How a concubine became the ruler of Egypt - Abdallah Ewis episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 16, 2026 · 7 MIN

How a concubine became the ruler of Egypt - Abdallah Ewis

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Get to know the story of Shajar Al-Durr, who was born enslaved and rose to become the ruler of Egypt.--The year is 1249 CE. King Louis IX is sailing the Nile, threatening to overthrow the sultan and capture Egypt. Egypt’s commanders ask the sultan’s wife, Shajar Al-Durr, to report this news to the injured sultan. But they don’t know the truth: the sultan is dead, and she is secretly ruling in his stead. Who was this impressive woman? Abdallah Ewis details the reign of the Sultana of Egypt.Lesson by Abdallah Ewis, directed by Elahe Baloochi.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-forgotten-queen-of-egypt-abdallah-ewisDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-forgotten-queen-of-egypt-abdallah-ewis#digdeeper----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Daniel Erickson, frank goto, Jayson Hauschild, J D Wallace, Marq Short, Chen Jun Xiang, Adam Pagan, Paul Schultz, Behzad Farhanieh, Anders Sørheim, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, BrushReads, Matt Kennedy, Jonah Dobbs, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, Cameron Burkle, Dhanwanth Varadhan, David D, Zuko Gameplays, Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan and sarim haq. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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How a concubine became the ruler of Egypt - Abdallah Ewis

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