Warrior Women with Lucy Lawless

200 years ago a young woman brought the greatest empire in Asia to its knees. She was a master of kung fu and held the respect of 60,000 warriors who followed her unquestioningly into battle. Their enemy was the brutal and corrupt Qing dynasty — a dynasty they were determined to overthrow. The fate of China was in one woman's hands. Her name was Wang Cong'er. Is she the real Mulan? Well, there is much debate about whether Mulan ever really existed but there is no doubt that the tradition of women warriors is woven into the fabric of Chinese history. And the most remarkable of them all was Wang Cong'er.

As a young girl, Lozen decided that tidying up the tent and cooking buffalo stew wasn't for her, and she was in constant trouble for beating up her brother, the mighty Apache warrior Victorio. As she reached puberty, she wandered off alone into the desert and discovered her special powers. Holding her hands aloft to the heavens, her palms started tingling in the direction of the enemy. Equipped with this metaphysical radar and a healthy thirst for revenge, she became Victorio's right-hand tactician. She was an expert on horseback, and a great dancer who led the war party in pre-raid festivities. Balancing her dual role as priestess and warrior eventually got the better of her when she was away delivering a baby in a distant village and her brother was killed in a surprise attack.

In 62 BC, most of England was under the thumb of the Romans. Queen Boudica was married to King Prasutagus of the semi-autonomous Iceni tribe in the east. When the king died, he bequeathed half his kingdom to his young wife and her two daughters, and half to Emperor Nero to appease Rome. Thinking they could intimidate the young woman into complete submission, the Romans promptly flogged Queen Boudica, raped her daughters and stole her lands. Boudica took up the sword, rallied her Iceni warriors and went on a rampage.