c. 1223
Armenia or Turkey

1257
Cairo, Egypt

Sultana of Egypt

"Capable and beautiful, [she] must have been one of very few women in history who commanded an army in a major battle, as she did against Louis IX, King of France."

—Sir John Glubb, Soldiers of Fortune: The Story of the Mamlukes.

One of a handful of strong female Muslim leaders at the time of the Crusades, Shajarat al-Durr was a slave who rose from the ranks of mistress, or lover, to become the wife of the sultan (Muslim leader) of Egypt. Following the death of her husband during the Seventh Crusade (1248–54), she assumed joint control of the Muslim forces with two other counselors and helped defeat the Crusader armies of French king Louis IX (see entry) at the Battle of Mansurah. After a palace...