Olga of Kyiv oversaw the transformation of the Rus from a transient Viking trade corridor into a polity on the cusp of statehood while navigating pagan ritual, Christian sacrament, imperial diplomacy, with an intellect as sharp as any Varangian sword.

Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemaic rulers, was a fiercely intelligent and multilingual monarch who forged powerful alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony in her quest to maintain Egypt’s independence.