Ancient Studies presents the 2026 Carl Deppe Lecture featuring Kara Cooney, who will present her lecture “When Women Ruled the World.”

Who were the women who once ruled the richest and most successful state of the ancient Mediterranean and African Bronze Age? Ancient Egypt’s female kings, including Hatshepsut and Nefertiti, ruled against all odds of the patriarchy in which they lived with real, unadulterated power. Yet many of these female leaders were judged harshly for taking power or erased from the historical record by the men who followed them, leaving them elusive historical figures surrounded by mystery and myth. In this lecture, Prof. Kara Cooney, Egyptologist and author of When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, will go beyond the myths and shed light on these powerful female kings and their historical legacy.

Kara Cooney is a professor of ancient Egyptian art and architecture and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. Specializing in social history, gender studies, and economies of the ancient world, she received her PhD in Egyptology from Johns Hopkins University. Her books include The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt, When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, and The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World. Her latest books include Recycling for Death: Coffin Reuse in Ancient Egypt and the Theban Royal Caches, Ancient Egyptian Society: Challenging Assumptions, Exploring Approaches, and Coffin Commerce.