Concubine in the context of "Yodo-dono"

Empress Zetian (624 – 16 December 705), commonly known as Wu Zetian, personal name Wu Zhao, was the empress regnant (huangdi, 皇帝) and only ruler of the (Wu) Zhou dynasty from 690 to 705. She had previously held power as the second wife and empress consort of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty from 660 to 683 and as empress dowager during the reigns of her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong of Tang between 683 and 690, holding de facto power during these periods. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China who is widely regarded as legitimate. Modern scholarship has re-examined Wu Zetian's rule beyond traditional portrayals of manipulation and cruelty. Recent studies highlight her administrative reforms, expansions of the civil-service examination system, and support of Buddhist symbolism as instruments of governance and legitimacy. During her 45 year tenure, China grew larger, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during the Shenlong Coup [zh] and died a few months later.

In early life, Empress Wu was a concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his ninth son and successor, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's empress, the highest-ranking of his consorts, in 655. Empress Wu held considerable political power even before becoming empress, and began to control the court after her appointment. After Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, she became administrator of the court, a position with similar authority to the emperor's, until 683. History records that she "was at the helm of the country for long years, her power no different from that of the emperor". On Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, rather than entering retirement, and not interfering in the government, Empress Wu broke with tradition and took acquisition of complete power, refusing to allow either of her sons to rule. She took the throne in 690 by officially changing the name of the dynasty from Tang to Zhou, changing the name of the imperial family from Li to Wu, and holding a formal ceremony to crown herself as emperor.

Arsinoe of Macedon (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσινόη; lived 4th century BC) was an ancient Macedonian noblewoman and the mother of Ptolemy I Soter (323 – 283 BC), king of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Arsinoe was of the Argead dynasty, and originally a concubine of Philip II, king of Macedon, and it is said she was given by Philip to Lagus, a Macedonian nobleman, while she was pregnant with Ptolemy I Soter, but it is possible that this is a later myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Alternately, Ptolemy's lineage to the Argead dynasty was found through his mother, Arsinoe, in this case Arsinoe is daughter of Meleager, who was a cousin of Amyntas III and son of Balacrus, son of Amyntas, son of Alexander I of Macedon. Contemporary and modern research concludes the latter claim much more valid than Philip II as Ptolemy’s father, now dismissed as a myth.

Lagus of Eordaia (Greek Λάγος, Lagos; lived 4th century BC) was a Macedonian courtier and the father of Ptolemy, the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He married Arsinoe of the Argead dynasty and a concubine of Philip II, king of Macedon, who was said to have been pregnant at the time of their marriage, forming the basis of Ptolemy as the son of Philip; but it is possible that this is a later myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic dynasty. From an anecdote recorded by Plutarch, it is clear that Lagus was a man of obscure birth; hence, when Theocritus calls Ptolemy a descendant of Heracles, he probably means to represent him as the son of Philip. Lagus and Arsinoe also were parents to Menelaus.

Pallakai (Ancient Greek: παλλακαί; singular pallake (παλλακή)) was the general name given to concubines in ancient Greece.

The Pipiltin (sg. pilli) were the noble social class in the Mexica Empire. They are the lowest nobles in the civilization's social structure and above the commoners who achieved noble status due to an outstanding deed in war. These people were members of the hereditary nobility and occupied positions in the government as ambassadors and ministers, the army and the priesthood. Pipiltin often headed their own noble houses, called tecalli, with their own lands and dependent labourers. The subclasses within the Pipiltin were: tlahtohcapilli (a tlahtoani's son), tecpilli or teucpilli (a teuctli's son), tlazohpilli (son of a legitimate wife), and calpanpilli (son of a concubine).

Children of the Pipiltin were given extensive education in preparation for the role they would play in their adult life. They were sent to the calmecac, which was the center for higher learning, to study the ancient wisdom as well as "elegant forms of speech, ancient hymns, poems and historical accounts, religious doctrines, the calendar, astronomy, astrology, legal precepts and the art of the government."

Yanagiwara Naruko (Japanese: 柳原愛子), also known as Sawarabi no Tsubone (26 June 1855 – 16 October 1943), was a Japanese lady-in-waiting of the Imperial House of Japan. A concubine of Emperor Meiji, she was the mother of Emperor Taishō and the last concubine of Japan and the last concubine to ever give birth to a reigning Emperor of Japan.

Muhammad, the final Islamic prophet, is said to have had thirteen wives in total (although two have ambiguous accounts, Rayhana bint Zayd and Maria al-Qibtiyya, as wife or concubine). As a sign of respect, Muslims refer to each of these wives with the title "Umm al-Muʾminīn" (Arabic: أُمّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين, lit. 'Mother of the Believers'; plural: أُمَّهَات ٱلْمُؤْمِنِين, romanized: Ummahāt al-Muʾminīn), which is derived from 33:6 of the Quran.

Sources give different numbers (11-19) based on narrations about Muhammad's marriages. Ali Dashti lists 23 wives of Muhammad, which he divides them into three categories. Two of these were concubines, and four were women who gave themselves to Muhammad, other than concubines and wives permitted for him by the last part of verse 49 of surah Al-Ahzab. Nine of Muhammad's wives survived after him. Aisha, who became known as Muhammad's favorite wife in Sunni tradition, survived him by decades and was instrumental in helping assemble the scattered sayings of Muhammad that form the hadith literature for the Sunni branch of Islam.