The Legend of Power Women
This is the truly fascinating story of Queen Tomiris, who succeeded her dead husband - the former king of the Massagetae. It is said that she cut off her breast and rode into battle when her husband's head was brought back to her. It is said that she slayed Cyrus the Great (king of the Persians circa 5th century BC) by her own two hands. It is also said that she kept his head near her at all times and drank fine wine from it until the day of her death.
As leader of the Persian people, Cyrus conquered the Medes and unified the two separate Iranian kingdoms; as the king of Persia, he reigned over the new empire from 559 BC until his death. The empire expanded under his rule, eventually conquering most of Southwest Asia, much of Central Asia, and much of the region just bordering the powerful Indian empire to create the largest nation the world had yet seen.During his 29-year reign, Cyrus fought against some of the greatest states of the early Classical period, including the Median Empire, the Lydian Empire, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Elated by his victories in Asia, Cyrus strove to conquer the Massagetae and venture into Egypt. However, Cyrus waged a war fatal to himself, fighting the Queen of Massagetae along the Syr Darya in 530 BC.
Not much can be deducted from the Babylonian tablets but the Greek historian Herodotus mentions:
"Of all the combats in which the barbarians (a term meaning non-Greeks which was not a derogatory term in those times) have engaged among themselves, I reckon this to have been the fiercest. The following, as I understand, was the manner of it: First, the two armies stood apart and shot their arrows at each other; then, when their quivers were empty, they closed and fought hand-to-hand with lances and daggers; and thus they continued fighting for a length of time, neither choosing to give ground. At length the Massagetai prevailed. The greater part of the army of the Persians was destroyed and Cyrus himself fell, after reigning nine and twenty years. Search was made among the slain by order of the queen for the body of Cyrus, and when it was found she took a skin, and, filling it full of human blood, she dipped the head of Cyrus in the gore, saying, 'I live and have conquered you in fight, and yet by you am I ruined, for you took my man with guile; but thus I make good my threat, and give you your fill of blood.' Of the many different accounts which are given of the death of Cyrus, this which I have followed appears to me most worthy of credit."
This tale has been the inspiration for the Amazons, an ancient nation of female warriors. A society dominated by women where no men were permitted to have sexual encounters or reside in Amazon country; but once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighbouring tribe. The male children who were the result of these visits were either put to death, sent back to their fathers or left in the wilderness to fend for themselves; the females were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war. They lived in Pontus, which is part of modern day Turkey near the shore of the Black Sea, where they formed an independent kingdom under the government of another queen, named Hippolyta ("she lets her horses loose").
Now that's food for thought!
23 thoughts:
Don't mess with Turkish women!
But I love the country :)
I forgot to add: The yellow zone in the map above represents The Persian Empire at the time.
Just a thought, but could drinking wine from the head of someone possibly contributed to her death?
On another note, stories from this time period are fascinating. One of my areas of study during college were the various empires that controlled portions of the Eurasian continent. When you read of these empires, you come to realize that women played a very important role in how these empires were run. The biggest problem is they were overshadowed by their male counterparts. The saying, "Behind ever great man lies an even greater woman" comes to mind.
So true Jeremy.. "Behind ever great man lies an even greater woman"
Great article! Love it!
Yeah, she's my great aunt - what's the big deal? How else do you think I became such a great blogger?! ;)
(LOL!!)
Mmm...talk about girl-power! Makes me think of that movie "The Messenger" about Joan of Arc. Women warriors are certainly awe-inspiring. I don't like violence, but in those days it wasn't questioned like it is today. For a woman to engage in that is amazing.
I wonder 1000 years from now (if humans are still around) which women and men will they say were amazing from our current times? Will it be warriors or CEO's or Artists or...maybe will it be the peacemakers?
Something else to think about for sure.
I am woman, hear me ROAR!
Great story Ilker! I would love to read more history stories that you find interesting!
Ilker,
How inspiring! I have a blogpost to write tonight and I'm feeling like I can handle it now with no problem. I'll skip the wine though, if you don't mind. :)
Great story. Nicely written.
Liz
HA HA! Yes, that was certainly more than most women would do today I think. :) But, (leave it to me to take this point of view) she was avenging her man! Ya gotta love that part! So great a love, etc., etc. Best not mess with my man! LOL! Ilker, aren't you Turkish? I don't know your husband, your son, or any other man in your life. Honest! ;)
Great story! I always love seeing the wronged woman get revenge; it's a personal thing. :) Thanks for sharing.
OMG! Great story! May I post an excerpt on pleasure-buzz.com with an link back to this post?
You never cease to amaze me! What a pleasant surprise... you made me think... AGAIN. :) Lol. Just kidding, it is no surprise. But it is amazing how you find your topics. You are one of the most original bloggers I know.
I think you should make a series out of it and write about all the great women in history.
@Malin: By all means! Just don't copy/paste the whole post without a link back ;)
Ew...
Weird...
Drank wine out of his skull?
Twisted...
But excellent writing, Ilker, as always.
I love stuff like this~ Excellent post... Amazing feats of women from cultures where women were basically dormant...Well presented and great food for thought....
Wow so great Thank ilker because PM me regarding this story,Now I know..you have a good attitude as successful blogger.very hard working.
@ilker: No that would be stealing. And that wouldn't be good cause you know where I live :P
Thanks for your permisson. I'll give you lots of link love!
Great post!!!
I didn't know the whole story...fascinating!!!
Maria
Interesting story, thanks for letting me know about it.
You're a very talented writer, and not just on the techie subjects!
K
AgentScully said: I wonder 1000 years from now (if humans are still around) which women and men will they say were amazing from our current times? Will it be warriors or CEO's or Artists or...maybe will it be the peacemakers?
I wonder about this often but more in a general sense of what will they be saying about us 1000 years from now.
This is a great story. Thank you for doing the research and sharing it Ilker. All I can really say is he's lucky it wasn't that time of the month or he really would have been in for it (LOL!)
Now I'm afraid of women :S
Queen Tomyris is one of the many brave feminine rulers of iranian nomads of the steppe. Persians, their relatives actually before being settled in the iranian plateau might have had followed such a lifestyle. The interesting characteristic of the early iranian societies regardless settled or nomadic was this extraordinary equal presence of women in very aspects of life even wars and rulership. Another examples are Sarmatian, Scythian and Alan tribes in which women traditionally fought in the time of war alongside men; or centuries later by the 7th AD there are traces of presence of women officers among the rank of cavalry in sassanid Persia.
What do you think? Post your thoughts..