In the ancient Mediterranean and West Asian worlds, queens and royal dynastic women maintained power through their artistic portrayal, cultural patronage and their relationship with cult worship. Ancient Queenship recovers their lived experiences, responsibilities and public personas. Sources drawn from the first millennium BCE to today question our assumptions on queenly status, and ask us to reconsider who holds power, to examine how histories are created and altered, and to centre the often-unexplored narratives of royal women.
The volume looks at how the theme of queenship has been “re-owned” over time by creating conversation between ancient objects, artworks and ephemera dating from the 15th to the 21st century.