African Women of the Ancient World is a broad-ranging book which aims to bring women to the forefront of African history and to give its audience a greater appreciation of their roles. Clark is a respected historian and author of the online blog Remember the Ladies, in which she highlights the significant roles of women throughout history.

The book spans a vast time period from the 15th BC to the 19th CE and, as you would expect from a text about Africa, covers an equally large geographical area, from Egypt and Madagascar in the East to Angola in the West. Clark is able to neatly fill in any gaps between periods with concise historical summaries, which lead the reader seamlessly from one age to the next.

Clark provides an overview of the research and evidence concerning nine women, all of whom wielded significant power at some time in their lives. Their stories are combined with other key details, and in doing all this, Clark produces an informative and interesting text which highlights the richness of both African and women’s history.

The book is organised by individual and chronologically, starting with the legendary Neithhotep of First Dynasty Egypt and ending with Ranavalona I of Madagascar (19th CE). Each chapter begins with an overview of the countries, which is written beautifully by Clark. These accounts are knowledgeable, interesting, and vivid, covering physical geography, agricultural details, and religious background to name but a few. For example, in the story of Neithhotep, Clark gives her readers an insight into Ancient Egyptian religion, an essential component of the world the queen was living in. This then provides useful background to the religious reforms of Nefertiti when she is discussed in her own chapter. Clark manages to sweep her reader from one part of Africa to the next with a descriptive skill which not only carries the reader along with her but also gives a real appreciation of the differences between these areas. They are not just ‘Africa’, they are all identities – cultural, geographical, and religious – in their own right.

Of course, it remains the case that these women are placed in the context of their male counterparts, as this is where the bulk of the evidence lies, and Clark is careful to emphasise this throughout. For example, Neithhotep can only wield power due to her husband’s untimely death and the need to prepare her son for rule. However, Clark reminds us that we should not underestimate her or any of the other women in the book. Similarly, Hatshepsut is described as being ‘instrumental’ in making Egypt a leading global power, and Amanirenas of Nubia is described as ‘a lion amongst her people’. We also meet women who led armies to victory in brutal military campaigns and participated in unusual practices, such as Amina of the Zazzau kingdom in Nigeria, who was able to expand the territory and wealth of the kingdom, and Nzinga, the infernal queen of Angola, who gained a reputation as a keen negotiator, with both political and military skill, while also participating in child sacrifice, cannibalism, and drinking blood. Clark writes valiantly in her efforts to dispel previous scholarly views which have cast an unfavourable light on the legacies of some of these women, as is so often the case in history.

Clark uses the most up-to-date archaeological research but is also still careful to highlight the many gaps in the historical knowledge from the wiping out of evidence from the Amarna period to the hotly debated location of Sheba and the folklore behind Makeda, its queen.

Through these women’s stories, Clark is able to give us a detailed military history, which helps to piece together how parts of Africa linked with each other. The account of Amanirenas of Nubia, the Cycloptic queen, takes us beyond Egypt and into the land of Kush. This enables Clark to give an account of the conflict between Nubia (or Kush) and the Romans, which in turn leads to a clear summary of Roman warfare, weaponry, and strategy. In her chapter dedicated to Dahia al Kahina, the Jewish Sorceress, we gain a real insight into the early history of conflict between the Islamic and Jewish people.

The structure and style of the book are extremely accessible and would suit A-Level Classical Civilisation students seeking to expand their understanding of the ancient world and History students who have an interest in African history. It would also be of huge benefit to Classical Civilisation teachers who are looking to highlight to their students what is going on beyond the borders of traditional Classics teaching. I would argue that the accessibility of the text is limited by the absence of maps, which would have been helpful to root the text in, particularly for someone who is unfamiliar with African geography.

This type of history book is a new phenomenon that is gaining traction by using current issues and hidden characters to make history exciting and inclusive to all. This book absolutely fulfils its aims of bringing women to the forefront of history, demonstrating their crucial role over thousands of years and showing that actually culture and history can be explored through them. Of course, it is limited by the historical suppression of women and the biases of the evidence, but this is why these books should be written so that the history of these women, no matter how difficult to grasp, can be put down in writing.