Summary of Jonathan W. Jordan & Emily Anne Jordan's The War Queens

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Massagetae, a rough, rural folk, were little known to the glittering courts of the Persian Empire. They were a target of conquest by King Cyrus the Great.

#2 In 530 BC, the season of swords, Cyrus turned his attention to his northeastern frontier. He tried a soft approach with the barbarian queen Tomyris, but her response was to offer him a fair fight on her side of the river.

#3 The Battle of the Araxes River was the final confrontation between the Persians and the Massagetae. It was a difficult victory for the Persians, and Cyrus took many prisoners, including Tomyris’s son.

#4 The battle was a spit-and-blood struggle of unalloyed savagery. Tomyris won, and the Persian emperor died fighting her. But times change, and no enemy, ally, or situation is ever truly permanent. In two generations, a queen from modern Turkey would serve Cyrus’s grandson in one of history’s greatest battles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822564374

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Insights on Jonathan W. Jordan & Emily Anne Jordan's The War Queens

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Massagetae, a rough, rural folk, were little known to the glittering courts of the Persian Empire. They were a target of conquest by King Cyrus the Great.

#2

In 530 BC, the season of swords, Cyrus turned his attention to his northeastern frontier. He tried a soft approach with the barbarian queen Tomyris, but her response was to offer him a fair fight on her side of the river.

#3

The Battle of the Araxes River was the final confrontation between the Persians and the Massagetae. It was a difficult victory for the Persians, and Cyrus took many prisoners, including Tomyris’s son.

#4

The battle was a spit-and-blood struggle of unalloyed savagery. Tomyris won, and the Persian emperor died fighting her. But times change, and no enemy, ally, or situation is ever truly permanent. In two generations, a queen from modern Turkey would serve Cyrus’s grandson in one of history’s greatest battles.

#5

The Persian king Xerxes was going to launch an invasion of Greece. He assembled a massive army in Asia Minor, and crossed the Hellespont into Europe. The Greek coast was a constant source of worry for the Persian generals and rulers.

#6

Xerxes’s army marched towards the Greek state of Attica and its capital city, Athens. They met no serious opposition until a small force of Spartans, Thebans, and Corinthians managed to halt them briefly at Thermopylae.

#7

The Persian general Mardonius asked the Greek leaders for their opinions. They all agreed that the Persians should launch a frontal attack against the Greek fleet in Salamis Bay. But Artemisia, queen of a coastal kingdom, understood the political and military mindset of states surrounded by water. She advised against it.

#8

The Battle of Salamis was the decisive battle in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. It was fought in September, when the Persian fleet was at its strongest. The Greeks were able to stop the Persians from getting to their fleet, and they were able to escape.

#9

The Battle of Salamis was a huge victory for the Greeks, and it was largely thanks to the queen of thebes, Artemisia, who rammed a Persian ship and saved the day.

#10

Artemisia was a vassal queen who served her commander well. She was allowed to rule her kingdom independently, and she became another chip at the ancient world’s patronizing image of a queen at war.

#11

Cleopatra was the sister of Ptolemy XII, the pharaoh of Egypt. She was raised in the court of her father, King Ptolemy XII, an effeminate fop who was derided as the Flute Player.

#12

Cleopatra’s sister, Cleopatra, was too pushy for Ptolemy’s