In ancient times, the female ruler was perceived negatively being a threat to the traditional patriarchal society. Becoming a ruler was a difficult task, especially for a female. Governors skillfully and cruelly killed their enemies and rivals to take the throne. Keeping the throne was as complicated as conquering it. Only individuals with a strong and decisive character succeeded. After the study of the biographies, lifestyles and governments of the Tang Empress Wu Zetian and Pharaoh Cleopatra, it is easy to conclude that their education, intelligence, flexible analytical thinking, willpower and ability to use their own charm enabled both female rulers to bring positive changes to their countries. Their example proves that women`s role in a society can be significant. Comparing the fates of Empress Wu and Cleopatra, many similarities and some minor differences are traced concerning the ascent to power, their methods of rule as well as their accomplishments and resourcefulness.

Wu Zetian was the only woman in China who ruled as Emperor for 15 years (around 690-705 AD). She had enough courage to promote the scientific achievements and the idea of women's domination (Szczepanski, 2017). Cleopatra became the last pharaoh of Egypt, who ruled the country between 51-31 BC. She is still considered as one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs (Gill, 2017). Cleopatra was known as a diplomat, naval commander and talented speaker; she also knew various medicines.

Both female rulers had a noble origin and obtained an excellent education. Wu Zetian was born in a wealthy family. Her father was a rich timber merchant, and her mother came from a royal family (Szczepanski, 2017). After a successful career in the imperial army, the father received a high rank at the imperial court. Wu Zetian got a perfect education. She was interested in literature, poetry, music and art; she also studied politics and sciences (Szczepanski, 2017). Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, which was the intellectual capital of the contemporary world. Her father, Ptolemy XII, was an Egyptian ruler and a descendant of the General Alexander Macedonian (Gill, 2017). Cleopatra's mother probably belonged to a noble Egyptian family. The girl received a good education, spoke several languages, studied philosophy, literature and played various instruments (Gill, 2017).

The path to the power was not easy for both female rulers. At the age of 13, Wu Zetian became the younger concubine in the harem of Emperor Tai Tsung`s (Szczepanski, 2017). After his death, all his concubines, including Wu Zetian, were sent to the temple to be nuns (Szczepanski, 2017). However, Wu Zetian showed her strong will and determination from the very beginning. Due to her ambitions and aspiration to power, she managed to become the first concubine of the new Emperor Gaozong. Later she became his wife. When the Emperor suffered from a stroke, Wu Zetian undertook all the administrative duties, taking a position equal to the Emperor (Szczepanski, 2017). During her reign, she either imprisoned or killed all those who prevented her from ruling and all her potential enemies. Like Wu Zetian, Cleopatra also turned to the assistance of an influential man to gain power in the country. Her father died when she was 18. According to the tradition, she married her 10-year-old brother to become a joint ruler (Gill, 2017). However, she did not plan to share power and aimed for being the sole monarch. This led to an internal war between co-regents. As a result of the battle, Cleopatra had to escape and turn to Julius Caesar for help of. In such a way, she was restored on the Egyptian throne.

Empress Wu's reign was marked by the expansion of China into the Central Asia and Korea, the rapid development of culture and agriculture. Her army successfully conducted several military operations against the Tibetan Empire, but later on, the offensive of the imperial army failed (Szczepanski, 2017). The rule of Pharaoh Cleopatra was also complicated and ambiguous. Her army and fleet also participated in wars, and she commanded them personally (Gill, 2017). Her military and naval forces were defeated, like Wu Zetian`s troops.

During her reign, Empress Wu Zetian introduced an examination for public service (Szczepanski, 2017). This meant that bright but poor young people had a chance to become wealthy government officials. This enabled the imperial rulers to use intelligent resources in governing the country. However, unlike the Tang Empress, Wu Zetian, Cleopatra implemented not internal, but external resources to improve the economy and living standards of her country’s population. In addition, having strengthened her power in Egypt by killing her potential enemies, Cleopatra settled the trade with the eastern countries (Gill, 2017). This enabled to improve the economic situation in Egypt and to keep its independence from Rome.

Wu Zetian was very popular among the ordinary people due to her agricultural policy. Empress Wu encouraged the expansion of cultivated land and implemented low agricultural taxes (Szczepanski, 2017). Unlike Wu Zetian, Cleopatra was not liked by her people. The Egyptians were annoyed by the fact that her face was solely depicted on coins, symbolizing the rule of a woman, which destroyed the old traditions of a female subjecting to a male (Gill, 2017). The Romans did not trust and hated Cleopatra, as she used the resources of the Roman Empire to make Egypt richer and stronger.

Wu Zetian promoted the equality of men and women. She encouraged the contemporary historians to describe the lives of famous females to emphasize the importance of the female role in a society. Similar to Empress Wus case, one of Cleopatra's great achievements was related to increasing of womens significance in a society. Her personal life was a model of a partner marriage, where each partner had the own individual responsibilities. Cleopatra served as a pattern of a successful female leader.

Empress Wu and Pharaoh Cleopatra reined two different countries with various cultures at variant times. Historically, Egypt had already had a previous experience of a female ruler. Moreover, the female pharaohs were considered as queens, who should be worshiped as gods. The culture of China was based on the patriarchate. Empress Wu became the first female ruler. Therefore, she had to make more efforts to get the throne.

Despite the difference in cultures, both women had to use their intelligence, education and personal charm to gain power. Leadership styles of Empress Wu and Cleopatra are different. The example of Wu Zhao provides a lesson that it is useful to apply internal resources for the development of the country and business. In the modern world this can be viewed as extension of local industries and agriculture as well as investments in personnel training for gaining greater efficiency. The style of Cleopatra's leadership proves the effectiveness of external resources implementation for business development. In the modern world, this implies attracting the investments and creating favorable conditions for the customers. The fates, traits of character, methods of power gaining and the principles of governance of Empress Wu and Cleopatra have many similarities. Despite the fact that their actions were ruthless and cruel, they sacrificed their lives and personal interests for the benefit of their countries’ development. This is their similarity to modern females succeeding in business or politics.

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