"Women Warlords is the first book to reveal the reality of female military leadership in ancient and medieval warfare. It discovers true Amazon chieftains buried beneath the steppes of southern Russia and reconstructs their unique society in which women fought alongside men and could only marry when they had slain an enemy. It describes the last campaign of the African Amazons of Dahomey battling against the French in 1892, including rarely seen photographs of the women warriors. The book follows Queen Zenobia's remarkable attempt to set up an Empire of the East, independent from the Romans. It relates stories of women crusaders, the sexual flaws of Celtic Queens, and places Joan of Arc in the context of other contemporary women warlords, equally victorious but far less famous. Women Warlords is about the women who held real power, their strategy and tactics, and their charismatic leadership and fighting courage. The warriors include Artemisia, Zenobia, Medb, Cartimandua, Boudica, Aethelflaed, Matilda of Tuscany, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Jeanne de Montfort. Tim Newark reconstructs their triumphant careers from contemporary sources and medieval chronicles. Angus McBride's illustrations recreate the authentic appearance of the warlords and their warriors."--Dust cover.