Incredible Warrior Queens Throughout History

Fu Hao of China

Photo via Chrisy Gyford/Wikipedia

Fu Hao was one of the many wives of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty, but she carried more weight than that. During her time, she also served as a military general and a high priestess – if you’ve ever seen Disney’s Mulan you’ll know that women were kept far away from these types of positions in 1200 BC.

Although she was one of the King’s 64 wives, Hao wasn’t about to just sit down and be idle. Instead, she led numerous military campaigns – many of them successful. The Tu-Fang had battled against the Shang for generations, but Fu Hao led a single, carefully executed strategy that defeated them in one fell swoop. Her importance to the King continued after her passing, as he used the site of her tomb for many sacrifices, hoping to gain some spiritual guidance from her to defeat the Gong.