I base Tesha, my main character, on a historical Hittite queen–Puduhepa. Hittite queens had a surprising range of political, social and religious power. They held far more independence than the queens of surrounding realms such as Egypt and Babylonia. Puduhepa ruled in a society that gave her important legal rights, but she also made more extensive use of those rights than any other Hittite queen. In a guest post on Elisabeth Storrs blog, I explain this queen and her incomparable power.
