Empress Matilda: Did you mean...?

The throne of Empress Catherine II The Great (1729-1796). State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and empress consort of the French, in her coronation robes. Joséphine and her husband were coronated on 2 December 1804. Oil on canvas by Baron François Gérard, c. 1807-08...

Portrait of Marie Louise of Austria (l. 1791-1847), oil on canvas by Robert Lefevre, 1812. Daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria, she was the second wife of French Emperor Napoleon I and was therefore Empress of the French from 1810 until...

The government of the Byzantine Empire was headed and dominated by the emperor, but there were many other important officials who assisted in operating the finances, judiciary, military, and bureaucracy of a huge territory. Without elections...

Modern marble sculpture (1884 CE) depicting Valeria Messalina, by Eugène Cyrille Brunet (1828–1921). Museum of Fine Arts, Rennes.

Dating to 400-500 CE, this steelyard weight is made from copper alloy and filled with lead. It measures 24.2 x 11.5 x 7.1 cm and weighs 5664 grams. The hook is approximately 23 cm in length and weighs 176 grams. (Metropolitan Museum, New...

Gold armband with coins of Caracalla and his wife Plautilla, 202–205 CE. (Altes Museum, Berlin)

Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) was a self-styled holy man and faith healer from Siberia who ingratiated himself with the family of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Rasputin was particularly valued by the empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918...

Watch Disasters of the Century The Empress of Ireland on Bad Day HQ Having a bad day? I bet we have worse ones for you. Sound off in the comments on your thoughts and what you'd like to see next! SUBSCRIBE today to get the latest...

Catherine the Great presided over a golden age of Russian expansion — but was she a dedicated ruler or a ruthless oppressor? – Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia for over three decades, used strategic dalliances, military might, and cutting-edge...