Cleopatra and Wu Zetian: A Comparative Analysis

The paper presents a comparative analysis of the two most powerful female rulers of the world, Pharaoh Cleopatra and the Chinese empress Wu Zetian. It highlights the issue of their exercise of power, method of their rule, achievements, and cultural differences. The paper also analyzes their similarities and differences of their rule. The subject of the paper is history and the course code, course name, and college/university are not mentioned.

Running head: CLEOPATRA AND WU ZETIAN
Cleopatra and Wu Zetian
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1CLEOPATRA AND WU ZETIAN
The aim of the paper is to present a comparative analysis of the two most powerful female
rulers of the world, Pharaoh Cleopatra and the Chinese empress Wu Zetian. This paper will be
highlighting the issue of their exercise of power, method of their rule, achievements. This paper
will also analyze the cultural difference and their similarities and differences of their rule. This
historical analysis will be helpful for analyzing their important within the context of modern
female leadership.
 Firstly it is important to note that cultural context in which both of them ruled were
extremely opposite and contradictory to each other. While empress Wu Zetian and
Pharaoh Cleopatra are one of the two greatest rulers of all time. It is important to consider
the fact that both the ruler belonged from two distinct cultures. While empress Wu was
part of the Tang dynasty was more conservative in nature than the cultural context of
Queen Cleopatra (Khamit-Kush, 2018). Due to the exceptional leadership style of the
empress, her unbeatable intelligence she became the natural choice of people to become
the only female ruler of the Tang dynasty (Peng et al., 2015). However in case of
Cleopatra, who was the thirteen queen of the dynasty, has the lineage of female being the
head of a dynasty (Ebers, 2018).
 In terms of their rise to power, W is accused and blamed in many historical texts for her
attempt in framing the false story in order to rise to power. While for Cleopatra, it is to be
noticed that she was considered as the daughter of god from the beginning and she was
ascended to throne due to the death of her father (Peterson, 2016). However in terms of
their nature of exercise of power, both of them were ruthless and it did not impact the
Pharaoh to wage war against the brother-husband (Peterson, 2016). In terms of their
extent of reach, both the rulers had exceptional hold over their military capability and

2CLEOPATRA AND WU ZETIAN
alliances. Cleopatra made an exceptional alliance with Mark Anthony to conquer many
territories with the help of the soldiers (Peterson, 2016). However it is astonishing to note
that the role of women in running the dynasty was given more importance in case of
Egypt while the same role is accepted to be inferior in comparison to men for the case of
China. According to Confucius teachings, “women are to be led and to follow other”
(Peng et al., 2015). It is a clear evident that the status of women in terms of their ruling
ability were accepted uniformly in both the dynasties.
 In terms of achievement of both the rules it is to be noted that Wu was one of the main
proponents of growth and prosperity of the Chinese civilization, she made several
improvement in terms of reforming the economy and agriculture of the country (Peterson,
2016). In case of Cleopatra she tried to make Egypt one of the most powerful countries
of the world and it is the independent ruling style which made her exceptional (Weigall,
2016). Even though they both were extremely successful for the success of their empire,
it is not to rule out that there were no turmoil in their lives. Instead it is to be argued that
they faced with several threats for being one of the most empowered and independent
rulers of all time. Even though there were many who liked the ruler, there were many
who criticized their ruling style as the forceful snatching of power. It is not to deny that
fact that their initial years in ruling were difficult and marked with several challenges
however this phase was one of the golden periods of history.
However it is important to conclude that both of the female rulers were epitome of
intelligence, skill and beauty and these exceptional characteristics are one of the prime
deciding factors of their achievements in history.

3CLEOPATRA AND WU ZETIAN
 If the role and stature of Cleopatra is to be implemented in today’s world, it can
be said that the she can be the modern business entrepreneur. The skill of
diplomacy with vision and the ability to negotiate would be fruitful in making
effective management of business. The ability of tactfully handling situations and
the ability of manipulation in an effective manner would be the advantage for
today’s business women. One of the most striking features of the rulers are the
intelligence and meaningful use of this ability to make powerful policy decision.
Today’s women in politics should be having the same amount of knowledge that
these rulers had. It is noted fact that these rulers were exceptional in gathering
knowledge and they had exceptional hold over subjects beyond their area. This
exceptional knowledge and intelligence should be the key deciding factors for all
the business and policy decision for today’s women.

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References
Ebers, G. (2018). Cleopatra. BoD–Books on Demand.
Khamit-Kush, I. (2018). Cleopatra: The First Modern Woman 2,000 Years Ago. BookBaby.
Peng, N., Yu, T., & Mills, A. (2015). Feminist thinking in late seventh-century China: A critical
hermeneutics analysis of the case of Wu Zetian. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An
International Journal, 34(1), 67-83.
Peterson, B. B. (2016). Princess Taiping, daughter of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian,
Tang dynasty. In Notable Women of China (pp. 242-244). Routledge.
Peterson, B. B. (2016). Wu Zetian, China’s only female emperor, Tang dynasty. In Notable
Women of China (pp. 227-234). Routledge.
Weigall, A. E. B. (2016). The Life and Times Of Cleopatra: Queen of Egypt. Routledge.