10 Women Warriors of History and the Swords They Carried
History remembers its warriors mostly as men, but the record is full of women who led armies, held thrones by force, and cut down enemies on the battlefield — from a Celtic queen who burned Roman London to a samurai who took heads in single combat. This is the story of ten of them, and the blades their cultures put in their hands.
A note on honesty before we begin: only a handful of these women are tied to a single, surviving, named sword. What we can say with confidence is the type of blade each carried — the weapon of her people, her rank and her century. That is what each entry pairs her with, and every blade named below is one our smiths still forge by hand in Nepal from 5160 spring steel. Where a warrior's weapon falls outside our standard range, we say so, and the custom forge is the answer.
And if you are here for a different reason — looking for a sword to give a woman who loves them, a wife, a girlfriend, a mother, a sister or a daughter with a warrior's heart — you are in the right place too. Every blade in this article is a real, functional, giftable sword, and each can be engraved free with her name, a date or a few words. Skip to choosing a sword as a gift for her, or read on for the women who wielded them.
1. Boudica — the Celtic Queen Who Burned Roman Britain
When the Romans seized the lands of the Iceni and brutalised her family around 60 AD, Boudica raised the tribes of eastern Britain in revolt. Commanding from a chariot, her army destroyed the Roman capital at Camulodunum, then burned Londinium and Verulamium, killing tens of thousands before the legions regrouped. She remains the most famous warrior queen of the ancient British world.
Her blade: the La Tene Celtic sword. The Britons of Boudica's age carried the long, straight iron slashing sword of the Celtic La Tene culture — a cutting weapon built for the sweeping blows of a charioteer and a horse-borne aristocracy.
Shop the La Tene Celtic swords, or the earlier Celtic leaf swords of the Bronze Age.
2. Joan of Arc — the Maid Who Turned a War
A teenage peasant who said her saints told her to save France, Joan of Arc lifted the English siege of Orleans in 1429 and set the disinherited Dauphin on the throne, changing the course of the Hundred Years' War before she was captured and burned at nineteen. Famously, she said she loved her banner forty times more than her sword — but she bore a sword all the same, said in legend to have been found buried behind the altar at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois.
Her blade: the medieval arming sword. A straight, double-edged cruciform sword — the knightly sidearm of fifteenth-century Europe, cross-hilted and balanced for one hand.
Shop Viking & Medieval swords and the historical sword range.
3. Tomoe Gozen — the Samurai Who Took Heads
Tomoe Gozen is Japan's most famous onna-musha, a woman warrior of the twelfth-century Genpei War. Serving the general Minamoto no Yoshinaka, she was described as a match for a thousand, riding into battle to face the strongest enemies and, at the Battle of Awazu, taking an opposing warrior's head as a trophy. The chronicles call her peerless with sword and bow alike.
Her blade: the tachi and the naginata. A samurai of her era carried the tachi, the curved, deeply elegant cavalry sword that preceded the katana, and fought on foot with the naginata, the glaive of the samurai woman.
Japanese blades sit outside our standard range — but a tachi or naginata is exactly the kind of piece our smiths build to commission. Request a custom forge →
4. Rani Lakshmibai — the Warrior Queen of Jhansi
The Rani of Jhansi is the enduring icon of India's 1857 rebellion. Refusing to surrender her kingdom, she led its defence in person and died in battle at Gwalior in 1858, sword in hand. The legend that outlived her has her charging on horseback with the reins gripped in her teeth, a blade in each hand and her young son bound to her back — the image of a queen who chose to fall fighting.
Her blade: the talwar. The curved Indo-Nepalese sabre with its disc-shaped hilt, prized across the Mughal and Rajput worlds for the powerful draw cut it delivered from horseback.
See the full Nepalese swords & talwars collection.
5. Zenobia — the Queen Who Defied Rome
From the desert city of Palmyra, Zenobia built an empire. Within a few years of taking power around 267 AD she had conquered Egypt and swept across Anatolia, tearing the eastern provinces from Rome and declaring herself queen of a realm that stretched from the Nile to the Bosphorus, until the emperor Aurelian brought her down in 272. Educated, multilingual and a genuine field commander, she rode with her armies rather than behind them.
Her blade: the curved sabre of the Roman East. Palmyra's cavalry drew on both Roman and Eastern arms; the curved single-edged sabre of the Syrian and Persian world is the blade most associated with her frontier empire.
Shop the scimitar and Eastern sabre collection, or the Roman gladius of the empire she defied.
6. Fu Hao — the General Buried With Her Weapons
More than three thousand years ago, Fu Hao served the Shang dynasty of China as both high priestess and military general, commanding thirteen thousand troops and leading campaigns that expanded her husband's empire. We know her not from legend but from archaeology: her tomb, unearthed intact in 1976, was filled with the weapons of a warrior, including great bronze battle-axes that marked her authority to command.
Her blade: the Bronze Age sword and the yue battle-axe. Shang warriors carried short bronze blades and the ceremonial-yet-lethal yue axe, the very type found beside her.
Shop Bronze Age swords and hand-forged battle-axes.
7. Aethelflaed — the Lady of the Mercians
Daughter of Alfred the Great, Aethelflaed ruled Mercia in her own right after her husband's death and led the Anglo-Saxon fight against the Vikings in the early tenth century. She built fortified towns, commanded armies in the field, and took Derby and Leicester back from the Danes — a war-leader in an age that rarely let a woman be one.
Her blade: the Viking-age sword and the seax. The warriors of her world, Saxon and Dane alike, carried the double-edged pattern-welded sword and the single-edged seax that gave the Saxons their name.
Shop Viking & medieval swords and the seax range.
8. Artemisia I of Caria — the Queen Who Out-Sailed the Greeks
Queen of Halicarnassus and an ally of Xerxes, Artemisia I commanded her own ships at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and fought so shrewdly that the Persian king reportedly lamented that his men had become women and his women men. Herodotus, himself from her city, records her as one of the sharpest naval minds on either side of the war.
Her blade: the xiphos and the kopis. A Greek-Carian commander of her age carried the straight, leaf-shaped xiphos for the thrust and the forward-curved kopis for the chopping cut.
Shop the Greek Xiphos and the Kopis collections.
9. Khutulun — the Undefeated Mongol Princess
A great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan, Khutulun was a Mongol warrior and champion wrestler who fought alongside her father Kaidu in the wars of the late thirteenth century. She was said never to have been beaten in wrestling, wagering horses against any suitor who dared challenge her — and winning a herd. On the battlefield she rode into enemy ranks and carried off prisoners like a hawk taking prey.
Her blade: the Mongol sabre. The horse-archers of the steppe carried a light, curved single-edged sabre, drawn for the close cut after the bow had done its work.
Shop the curved sabre and scimitar collection.
10. Tomyris — the Queen Who Killed Cyrus the Great
Tomyris ruled the Massagetae, a Scythian nomad confederation east of the Caspian Sea, in the sixth century BC. When Cyrus the Great of Persia invaded her lands and killed her son by treachery, she led her people to war and destroyed his army — and, the story goes, dipped the dead conqueror's head in a vessel of blood so he might drink his fill of it at last. Few warriors, of any gender, brought down a foe so mighty.
Her blade: the Scythian akinakes. The short, straight double-edged sword of the Scythian and Persian world, worn at the hip for close work — as much a mark of the mounted warrior as a weapon.
The nearest pieces in our range are the short blades of the traditional & historical daggers collection; a true full-length akinakes is a natural custom forge commission.
Commission the Blade of a Warrior Queen
Several of the blades on this list — Tomoe Gozen's tachi, Tomyris's akinakes, a museum-accurate recreation of any of them — sit outside a standard catalogue precisely because they are special. That is what our custom forge exists for. Whether you want a period-accurate reconstruction, a named replica, or a blade engraved to honour one of these women, our smiths build it by hand from your specification.
Have a Warrior's Blade Forged to Order
Send us the sword type, length, period detail and any engraving — or a sketch, a museum plate or a photograph. Every custom sword is hand-forged in Nepal from 5160 spring steel, full tang, water-tempered and sharpened. We reply to every request within 24 to 48 hours with a free quote, and engraving a name or dedication is free.
Request a Custom Forge →Choosing a Sword as a Gift for Her
A sword is one of the most memorable gifts you can give a woman who loves history, martial arts, fantasy or simply a beautiful object with a story. Done right, it is not a novelty — it is an heirloom she keeps for life. A few things worth knowing before you choose.
Match the blade to her, not to a stereotype
The women in this article carried real, serious weapons, and the woman you are buying for almost certainly wants the same — a genuine hand-forged blade, not a decorative toy. Start from what she is drawn to. Does she love a particular history or culture? Boudica's Celtic sword, a Greek xiphos, an Indian talwar, a Viking blade — each carries a different story. Is she a practitioner of HEMA, stage combat or reenactment? Then balance and a battle-ready edge matter. Is it for display? Then a striking silhouette like the falcata or a brass-hilted talwar earns its place on a wall.
Engraving makes it hers
This is what turns a sword into a gift. Every blade we forge can be engraved free of charge — her name, a date, initials, a short dedication, or a motto that means something to the two of you. An engraved blade is unmistakably personal and impossible to replicate, which is exactly what you want a milestone gift to be. See the personalisation options for what is possible.
Think about size and setting
A full-length sword makes a statement but needs somewhere to live — a wall mount or a stand. If space is tight, or if it is a first blade, a shorter piece such as a compact kopis, a short talwar or a dagger is easier to display and handle. We also offer display stands to finish the gift.
When you want something truly one-of-a-kind
If you want a blade made specifically for her — a particular sword from her favourite period, a design matched to her initials, or a piece no one else could own — the custom forge is the ultimate gift. Allow a little more time, and our smiths will build it to your specification.
A Hand-Forged Sword, Engraved With Her Name
Choose any blade in our range and we will engrave it free — a name, a date, a dedication — hand-forged in Nepal from 5160 spring steel and shipped worldwide with a scabbard. Or commission something entirely her own through the custom forge. Every gift arrives as a functional, keepsake blade, not a wall-hanger.
Commission a Custom Gift →Frequently Asked Questions
What sword makes a good gift for a woman who likes swords?
Start from her interests. If she loves a particular history, choose that culture's blade — a Celtic La Tene sword, a Greek xiphos, an Indian talwar, a Viking sword. If she trains in HEMA or reenactment, prioritise a battle-ready, well-balanced blade. For display, a striking silhouette like a falcata or brass-hilted talwar works beautifully. Every blade can be engraved free with her name or a dedication, which is what turns it from a purchase into a keepsake.
Can you engrave a sword as a personalised gift?
Yes, and engraving is free on every blade. We can engrave a name, initials, a date, a short dedication or a motto onto the blade or handle. An engraved sword is unmistakably personal, which makes it ideal as a milestone or anniversary gift. For a completely bespoke piece, the custom forge lets you commission a sword designed specifically for her.
What is a good first sword for someone interested in swords?
A shorter, single-handed blade is the easiest place to start — a compact kopis, a lighter talwar or a short historical sword is manageable to handle and simple to display. Choose a hand-forged, full-tang blade rather than a decorative one so it lasts, and add a stand so it has somewhere to live. If in doubt, our team is happy to recommend a piece to suit her interests.
Did women really fight as warriors in history?
Yes. While most societies restricted women's roles, the historical and archaeological record is clear that women led armies and fought in person across many cultures — Boudica against Rome, Fu Hao in Shang China (buried with her weapons), Rani Lakshmibai in 1857 India, Tomoe Gozen in samurai Japan, and many more. Some are documented in written history, others confirmed by their weapon-filled graves.
Who was the greatest woman warrior in history?
There is no single answer, but the most frequently named include Boudica, Joan of Arc, Tomoe Gozen, Rani Lakshmibai, Zenobia and Tomyris — the last credited with defeating and killing Cyrus the Great of Persia. Each was the foremost warrior of her own culture and age, which is why this list spans ten different civilisations rather than ranking one above the rest.
What sword did Boudica use?
Boudica's Iceni warriors carried the long, straight iron slashing sword of the Celtic La Tene culture — a cutting weapon suited to fighting from a chariot. No sword of hers survives by name, but the La Tene type is the blade of her people and period.
What weapon did Tomoe Gozen fight with?
As a twelfth-century samurai, Tomoe Gozen fought with the tachi (the curved cavalry sword that preceded the katana), the naginata (the samurai woman's glaive), and the bow. The chronicles describe her as exceptional with both blade and bow.
Is it true a queen killed Cyrus the Great?
According to Herodotus, yes. Tomyris, queen of the Massagetae, destroyed the army of Cyrus the Great of Persia in the sixth century BC after he killed her son, and the account holds that she dipped his severed head in blood in revenge. As with much ancient history the details are debated, but the defeat of Cyrus by her people is widely recorded.
Are the swords in this article available to buy?
Yes. Each warrior is paired with the blade type of her culture, and every one is a sword we hand-forge — the La Tene Celtic sword, the medieval arming sword, the talwar, the xiphos and kopis, the Viking sword and seax, the Bronze Age sword and battle-axe, and the curved sabre. Blades outside our standard range, such as a Japanese tachi or a Scythian akinakes, are available through our custom forge.
Can you forge a custom sword to honour a specific warrior?
Yes. A period-accurate reconstruction, a named replica, or a stock blade engraved with a dedication are all custom-forge builds. Send your specification or reference images for a free quote within 24 to 48 hours; engraving a name or inscription is free.
Shop Hand-Forged Historical Swords
The Blades of History, Forged by Hand in Nepal
From the Celtic La Tene sword to the talwar, the xiphos to the Viking blade — functional, battle-ready swords forged from 5160 spring steel, full tang, water-tempered and sharpened. Order a stock blade, or commission the weapon of your favourite warrior.
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