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7. The Fierce Ancient British Warrior Queen
Ancient British warrior queen Boudicca (circa 25 – 61 AD) reigned over the Iceni tribe, and sparked and led a massive revolt against the forces of the Roman Empire that had recently conquered Britain. She was born into a tribal royal family, and as a young woman married Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni. Prasutagus ruled his tribe as a nominally independent ally of the Romans, and upon his death in 60 AD, he left his wealth to his daughters and to the Roman Emperor Nero.
The assumption was that Nero would return the favor and bestow imperial protection upon the deceased tribal king’s family. Instead, the Romans simply seized all of Prasutagus’ assets and annexed his kingdom. When Boudicca protested, she was flogged, and her two teenage daughters were assaulted by Roman soldiers. Understandably incensed, she launched a revolt in East Anglia, which quickly spread. In the course of the revolt, Boudicca and her warriors put London and numerous other Roman towns and settlements to the torch and killed as many as 70,000 Romans and British collaborators.