Heroines of History

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
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Gbeto and their civ Malians are quite lonely across all civs. Would love if there could be a few more civilisations that could get female unique units.

There sure are examples dotted accross history if one makes the effort to search through it.

Here’s a concise summary of few female warrior groups:

ASIA

Chandragupta Maurya’s Female Bodyguards (India)

Elite, highly trained women who protected the emperor.
Known for loyalty and constant vigilance.

Onna-bugeisha (Japan)

Female samurai warriors from noble families.
Trained in martial arts, archery, and combat; defended homes and fought in wars.
Notable figures: Tomoe Gozen, Hangaku Gozen.

White Tortoise Cavalry / Trung Sisters’ Army (Vietnam)

Led by Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị in 40 CE.
Raised an army of both men and women to rebel against Chinese rule.

Khutulun’s Cavalry Regiment (Mongol Empire)

Mongol princess and warrior.
Fought alongside her father and commanded her own cavalry unit.

Sultana’s Female Bodyguards/The Amazons (Hyderabad, India)

Elite women guards protecting royal women in the Nizam’s court.
Skilled in martial arts and personal defense.

Vishpala (India, Vedic Legend)

Rig Vedic warrior woman who returned to battle with an iron prosthetic leg.

Liang Hongyu’s Army (China, Song Dynasty, 12th century)

Liang Hongyu was a female general who fought alongside her husband, Han Shizhong, against the Jin dynasty.
Famous for leading troops in battle and using war drums to signal maneuvers during naval combat.
She commanded infantry and naval units, actively participating in battles.

Sarmatians and Scythians (Central Asia)

The Sarmatians and Scythians were ancient nomadic warrior cultures that spanned Central Asia and the Eurasian steppes.
Women fought as mounted archers and warriors; archaeological evidence (female burials with weapons) suggests women fought in organized war bands.

Tomyris and the Massagetae (Central Asia)

Tomyris was queen of the Massagetae, an Iranian nomadic tribe in Central Asia.
She led an army of warriors, including female fighters, and famously defeated Cyrus the Great of Persia (6th century BCE).
Her army was composed of skilled cavalry, with both men and women warriors.

Miao Women Warriors (China, Southern Regions)

The Miao (Hmong) people, an ethnic group in China and Southeast Asia, have stories of women warriors.
During periods of rebellion against imperial rule, Miao women fought alongside men in guerrilla warfare.
Some women led rebel armies and defended their communities.

Meitei Female Warriors (Manipur, Northeast India)

Meitei women, during the Khongjom War
The “Nupi Lan” (Women’s War) movements later saw women mobilizing for defense and political rights.
Though more recent, Meitei women warriors have historical roots in village and regional defense groups.

Nakano Takeko and the Joshitai

Nakano Takeko led an all-female infantry unit, the Joshitai, during the Boshin War (Japanese civil war).
They fought to defend Aizu domain from imperial forces.
Nakano died in battle but became a symbol of female martial valor.

Kittur Rani Chennamma’s Army

Rani Chennamma led an armed rebellion.
Though she commanded a mixed army, women fighters were part of her forces.

Hani and Akha Women Warriors (Southeast Asia)

Indigenous Hani and Akha tribes in regions of China, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar historically had women warriors.
These women participated in village defense, especially when men were away, and took part in tribal conflicts.

Samurai Wives and Castle Defenders (Japan)

During the Sengoku period, samurai women often took up arms to defend castles when the men were away at war.
Famous sieges, like the Siege of Hachimanyama, involved women defending their homes, organizing supplies, and fighting attackers.

Queen Suriyothai (Thailand, 16th century)

Fought alongside her husband, King Maha Chakkraphat, against Burmese invaders.
She donned armor, mounted an elephant, and was killed in battle, sacrificing herself to save her king.
She is honored as a national heroine in Thailand.

Ahoms Female Warriors (Assam, India)

During Ahom rule, women were involved in defending territories from Mughal invasions.
Some Ahom queens are known to have organized defensive militias.

EUROPE

Order of the Hatchet (Spain, 1149 CE)

Women defenders of Tortosa, honored with a chivalric order.
Recognized for bravery against the Moors.

Shieldmaidens (Viking Age, Scandinavia)

Female Norse warriors, fought in battles and raids.
Notable names: Lagertha, Freydis Eiriksdottir.

Joan of Arc’s Army (France)

Joan led French forces in the Hundred Years’ War.
Symbol of female leadership in military campaigns.

La Donne di Milano (Italy)

Women who defended Milan from siege (1526).
Fought alongside male soldiers.

Boudica’s Army (Britannia)

Led a major uprising against the Roman Empire (60–61 CE).
Her rebel forces included women warriors.

Grace O’Malley’s Pirate Fleet (Ireland)

16th-century Irish pirate queen with her own fleet.
Led sea battles and raids.

Women Defenders in Hussite Wars (Bohemia)

Female fighters and defenders of cities during the Hussite religious wars (15th century).
Operated siege weapons and defended city walls.

Vlasta and the Maidens’ War (Czech Legend)

Mythical army of women led by Vlasta.
Waged war against men after Queen Libuše’s death.

AFRICA

Dahomey Amazons (Benin)

Elite all-female military regiment.
Known for discipline and fierceness in battle; fought European colonial powers like France.
Mino of N’Nonmiton (Alternative term for Dahomey Amazons): “Mino” means “our mothers” in Fon.

Queen Nzinga’s Warriors (Kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba, modern Angola)

Queen Nzinga Mbande (1583–1663) was a renowned military leader and strategist.
She led her people in wars against the Portuguese and their allies.
Known to dress as a man in battle and commanded both male and female warriors.
Some accounts describe her female bodyguards, who were also warriors and accompanied her in battle.

Candace Amanirenas’ Army (Kingdom of Kush, ancient Nubia – modern Sudan)

Amanirenas, the Kandake (Queen) of Kush, led her armies against the Roman Empire around 24 BCE.
She famously defeated Roman forces and sacked Roman Egypt.
While specific female regiments aren’t mentioned, she is depicted as leading troops and fighting personally.

Ahosi of Dahomey (Benin)

Apart from the Amazons, the Ahosi (royal women) sometimes served as advisors and guards for the king.
Some Ahosi were trained in self-defense and weapons to protect the royal compound.

Yaa Asantewaa’s Army (Ashanti Empire, modern Ghana)

Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu, led the Ashanti rebellion (War of the Golden Stool)
She raised and commanded an army, including female warriors.
Her leadership was pivotal in rallying both men and women to fight against British forces.

Queen Amina of Zazzau’s Cavalry (Hausa Kingdoms, modern Nigeria)

Queen Amina of Zaria (1533–1610) was a legendary military leader and warrior queen.
She expanded her kingdom through military campaigns.
Some accounts say she led a personal guard of female warriors and commanded an elite cavalry unit.

Key Themes:

Female bodyguards were common in royal courts (India, Africa).

Warrior queens and commanders led armies (Vietnam, Britain, Mongolia).

Women’s defense groups often formed in sieges and uprisings (Spain, Bohemia, Austria, Vietnam).

Some had formal recognition (Order of the Hatchet, Dahomey Amazons), while others were legendary but symbolic (Vlasta, Vishpala).

An update addressing women’s representation in the game by including them as second unique units to few more civs will be really cool.

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Above pictures are from Age of Empires Honors International Women's Day - Age of Empires - World's Edge Studio

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Some of those are from the Ancient era, is it supposed to be for both AoE2 and RoR/Chronicles?

Those are exactly the same…

She wasn’t the only woman who fought in the Hundred Years’ War, but I don’t think there were any fighting under her leadership.

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Being nitpicky is any use here? I know some are outside timeline and some are leaders. Infact I have mentioned this in summary (Key Themes section)

Stay on topic.

Do you agree for more female warrior units or not?

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I do, but

This was a genuine question, not a nitpick.

That being said, if you think discussing the long list of exemples you gave as off topic, I don’t think I have much to contribute aside from adding new exemples that we can’t discuss or say “Yes I agree”.

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Thats why i’d love to see a Scythians civilization in Age of Mythology :slight_smile: like in Troy Total War: the amazons expansion.

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Since probably you still didn’t find the answer in the “long list”, I will link you to it.

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It wasn’t even what I asked about…

Eh, I guess I’d rather move away from this thread, I’m just getting in the way.

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From the current civis japanese vikings and maybe dravidians can have female uu’s.rest im not that sure.

I wonder if north american factions used female warriors.

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I don’t really expect a yes from you. The way you started nitpicking “why did I include this?” (Instead you could have asked why didn’t I include them, which would have been much more appreciated)

I had a number of other notable queens too that I could have written on like Rudramadevi, Xochitl and K’abel.

I simply ran out of time and was worried that I might running out of word limit / time out.

Examples are merely to answer the idiots who think there were no women in history.

The theme of the discussion at its core is to add more women warriors to the game. Could I have refined the list further? Yes I could have. Remember we are discussing a game here not a history class.

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This was not an army of women, Joan of Arc became a figurehead for Charles VII’s army. To find more women in that army you’d have the usual nurses, camp followers… as in any army of that era. Charles VII had a staff of competent leaders (Connétable de Richemont, Jean Bureau…) to actually make most strategic decisions, and was at the time in the process of reforming the army around a professional core (the Compagnies d’Ordonnance)

She may be seen now as a sign of female leadership, in some circles, but at the time she was mainly seen as a divine seal of approval on the idea of kicking the English out of France, that God himself commanded it, as well as a general figure of France defending itself against foreign invaders.

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Where did I say it was?

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Well, then you can add Jeanne de Clisson and Marguerite de Bressieux to the women who took part to the Hundred Years’ War. Both of them are far more interesting than Joan of Arc imo, and de Bressieux seems to have had other female warriors under her command (unlike the other two afaik), but since they couldn’t be used as easily as nationalist/religious figures (but far more as feminist ones imo) they’ve been largely forgotten in comparison.

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The list is long. We don’t even have many of the civs (especially Americans) where women can be further represented.

In my opinion atleast 20% of the civs should be having some female warriors. That’s ~10 civs (out of 50). That’s a fair number I would say.

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You could increase that number by having some civs randomly spawn nuns instead of monks (just like we have male and female villagers). I think it works for pretty much all European civs as well as the Japanese, not sure about others (at least not from memory alone).

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It also works with Buddhism - Bhikkhuni and Hinduism - Brahmavadini.

In Islam, maybe she could be made a Sufi. There were quite a few. But Sufi itself is in contrary to heterodox Islam, so I am not sure, if it’s the right call.

Delving into religion will result in more controversy probably, so I would avoid it in this topic.

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NGL I have a kink for female campaign protagonists, mostly cause it’s unusual I guess so when I see a female leader I always try to imagine her campaign.

It also shows how it’s not true that women can’t be violent when they want and they share a similar burden to men when it comes to our shameful human history.

But you missed a cool one in Africa: Dihya / kahina the Berber queen who fought against the patriarchal Muslims! There’s a custom campaign about her with a pink quotas UT that makes the training of Jerawa (Amazon) infantry and archers gold free! An inclusive carnage so to say.

There’s also an Apranik campaign done by one of the few female campaign designers in the community. While that figure is mostly legendary it seems that it was common for women to fight in the Sassanid army.

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Since we will be able to produce flemish militian starting in feudal age, I wonder if it will produce both male and female versions. Right now, when we click the button, female villagers became female militian, but after that all newly produced militian are men. It’s a change that could easily be made.

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You mention female leaders, which is imo not the main issue, because even if they were the 0.1%, in a thousand years of history you can find dozens of them. And it looks like devs picked more of them in recent dlcs.

On the topic of soldiers you picked many examples of royal guards, another category where it would make sense are militiamen like the flemish one (or spearmen in-game). Because the way the game works in feudal, we have heavily trained soldiers (archers and scouts), other with an expensive gears (men at arms), but we also have the spearman, litteraly just a guy with a long stick. And its role in game is also litteraly to protect its village from raids in early feudal.

Looking at situations like a viking raid in 9th century western europe, maybe it would have make for some women to take arms and defend themselves. Although I’m very biaised, maybe such things were not conceivable at that time. And the vikings would have killed everyone anyways. But I think its one of the situation where women warriors might have made sense.

So maybe in feudal age, spearmen could have a female version, like the flemish militian. And when you reach castle age and research pikemen, you can no longer make female ones (because at that time, pikemen are no longer villagers defending themselves, but rather professional soldiers). Visually both sprites would be very similar, and it makes for a cool piece of trivia.

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That’s a very good point.

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It’s rarer than you think. The Malian gbeto is mostly inspired by a women corps from the 19th century Dahomey, who were suitable for brutalising local villagers but barely more (severely crushed by a french bayonet charge). And it seems the main reason this unit was formed is because Dahomey made so many slaving raids it was running out of manpower.

Overall while you can find some examples of exceptional women taking up arms (this would be at the scale off hero units, not regular units), it otherwise typically were women training to defend themselves while the men were away. Be it for Vikings, Japan or in the steppe. Or in a desperate last stand when defeat meant death for everyone anyway (I assume it happened in some very severe sieges).

The way it should translate would be a higher combat ability for villagers (possibly unique villager upgrades) for civs with a tough lifestyle. As villagers can already be used for combat as last resort, and I assume non-fighting men in such cultures would also be quite tough. Rather than a regular unit to actively deploy (sure you can use your villagers in the front line but they aren’t suited for it).