Doomed Queens (11 page)

The woman who would become known as Empress Wang was fathered in 8 BCE by Wang Mang, a commander of arms who possessed towering hubris gilded with Confucian idealism. Wang Mang took advantage of the troubled times to become acting regent of China, gaining support by promising the poor an acre of land for every plow. To strengthen his rule, he married his four-year-old daughter to Emperor Ping, who was only three. Little did Wang Mang realize that his plotting would eventually spell doom for the preschool empress.

By the time she was twelve, Empress Wang was a widow—most believe that Wang Mang poisoned Ping’s wine when the boy proved to be less than tractable. Wang Mang continued to trade his daughter’s hand for power. This time, Empress Wang’s husband was a more easily manipulated two-year-old, also in line to the throne. To express her disapproval of her father’s actions, Empress Wang refused to attend any imperial functions and swore fealty to her first husband, whom she appears to have genuinely loved and mourned.

Some years later, an uprising ousted Wang Mang from power. Empress Wang realized that no matter whose side she took, she was royally screwed. A solution presented itself when the palace was set on fire by her subjects. Rather than live as her father’s puppet, she threw herself into the flames.

CAUTIONARY MORAL

Don’t let others’ ambitions destroy you.

End-of-Chapter Quiz
or
What We Have Learned So Far

1. Why was Athaliah bad news during biblical times?

         a. Her mother was Jezebel, queen of the hootchy-kootchy.

         b. She had a murderous streak as wide as the Red Sea.

         c. Her recipe for matzo balls was subpar.

         d. Her name was difficult to pronounce.

2. Which of the following statements is incorrect about Olympias?

         a. She had the hots for Dionysus and snakes.

         b. She thought her son, Alexander, was the best thing to hit the Macedonian empire since the wheel.

         c. She encouraged her husband, Philip, to ratchet up his wife count—polygamy is fun!

         d. She was played by Angelina Jolie in a
very
long Oliver Stone movie.

3. Why did Amastris wed so often?

         a. The thrill of the bridal registry.