The First Female Iranian Ruler
Musa (also spelled Mousa) was a ruling queen of the Parthian Empire from 2 BCE to 4 CE. She began life as an Italian slave-girl whose beauty meant she as gifted to the Parthian monarch Phraates IV (ruled 37 BCE – 2 BCE) by the Roman Emperor Augustus. Musa was wily and quickly became a favorite and then the queen. She ensured her position by giving birth to a son and heir Phraates.
But she had her eyes set higher. In 2 BCE, Musa had Phraates IV poisoned and made herself and her son (now Phraates V) co-rulers of the Parthian Empire. Their reign was short. The pair were forced to flee to her Italian homeland after being deposed by the Parthian nobility.
