THE STATUS OF A MEDIEVAL WOMAN IN EGYPT AND KOREA: FIRST WOMEN RULERS

Abstract

This article attempts to study the status of a woman in Egypt and Korea in the middle ages and to compare the two first rulers - the Sultana Shadjarat ad-Dur and the queen Sondok. In medieval Egypt, where the Abbasid Caliphate was ruling and the state religion was Islam, a woman could not rule the state in general and the Ayyubid dynasty under the caliphate in particular. Despite a short period, in the Ayyubid history of Egypt, Shajarat ad-Dur became the first woman ruler. While the first female ruler in Korea was Queen Sondok of Silla, who inherited the throne from her father King Chinpyong and trans- ferred it to her sister Chindok after 15 years of successful rule.

Key words: Culture, Queen Sondok, Sultana Shajarat ad-Dur, Egypt, Korea, middle ages.