## Feminist History is Real History In the time of [Hammurabi](https://eleanorkonik.com/tag/hammurabi/), there lived a Princess named Kirum, daughter of Zumri-Lim (king of a Semitic city-state in modern day Syria). She eventually grew up and married her brother-in-law, Hays-Samu, because her sister had betrayed their father by failing to act properly as his "agent" in the foreign court. It turned out that Hays-Samu was basically a violent treacherous ass (much like Kirum's sister!) and Kirum was so miserable that she threatened to kill herself if her father didn't come get her. Hays-Samu eventually divorced her — a huge humiliation, but at least then she could go home. The takeaway here isn't that princesses in [Mesopotamia](https://eleanorkonik.com/tag/mesopotamia/) were treated poorly — in many ways Kirum's situation was unusual, as evidenced by her outrage and her expectation that something would be done to solve this problem. Most Mesopotamian kings weren't violent murderous asses, and most of the time... ## Mesopotamian Princesses acted as their father's ambassadors in their husband's court. Their role was not as simply a living symbol of alliance (although this was certainly a part of their role) or even as an incubator for a man to put his grandson on a rival's throne. It was the job of Semitic princesses in this era to offer advice to their fathers on how best to deal with their husbands and presumably vice versa, to the betterment of all. The letters they wrote back home were filled with important diplomatic content. Not all Mesopotamian Princesses were married off as part of this "diplomatic corps." Similar to how [the daughters of English nobles sometimes became nuns in convents (especially if they became inconvenient for someone](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/610nkv/why_were_noblewomen_inclined_to_become_nuns/),— but see ([The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron](https://eleanorkonik.com/the-traitor-son-cycle-by-miles-cameron/) %% ( [[2021-02-26 The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron]] ) %% for an awesome example of how [the role of Abbess could be a powerful one](https://www.thoughtco.com/abbesses-in-womens-religious-history-3529693)), the daughter of a king might have been dedicated to a god as a priestess, obligated to pray to the gods for the health and prosperity of her father and his kingdom. By contrast... ## Princesses in Egypt had a very different role to those in Mesopotamia Compared to the countries surrounding it, Ancient Egypt was an outlier in many ways. The Commercial Revolution passed it by for centuries, its Pharaohs keeping antiquated views about commerce and refusing to allow a trading class to emerge: ![[The Civilizations of Africa by Christopher Ehret#ch05p201 Egypt and the Commercial Revolution]] This isn't, of course, to say that women in Egypt didn't have a path to power. Hatsheput and Cleopatra aren't huge outliers. It's just that the Egyptian Pharaohs evidently wouldn't *dream* of letting one of their Princesses marry a foreigner (although they were very happy to marry foreign princesses themselves). Amenhotep II made this abundantly clear when the Mittanian ambassadors were first working out an alliance with Amenhotep II, stating outright that "from time immemorial no daughter of the King of Egypt is given to anyone." This begs the question... ## What did Egyptian Princesses *do*? If Egyptian Princesses weren't able to engage in the sort of diplomacy that their Mesopotamian counterparts handled, helping their fathers and brothers navigate the complexities of alliance and communication across vast distances by serving as trusted, live-in ambassadors, [what did they do](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/ly931r/what_did_ancient_princesses_do_if_they_didnt_wind/)? Some certainly married their brothers, bore them children, and doubtless lounged around. [Some few ruled outright or co-ruled with their husbands or sons](https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2018/08/09/women-rocked-ancient-world-ruling-harder/events/the-takeaway/). But what about the rest of the Princesses, who did not enjoy such rarefied influence? It seems that during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Egyptian Princesses *were* married off — to local officials, much like how some Syrian princesses were married off to vassal kings. This changed in the New Kingdom, but may have shifted back, given that Solomon allegedly married a daughter of the king of Egypt (1 Kings 3:1) about 400 years after Amenhotep II. During the time period being discussed by *Brotherhood of Kings*, though, it seems they spent most of their time doing "priestess duties," entertainment, and harem work making stuff. Note: If you've ever been tempted to think that "belonging to a harem" isn't work, I highly recommend [Michelle Sagara West's Sun Sword series](https://michellesagara.com/series/the_sun_sword/), which is one of my all-time favorite fantasy portrayals of a desert society, far surpassing *Dune* in its complexity and diversity. Seriously — go read it, then come back here and tell me what you think. ### References - [[Princesses in the Bronze Age Levant]] [[The Civilizations of Africa by Christopher Ehret#ch05p162-164 Understanding the Commercial Revolution]]