Did you know that Arab tribes in the 8th-7th century BCE were mostly led by women? While this is not evidence of wider matriarchy, it certainly rocks my priors. Arab women were once revered as leaders.
How do we know?
Assyrian royal inscriptions refer to nine “Queens of the Arabs”.
The images referenced are in my substack: https://draliceevans.substack.com/p/arab-matriarchy?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
This podcast draws on research by Ellie Bennet which you can read here: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/328402