Can you imagine a world without rulers or heads of government to make necessary decisions on behalf of their nations? A country’s prosperity depends on the effectiveness of its ruler and those rulers who have gone before. By the turn of the 19th century, most rulers had been male, but there have been female rulers like Cleopatra and Sobekneferu who have made a significant impact on the world during the period of their reign.

1. Cleopatra



Cleopatra VII has long been considered the only female pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek royal family that ruled Egypt from 305 B.C. to 30 B.C. But a recent analysis of a unique royal crown suggests that her lesser-known ancestor, Queen Arsinoë II, held that distinction some 200 years earlier. Conducted by Maria Nilsson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the study offers a new interpretation of the official pharaonic succession and underscores the symbolic power of crowns in Egyptian art.

Arsinoë II was born in 316 B.C. to Ptolemy I, a friend and adviser of Alexander the Great who seized control of Egypt after the Greek king’s death. Following the death of her first husband, Lysimachus of Thrace, Arsinoë married her half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos, king of Macedonia; the union ended soon after when he killed two of her three sons in a power struggle. She then returned to Egypt and married her full brother Ptolemy II, becoming co-ruler of his empire. The couple adopted the epithet Philadelphus (meaning brother- or sister-loving) to celebrate their shared leadership.

Previous scholars have already established Arsinoë’s strong political influence from textual sources, some of which describe her as power-hungry, scheming and even responsible for the exile of Ptolemy II’s first wife. (Others make reference to her popularity with the people, skill in foreign policy, participation in the Olympic games and expansion of the royal library of Alexandria.) To dig deeper into the life and legacy of this historically significant yet mysterious queen, Nilsson conducted the first comprehensive study of relief scenes featuring Arsinoë, paying special attention to her unique crown while taking contextual details and hieroglyphics into account. She published her findings in her doctoral dissertation, entitled “The Crown of Arsinoë II: The Creation and Development of an Imagery of Authority.”

2. Sobekneferu



This Queen's name is sometimes written as Nefrusobek. She was a Queen-Pharoah and the 8th ruler of the 12th Dynasty. Probably the daughter of Amenemhet III and the half sister of Amenemhet IV.

Sobekneferu ruled at the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. Some have suggested that she ruled alongside Amenemhat III and/or Amenemhat IV. According to Egyptian tradition, she ruled independently. The Turin Canon gives almost 4 years of rule, as does Manetho.

3. Neferneferuaten Nefertiti

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