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Page 1 of 4 By Tina Robinson Simonsen
Part of the article series "Womens as Warriors" - Arabia: Land of Battle Queens, Religious Rebels and the Lady of Victory Cult
In 1915 a feudal struggle for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was raging between Ibn Saud and Ibn Rashid. Suddenly one day, a bare breasted woman with long black hair flowing behind her rode back and forth along the front lines. She sang songs of war and chanted encouragement for the soldiers. We don’t know much more than that except that she was the last known “Arabic Battle Queen”.
For thousands of years this had been a common practice for a woman to be the leader in battle, to ride ahead of the fighters, in Arabia. The practice is thought to stem from ancient Bedouin tradition yet it is mainly written about after the coming of Islam. Their function was to incite patriotism, valor and passion (most exposed various body parts). These women were members of the cult known as “Lady of Victory” and they were normally of high social standing or even virgins. They rode on camels or horses or stayed on the ground near the fighting in a sacred enclosure called a “qubbah”. Some fought along side the soldiers while others preferred to be in the midst and encourage through song and chant. The goal of the fighters was not to let her camel go down.
There have been so many of these battle queens, but, the most famous is Aisha, the prophet Mohammed’s youngest wife whom I mentioned in the first article. She waged war on her late husband’s cousin, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, at the battle of Basra in 656 AD because she felt he wasn’t right in taking over the Islamic movement. She directed the fighting from a highly decorated “Howdah” sat on the back of a camel. This is why it is also called the Battle of the Camel. It is significant because it was the first time that muslim killed muslim. At first she was winning but then the tides turned. It was said that when her soldiers realized they were losing they started to retreat. She screamed at them calling them cowards and to get back into the war. She promptly turned and rode her camel into the middle of the battle, brandishing her sword, so they had no other choice than to follow her, probably to their death. In the end she lost and was captured. Ali didn’t harm her but sent her back to Medina, escorted by her brother, one of Ali’s commanders. She had to promise never to wage war on him again.
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