the book sets out to challenge several historical premises. First, it shows that women were the actual, if not always formally crowned, sovereigns of these states, or at least played a decisive role in shaping their policies. Second, the book dissolves the conventional dichotomy between East and West, showing that in both Christian Europe and Islamdom, women achieved their high status by means of similar strategies and at similar periods in history. Third, by demonstrating that there was a precedent for female authority long before the first harbingers of the womens movement in the eighteenth century, the book calls into question received ideas about historical progress and the evolution of womens liberation.

1. Introduction.- 2. Sultanas of the Ottoman Empire.- 3. Mughal Queens of Hindustan.- 4. The Safavid Queens of Iran.- 5. Queens of the Jews.- 6. Queens of France.- 7. Queens of the British Isles and Ireland.- 8. The Three Phases of 16th Century Female Rule.- 9. Conclusion: How and Why did it End?.

“The positive aspect of this book is that it brings together women from within and beyond Europe. ... this book is an engaging read which might be valuable to inspire younger students and members of the wider public to find out more about these interesting (royal) women ... .” (Ellie Woodacre, Royal Studies Journal, Vol. 13 (1), 2026)

Dror Zeevi is Professor Emeritus of social and cultural Middle Easlcd