Iconic Women Project

The Syrian Queen who Defied Rome 1800 years ago, the prosperous and cultured province of Palmyra audaciously broke away from the Roman Empire, led by a woman named Zenobia. When her husband, King Odaenathus was killed, Zenobia became the regent in name, but the holder of supreme power behind the scenes. Taking advantage of a crisis in the Roman Empire, she took over Egypt from Rome, then Asia Minor and the Levant, rapidly expanding her empire. A brilliant military commander, she did this by waging war on Roman provinces while outwardly continuing to be the peaceful gatekeeper of the Roman East, driving her agenda with no open conflict. This worked well until the Roman emperor Aurelian decided he wanted his provinces back. He tore through her lands, destroying every city in his wake and finally defeating Zenobia’s army. Caught while trying to flee to safety, she was taken prisoner and forcibly brought back to Aurelian, supposedly in g...

The Beautiful Princess of Persia A few years after the first-ever photographs were released in the mid 1800’s in France, the Shah of Persia had experts brought over as his court photographers, to ‘objectively’ record his reign of glory and power for the world to see. The most photographed woman in Persia, in ‘modern’ dress at a time when strict veiling and seclusion were the norm, Princess Esmat al Dowleh became a symbol of a rapidly modernising nation. What struck the world, apart from her downy moustache, unibrow and large frame, was how proudly she seemed to carry them. Considered a symbol of beauty and strength, women of the Qajar Dynasty embraced facial hair, even flaunted it. Under the progressive reign of her father, Shah Naser al Din Qajar, the court attire of the entire zenana changed from floor-grazing hejabs to tutu-style skirts (thanks to the growing cultural influence of Russia on Persia). Known for her special knack in diplomacy, Esmat al D...

The Insider-Outsider “I began to be haunted by an intense longing to return to India, feeling in some strange, inexplicable way that there lay my destiny as a painter.” In her short but intense career, Amrita Sher-Gil painted the lives of people with a depth and empathy that is strongly palpable, making her an unforgettable avant-garde painter of the 20th century. Of mixed heritage, Sikh and Jewish-Hungarian, she studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but found her artistic personality in India. This duality in her sense of belonging marked her extremely influential career, infusing in her work a modernity not seen in India at the time. In her own words, “Indian art committed the mistake of feeding almost exclusively on the tradition of mythology and romance.” Behind her hauntingly beautiful and forceful portraits was a rare woman who defiantly embraced her choices, her dual sexual orientation, her unique amalgamation of East and West...