In a 1670 book, her Dutch bodyguard, Captain Fuller, described 60-year-old Nzinga as wearing “men’s apparel” during ritual sacrifice, “hanging about her the skins of beasts … with a sword about her neck, an axe at her girdle, and a bow and arrows in her hand.”įuller also described a cadre of young men whom Nzinga kept dressed in women’s clothing. She welcomed runaway slaves and European-trained African soldiers, and adopted kilombo, a military strategy in which male youths were taken from their families and raised communally in militias. The Medieval Europe scholar Francisco Prado-Vilar wrote that knowledge of Al-Hakam’s homosexuality in the court of Córdoba “encouraged the ambitions of the factions gathered around his much younger brother, Prince al-Mughira.” The caliph’s sexuality has been the source of some debate: According to the French medievalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal, the phrase “hubb al-walad,” found in 16th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari’s compendium "Nafh at-Tib" in reference to Al-Hakam II, translates as a “preference for boys,” though other scholars maintain it refers to paternal love. It was a sort of hero cult-worship of Antinous.” Al-Hakam II of Córdoba (915 - 976)Ī 10th century caliph in Córdoba, Spain, Al-Hakam was known for his largely peaceful reign and his love of learning: His library contained more than 400,000 books, and he provided sanctuary to many writers and philosophers. “When a city was founded close to the spot where Antinous drowned, he named it Antinopolis. “Hadrian was clearly bereaved and he had lots of images put up,” Thorsten Opper, who curated an exhibit on the emperor at the British Museum, told The Independent in 2008.
When Antinous mysteriously drowned in the Nile in 130 A.D., Hadrian was so grief-stricken he had the young man deified and put up monuments to him everywhere. It wasn’t unusual for high-powered Romans to have male partners in addition to their wives, but Hadrian was almost slavishly devoted to his young consort, Antinous. Many were the men of ancient times who gained favor this way.” Emperor Hadrian of Rome (76 - 138 A.D.)Īnother leader who showered his male lover with attention, Hadrian was in a politically arranged marriage to the great-niece of his predecessor - a loveless union that bore no children.
“It is not women alone who can use their looks to attract the eyes of the ruler,” the "Shiji" reads, according to Ban Gu’s “History of Early China.” “Courtiers and eunuchs can play that game as well. (The term “ cut sleeve” remained a Chinese euphemism for male homosexuality for centuries.)ĭong was granted many honors, eventually being made commander of the military, and he and his family lived inside the imperial compound.Īccording to historian Brent Hinsch, many Han emperors reportedly had “male favorites” who were listed in both the “Book of Han” and the “Shiji,” or “Records of the Grand Historian.”
In the “Hanshu,” or “Book of Han,” Dong and Ai’s relationship is referred to as “the passion of the cut sleeve.” As the story went, the pair had fallen asleep together on a mat and, upon waking, the emperor cut the sleeve off his robe rather than disturb his lover. He was also widely known to have been romantically involved with one of his ministers, Dong Xian, though both men were married to women. Made emperor of the Han Dynasty at age 20, Ai was initially well received by his subjects but eventually became associated with corruption and incompetence. In light of the Dutch monarchy’s recent announcement and in honor of LGBTQ History Month, which is celebrated in October, here are 13 queer royals you didn’t learn about in school.
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