So last weekend I got this itch to dig into history's "bad girls" – you know, those queen types everyone calls tyrants. Didn't really have a plan, just fired up my laptop around 10 PM, still in my pajamas. Grabbed a cold soda from the fridge, plopped down on the couch, and started typing like a madwoman.
Starting Off Real Messy
First mistake? Thinking it'd be easy. Slammed "worst female rulers ever" into the search bar. Whoa. Got slapped with a million pages, half of 'em looking shady as hell. Ancient Rome, Chinese dynasties, medieval Europe... names started blurring together. One site said Cleopatra ate babies for breakfast. Yeah, right. My eyes were crossing.
Scrubbed that search. Tried "infamous women rulers history". Slightly better, but still felt like wading through mud. Kept finding the same five names recycled everywhere. Needed more variety, ya know?
Hitting the Books (Kind Of)
Dragged my old history textbook off the shelf – dusty thing nearly sneezed me to death. Opened it... realized it basically ignored most women rulers unless they behaved like angels. Useless. Went back online, grumbling.
This time, dug deeper. Looked up "historical female monarchs controversies". Finally, some gold nuggets mixed in with the dirt! Started seeing names pop up I'd barely heard of – a Byzantine Empress here, an Indian queen there. Wrote down everything that seemed legit on a crumpled piece of paper:
- Wu Zetian (China): Kept reading she bumped off her own kids? Needed to check sources.
- Mary I (England): "Bloody Mary" – why? The burnings?
- Catherine de Medici (France): Saw St. Bartholomew massacre linked to her.
- Empress Irene (Byzantine): Something about blinding her own son? Yikes.
- Cleopatra (Egypt): Famous, but was she truly "tyrant" or just enemy propaganda?
- Rani of Jhansi (India): Brave warrior, but controversial tactics?
- Catherine the Great (Russia): Expansions and rebellion crushing?
The Fact-Checking Nightmare
Had my messy list. Now came the slog. Cross-referenced every single point. Wikipedia (I know, but a start), then checked sources at the bottom, jumped to academic articles when I could find 'em free. Found a surprising amount of exaggeration and bias:
That Wu Zetian kid-killing thing? Super murky, probably political slander from dudes who hated a woman emperor. Mary I? Definitely approved executions, but calling her "Bloody Mary" oversimplifies the whole religious warfare mess. Catherine de Medici? Probably got blamed for stuff her awful sons did. It got frustrating – separating myth from reality is hard!
Almost chucked the whole list out the window when reading about Cleopatra. Roman historians HATED her. So much spin. Took coffee break #3.
Narrowing It Down to Seven
After hours clicking tabs until my finger ached, I had to decide who made the cut for being truly infamous for their power and brutal actions. Ditched Cleopatra and the Rani of Jhansi – too much debate about "tyrant" label fitting. Added back in one I found repeatedly slammed in early chronicles:
- Wu Zetian: Ruthless climb, used secret police.
- Mary I: Persecutions sealed her reputation.
- Catherine de Medici: Power behind throne, linked to massacres.
- Empress Irene: Son-blinding is hard to spin nicely.
- Empress Cixi (China): Found her! Ruthless court control, stifled reform.
- Isabella I (Castile): Funded Columbus, but expelled Jews/Muslims.
- Catherine the Great: Expanded Russia brutally, crushed revolts hard.
Was Isabella truly a "tyrant"? Debated it. But the expulsion was massive state oppression. Kept her in.
Slapping It Together
Finally, bone tired and it was past midnight, I just summarized each one real rough, focusing on why they got the harsh rep. Didn't glorify 'em, just laid out the ugly stuff. Proofread? More like squinted at the screen. Saved the doc called "Female Tyrants Quick List". Felt drained, but kinda pumped I untangled that historical mess myself. Shared it raw the next day. Boom. Done.
