“The Roman historians who chronicled their stories invariably expressed shocked and dismay that the legions suffered even temporary defeats at the hands of female commanders.”

By Pamela Toler

THE HISTORY OF the Roman Empire is at its heart a saga of men at war.

For centuries, the legions pushed the empire’s boundaries east and west. Beyond the frontiers, men took up arms to defend their far-flung lands from conquest by Rome. Others, sought to conquer the Eternal City for themselves.

But it wasn’t only men who did the fighting.

From Celtic Britain to Roman Syria, women too led troops against the empire. Some of them triumphed, others were defeated. But in each case, the Roman historians who chronicled their stories invariably expressed shocked and dismay that the legions suffered even temporary defeats at the hands of female commanders. From their perspective, the idea that women could do battle, let alone lead troops, was as unnatural as a two-head calf. Nevertheless, women did just that. Here are some of their stories.

Cleopatra VII (not just a pretty face)

Although remembered more for her romantic trysts, the legendary Cleopatra commanded the Egyptian fleet in the Battle of Actium, the great naval engagement that was the decisive battle in Antony and Cleopatra’s war with Octavian.

On Sept. 21, 31 BCE, the future Roman emperor’s fleet had trapped Cleopatra and Antony’s forces off the west coast of Greece. Just when all seemed lost, the famous power couple made a desperate attempt to break out. When Antony’s vessels opened a gap in the center of Octavian’s flotilla, Cleopatra’s 60 ships, which carried the pair’s war treasure, slipped through the gap and sailed toward Egypt.

Soon afterwards, Antony broke through the enemy line with 40 ships and escaped too, leaving 500 of his vessels and some 5,000 men to their fate at Octavian’s hands.

Cleopatra’s role in the battle has long been a matter of debate. Some claim she panicked and ran and was pursued by the besotted Antony. Others maintain her retreat was planned. Whatever the case, Actium marked the start of a losing streak for the two lovers that would ultimately lead both to commit suicide.

Amanirenas the Brave

Rome’s defeat of Cleopatra and the subsequent conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt led the empire into conflict with yet another woman warrior: Amanirenas.

With Egypt under Roman control, Augustus and his army pushed south toward the Nubian kingdom of Kush in what is now the central Sudan. Around 25 BCE, the Kushite kandake (queen), a one-eyed warrior known as Amanirenas the Brave, decided to strike at Rome first. While the imperial governor of Egypt focused his attention on Arabia, Amanirenas led her forces into the heart of Egypt. The kandake seized several Roman outposts and captured two Roman cities before she retreated into Kush with captives and loot. Among the booty was a bronze head taken from a statue of Augustus.

But the empire soon struck back. After reclaiming their cities, the Romans invaded the Kushite homeland and burned its capital. Amanirenas did not accept defeat. For five years she led her troops in a guerrilla war against the Roman legions. Fighting at the end of its supply line in desert terrain (never Rome’s best thing), the empire eventually sued for peace on terms favorable to Kush.

Boudica (And a Bunch of Other Celtic Women)

Britain’s ancient heroine, Boudica didn’t originally aspire to lead armies against Rome. In fact, her husband the powerful Iceni chieftain Prasutagus, entered into a client relationship with Rome. After his death, the chief procurator for Roman Britain claimed the late ruler’s kingdom and then sent imperial soldiers to seize his personal wealth. When Boudica protested, she was publicly flogged and forced to watch as Roman soldiers raped her daughters.

Outraged, and fearing worse to come, Boudica allied her Iceni with other tribes that had suffered injustices under Roman rule and, sometime around 61 CE, led them in a rebellion. Her forces sacked the Roman cities of Camulodunum and Londinium and the Romanized British city of Verulmium.

At first, Boudica met with little resistance. The main Roman army, led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was already busy fighting against the Druids in Wales. When Suetonius returned, the two forces met in a single battle. Despite the numerical superiority of Boudica’s forces, the combat-hardened Roman soldiers proved to be a tough enemy. The battle was a massacre. Roman soldiers killed not only defeated warriors, but also unarmed women children, and pack animals. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself rather than fall into Roman hands.

Romans never got used to Celtic women fighting alongside, or in front of, men. Three centuries later, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus, who fought against the Celts in Gaul, reported “a whole band of foreigners will be unable to cope with one of him in a fight, if he calls in his wife.”

Zenobia

Palmyra, located in what’s now Syria, was one of the richest provinces in the entire Roman Empire. And bordering Persian territory, it was also one of the most strategically vital, as well.

In 267 CE, a Palmyrene queen by the name of Zenobia took power on behalf of her young son following the king’s murder. For three years, she was a model Roman governor, just like her husband had been before her. Then in 270, something changed. We don’t know why, but Zenobia raised an army to challenge Rome’s sovereignty in the east. She first seized Arabia, then Egypt, and later overran Asia Minor as far north as Ankara in modern Turkey.

Eventually, almost a third Rome’s empire in the east was in her hands. She even proclaimed herself ‘Augusta’ before the emperor Aurelian and the Roman army marched against her. Zenobia had consistently won against the forces of Roman Syria but was forced to retreat again and again in the face of Aurelian‘s advance. She finally took refuge in Palmyra itself before her defeat and eventual capture. According to some sources, she died in captivity, while being transported to Rome. Others say she was put on display as part of an Imperial triumph. Another version holds that Aurelian gave her a pension and she spent the rest of her life in the resort town of Tibur. Your guess is as good as mine.

Mawiyya

A century later, Roman Syria would be the site of another uprising led by a woman. In the 4^th century, the Arab leader Mawiyya and a confederation of nomadic tribes under her rule revolted against Rome. Defeated, Rome eventually sued for peace on Mawiyya’s terms. Later that year, Mawiyya and her followers, now allies of the empire, rushed to the aid of Constantinople. The Eastern Empire’s capital was under siege by hordes of Goths, Huns, and Alans. The desert warriors defeated the invaders; Ammianus Marcellinus (remember him?) claimed Mawiyya’s Arabs saved the city.

The fifth century Greek historian Sozemen, described Mawiyya’s defeat of the Roman forces, saying “this war was by no means a contemptible one, although conducted by a woman.” He could as easily have been describing the actions of Cleopatra, Amanirenas, Boudica or Zenobia.

After a while you’d think the novelty of women commanders would have worn off.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pamela D. Toler is the author of Women Warriors: An Unexpected History. She is also author of The Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War, among other books. Her work has appeared in Aramco World, Calliope, History Channel Magazine, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, and on Time.com.