The Only Woman to Rule China

In 638 AD, a 14-year-old girl entered the Tang Dynasty palace as the lowest-ranked concubine. By the time she died, she had become Wu Zetian, the only woman in over 4,000 years of Chinese history to rule as Emperor in her own name. She framed a sitting Empress for infanticide. She ruled through two incapacitated husbands and sons she installed and removed at will. In 690 AD, she declared herself Emperor, founding her own dynasty.