encyclopedia-amazonica: Women as place guards (Above: The female guards of Chiyoda palace evac
encyclopedia-amazonica: Women as place guards (Above: The female guards of Chiyoda palace evacuate the place during a fire) I previously shared an article about the Dahomey Amazons. Those female warriors could have originated as palace guards since men weren’t allowed in the palace precincts during the night. Other instances of women serving as palace guards can similarly be found across history. One of the oldest examples comes from India. Greek ambassador Megasthenes wrote in his Indica (c. 300 BCE) that king Chandragupta Maurya was protected by a retinue of trained female bodyguards. Kautilya, the king’s military advisor, described this custom in his Arthashastra treatise: “upon arising each morning, the king should be received by troops of women armed with bows and arrows”. These women reportedly hunted with the king, some firing arrows from the royal platform, while others rode chariots or were mounted on horses and elephants. Other ancient Indian sources reveal that royal palaces were protected by female spear-throwers and mention regiments of female soldiers, alluding that some of them could be nomads from the Central Asian deserts. Two millennia later, the Nizams of Hyderabad and Deccan were also guarded by women. The kings of Kandy in Sri Lanka also employed women armed with bows and women were also said to have guarded the kings of Persia. During the Edo Period (1603-1868) in Japan, the Ooku (the women’s quarters of the Edo castle where the shogun’s wives and concubines notably resided) was guarded by women who were highly skilled in the martial arts. The Ooku was an organisation entirely run by women since no male adult could enter without the shogun. Another striking example of this practice was found in Thailand during the 19th century. The king was protected by a regiment of 400 female guards armed with spears. They were chosen among the most beautiful and robust women, performed drills better than male soldiers and were excellent spear-throwers. They were, however, considered too precious to be sent to war. A similar case was observed in the Javan princedom. During the same period, two battalions of spear-women served a king of the Beir people on the White Nile. Bibliography: Alpern Stanley B., Amazons of black Sparta: the women warriors of Dahomey Mayor Adrienne, The Amazons: lives and legends of warrior women across the ancient world Tyler Royall, “Tomoe: the woman warrior”, in: Mulhern Chieko Irie (dir.), Heroic with grace, legendary women of Japan -- source link