The Routledge Companion to Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean World

"Whilst biographies of individual queens and treatments of their various dynastic families have at last come more into vogue in the new millennium, this is the first book to establish a comprehensive and fully comparative perspective on the royal women of the Ancient East Mediterranean as a larger phenomenon. Elizabeth D. Carney and Sabine Müller have assembled an international team of contributors from leading scholars in their sundry fields. These now supply authoritative accounts of the different dynasties and of the more prominent individual figures amongst them, whilst adopting an admirably diverse series of intellectual approaches.... The volume is presented in an open and engaging style that renders it not only useful for specialists but also accessible and interesting for undergraduates and general readers." - Daniel Ogden, University of Exeter, UK

"The work will be the first comprehensive treatment of ancient royal women and their role in the ancient Mediterranean. Especially welcome is the inclusion of such states as Caria, Kush, Palmyra, and the Parthians, which are often ignored in such works. Second, and equally important, the analysis of royal women is firmly located in the context of the institution of monarchy with a clear recognition of the varied forms monarchy took in the ancient Mediterranean world. The editors have assembled an excellent team of authors, which ensures that the chapters will be of high quality... This is an excellent project, and the resulting volume will be a valuable contribution to scholarship on ancient Mediterranean monarchy." - Stanley M. Burstein, California State University, Los Angeles, USA