Makeda, Queen of Sheba, ruled the Axumite kingdom for more than 50 years. She traveled to Jerusalem to witness the fabled wisdom of King Solomon and bore him a son named Menelik, the first Imperial ruler of Ethiopia.
Queen Amanirenas remains one of the most famous Meroitic queens because of her role in leading the Kushite army against the Romans in a war that lasted three years. This war is largely responsible for halting Rome’s southward expansion in Africa.
Hatshepsut, reigned Egypt from 1478-1458 B.C., during the Eighteenth Dynasty. She made great strides in terms of trade, diplomacy, and monumental building projects. Following her death, attempts were made to remove her from the historical record by defacing her monuments and removing her name from the list of kings.
Nefertiti was relatively young, likely in her early teens, when she married Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). Together, they introduced monotheism, with the worship of the sun god Aten. As queen, the "King's Great Wife," Nefertiti bore 6 daughters during the span of their marriage: Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten, Neferneferture, Setepenre. What is best known of Nefertiti is her bust, believed to have been created by Thutmose who is thought to have been the official court sculptor.
