Most sources I find seems to portray women's participation in warfare, as leaders and or soldiers, as more of an exception than the rule during antiquity and the middle ages.
Is there any source that gives evidence of women in fighting roles during this period? Were there armies known to enroll...
No, there is no such evidence. Every available source is clear that the percentage is effectively 0.0%. All exceptions shrink into the available rounding space below 0.1%. You're welcome.
I'm afraid that I cannot agree with @pieterGeerkens; you might start your research with Kameron Hurley; the professor she quotes is referring to some existing research.
@Mark Unfortunately, Kameron Hurley seems highly unreliable. Her first quote of the "professor" about shaka Zulu having all female unit seems erroneous... "Shaka Zulu’s army by one erroneous account had an all-female front-line regiment. Scholarship on Shaka’s military tactics makes clear that all the soldiers were men." warandgender.com/chap2pap.htm#FN02_43
@Jos: Well, I did not ask "Why", even though now you mention it that could be an interesting question in itself, if correctly framed to avoid the simple answer "Men are on average stronger than women". But I think the question "Why did the ancient history/middle ages armies did not enroll also some women, in addition to men, in order to increase army size?" would be interesting.
@L.M. - Yes, there is. But I wonder if you have done any research on this. More than happy to give the info but what have you discovered before posting here?
@L.M. For your own edification "On a regular basis, readers will write in saying their family, friends, or colleagues are convinced women aren’t fit for combat. Which drives me fucking insane, because women have been doing this for literally all of recorded history. So here’s a (totally non-comprehensive) list of women in combat roles going back to 1500 BCE. If someone starts on a “women can’t be in the military” rant, print this list out and start hitting them with it until they stop moving."The Master List of Historical Women in Combat
@StevenBurnap "No such evidence" is akin to the assertion that aliens or slaves built the pyramids at Giza in order to not attribute the building of the Great Pyramid to indigenous Africans, which by necessity omits the fact that over 400 pyramids were constructed in Africa (not counting the various temple complexes), the vast majority of which are south of and predate the Giza complex (for example in Nubia and Kush). As one cannot rely on western academia for accurate information about ancient Egypt, one cannot rely on male western academics for information on female generals and armies.
@Orangesandlemons Yes, the mass participation of women in armies in Africa in antiquity and "the Middle Ages" is not uncommon. The black woman is god, deity, warrior; group of warrior women; soldier; there are many ancient and current examples of Africa having matriarchal societal structures; the history of African women (both on papyrus and through oral traditions) waging wars in groups in predates the advent of the printing press in Europe in the 15th century to record first "the Bible" ("Old Testament") and later other works.
@L.M. An interesting hypothesis I read was that men are simply more replacable than women - men can reproduce very frequently while women can only reproduce once every 9 months. This is of course more relevant for small tribes than larger societies, but it could explain a culture in which women were seen as unfit for combat.
@guest271314: Thank you for your list. As pointed out by Orangesandlemons the question is however about significant "number" (in the sense of a few percents) participation of women in active fighting roles. However the article you posted in another comment goes more in that direction and is really informative Eowinlink. If you have reference about women soldier in Africa I would also be interested. Thank you!
Discussion on question by L. M.: Is t…
Discussion on question by L. M.: Is t…