Her Half of History

There is so much written about Marie Antoinette, much of it contradictory, that I just could not squeeze her story down into a single episode, not even with liberal use of the backspace button. So this is the first of three episodes on a woman who many hoped would be the last queen of France.In this episode: she is born in Vienna, though we don't know much about her childhood she wins (or loses) the dice roll the determines who marries who between Versailles and Vienna a hasty education focuses more on her appearance than her knowledge the court of Versailles is dominated by petty social interactions and her husband, bless him, has problems of his own. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage (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. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 myPatreonpage (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. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes! There have been Muslim queens who ruled their own countries! One of them was Arwa al-Sulayhi who ruled Yemen for 60 years in the 11th and 12th century. She outlasted her husband, her other husband, her son, and her other son, continuing to rule on her own authority through it all. Though the memory of her has faded, her mosque is still there, and so is her palace. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage (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. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Feature Image by Mufaddalqn, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 about Xiuhtlaltzin what archaeology of Tollan/Tula can tell us how Xiuhtlaltzin might have worshipped a frog goddess how she might have cheered and/or played and/or sacrificed the losers of the famous Mesoamerican ball game In the end, the jury's out on whether Xiuhtlaltzin even existed. Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments on the website or on social media. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage (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 (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/herhalfofh8). JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Feature image by AlejandroLinaresGarcia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24460525 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 myPatreonpage (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. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 intervening centuries, and especially recently under ISIS control Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. The feature image is by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126112516 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, and female rage Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Feature image by Paul Walter - Boudica statue, Westminster, CC BY 2.0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cleopatra inherited a joint throne, but pushed first one and then a second brother out of it to rule alone. In a world where rising Roman dominance was a fact of life, she managed to maintain control of her country by negotiating (in every possible way) with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Though she lost in the end, she still managed to close out 3000 years of Egyptian history on her own terms. This episode originally appeared in series 2 on Women Who Seized Power, but it fits equally well in series 12 on Last Queens. Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 agreed to allow me to publish her work here on the podcast. Please check out Cheryl’s blog at hrhprincesspalace.blogspot.com. You can also find Cheryl on social media as Palace Princess or Princess Palace Blog on Twitter, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook. The feature image today is by Aalborg Stift / Casper Tybjerg - Flickr: Bispevielse, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. Support the show on myPatreonpage for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction. Or make a one-time donation on Buy Me a Coffee. JoinInto History(intohistory.com/herhalfofhistory/) for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit Evergreen Podcasts to listen to more great shows. Follow me on Twitter (X) as@her_half. Or onFacebookorInstagramas Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices