Lady of the East and captive of Rome: 8 little-known facts from the life of the Palmyra queen Zenobia

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Queen Zenobia of Palmyra faced many difficulties after the death of her husband and the collapse of Roman rule in the Middle East. And to confront her opponents, she created the Palmyra Empire, becoming a cultured, just and tolerant monarch who ruled over multilingual and multi-ethnic subjects, encouraging intellectual movements at court. But, unfortunately, her reign was very short and this dynamic woman-monarch fell before the resurgent Roman Empire, turning from the ruler of the East to a captive of Rome.

1. Palmyra Zenobia

Palmyra was an ancient Semitic city with a population of Amorites, Arameans and Arabs. The local language was a dialect of Aramaic, although Greek was also widely spoken. Greco-Roman culture has had a great influence, especially in art and architecture, along with local Semitic and Mesopotamian influences. Most of the wealth of Palmyra, and she was famous for its wealth, was obtained from trade caravans moving along the Silk Road. Palmyra controlled the desert route of the Great Silk Road, and its traders were active even in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

In the 1st century AD, Palmyra became part of the Roman province of Syria, although it received little Roman oversight. During the Severian dynasty (193-235 AD) Palmyra was transformed from a city-state into a monarchy. The northerners favored Palmyra, granting it privileges, a Roman garrison, and even making imperial visits. At the same time, the conflict between Rome and the Parthian and Sassanian dynasties of Persia forced Palmyra to invest in its defense and take on a more active military role.

2. Zenobia's early life

Little is known about Zenobia's early life, and much of what is recorded in the sources is suspicious. She was born into a noble Palmyrian family around 240 AD and, as befits her position, received an extensive education, so that she was fluent not only in Aramaic, but also in Egyptian, Greek and Latin. Since the noble families of Palmyra often entered into mixed marriages, she was probably a distant relative of the ruling family. In her youth, sources say her favorite hobby was hunting.

In addition, much of what we know about the origin of the future queen and her early life is gleaned from linguistic, numismatic and epigraphic evidence.

Her native Palmyra name was Bat-Zabbai, or "daughter of Zabbai," which may have been translated as Zenobia out of respect for her. She also bore the Roman surname Septimius. In one of the inscriptions, she is referred to as Septimia bat-Zabbai, daughter of Antiochus. Since Antiochus was not a common Palmyrian name, it has been suggested that this is a reference to real or imagined ancestors belonging to the Seleucid or Ptolemaic dynasties.

3. Wife of the Lord of Palmyra

At the age of fourteen, Zenobia married Odenath, ruler of Palmyra, and became his second wife. He was elected strategist and vassal by the city council to strengthen the army and protect the trade routes of Palmyra from the Persian invasion. It is believed that Zenobia accompanied her in many of his military campaigns. This raised the morale of the troops and allowed her to acquire both political influence and military experience. Both will serve her well in her future career.

It is unclear how many children Odenath had from his first wife, but only one son, Hairan I, is known, who became a co-ruler. However, Zenobia and Odenath had at least two children: Waballat and Hairan II. Also, many historians suggest that they had two more children named Herennian and Timolai, but these are most likely coincidences or outright inventions.

4. Death of Odenath

Odenath was a loyal vassal of Rome and, when summoned, mobilized his forces to help the Roman emperor Valerian thwart the Sassanian Persian invasion of Shapur I in 260 AD. The ensuing battle was a disaster for the Romans, and Valerian was captured (died a prisoner). Odenath was much more successful. In 260 AD, he expelled the Persians from Roman territory, suppressed a rebellion in the East for the Roman emperor Gallienus in 261 AD, and launched an invasion that brought him to the walls of the Persian capital in 262 AD. For his efforts, Odenath received many titles and broad authority over the Roman provinces of the East and crowned himself king of Palmyra and king of kings - a traditional Persian title.

As Rome was engulfed in civil war, usurpation, invasion, and economic decline, there was little she could do but try to rule the Odenate and maintain its subordinate position. Odenath ensured peace and stability in at least one part of the empire until 266. Returning from a campaign in Anatolia, he and Khairan I were killed. Some have suggested that Zenobia was involved in their death, but many had motives to kill the ruler, including both the Romans and the Persians.

5. Zenobia conquers the East

After the assassination of Odenath, Zenobia became regent of Palmyra on behalf of her son Vaballat. She quickly set about consolidating power in the East, much to the displeasure of Roman officials. In 270 AD, Zenobia set out on a journey to crush her rivals. Syria was easily conquered along with Northern Mesopotamia and Judea. The Roman ruler of Arabia opposed the Palmyrans, but was killed in battle. Egypt offered more resistance, but was also conquered, as did central Anatolia, which fell under Zenobia's control.

However, the new ruler of Palmyra and her troops tried not to go too far and continued to present Vaballat as a subordinate of the Roman emperor. Her goal, apparently, was to achieve recognition of her son as an imperial partner in the eastern part of the empire. The existence of any formal agreement between Rome and Palmyra is unclear. It is possible that Gallien's successor Claudius II of Gothic came to some kind of agreement, but he died in 270. Zenobia minted coins depicting Aurelian as emperor and Vaballatus as king, suggesting some kind of agreement. However, Aurelian needed grain supplies from Egypt to cope with the crisis of Rome in Europe. Therefore, on his part, any agreement could be nothing more than a ploy to buy time.

6. Palmyra Empire

Zenobia ruled the Empire of Palmyra mainly from the city of Antioch, where she called herself the Syrian monarch, the Hellenistic queen, and the Roman empress. Thanks to the multilingual, multinational and multicultural nature of her empire, she was able to garner widespread support. Zenobia left the Roman administrative system as it is, but appointed her own governors, thus opening her government to the eastern nobility. In Egypt, Zenobia embarked on a construction and restoration program. The colossi of Memnon, which in earlier centuries were supposed to "sing", fell silent when she repaired their cracks.

An adherent of the Semitic gods of Palmyra, the queen tolerated various religious minorities. This included Christians and Jews, whose rights, places of worship and clergy were respected. Since many minority religions were persecuted by the Romans and Sassanids, this policy helped win a lot of Zenobia's support. She also turned Palmyra and its courtyard into an Education Center that has attracted many renowned scientists. During this period, Syrian scholars argued that Greek and Hellenistic culture was borrowed from Egypt and the Middle East. The Palmyra court used this interpretation to present Odenath and his family as the legitimate rulers of the Roman Empire, tracing their claims back to Philip I the Arab, who was emperor from AD 244 to AD 49.

7. Rome is reborn

By 272, Rome was under the leadership of Aurelian, who began to restore Roman rule. Zenobia, who took more and more imperial title, in return formally broke with Rome. Aurelian's two-pronged invasion quickly reclaimed central Anatolia and Egypt, while the Palmyrans retreated into Syria. Defeated in battle, the queen took refuge in Palmyra, which was besieged by Aurelian and the Romans. She tried to sneak out of the city and flee to Persia, where she hoped to forge an alliance and raise a new army. However, Zenobia was soon captured and Palmyra surrendered.

8. Death of Zenobia

Zenobia, her son Vaballat and the courtiers were taken to the Syrian city of Emesa, where they were put on trial. Convicted of treason and other crimes, most of Zenobia's supporters were executed. She and Vaballat were saved as Aurelian wanted to show them during his triumph in Rome. While traveling to Rome, Aurelian publicly humiliated her throughout the East, and although she was part of his triumph, her ultimate fate is unclear. Some claim that she starved herself or that she was beheaded. A much more likely scenario is that she was allowed to retire to an Italian villa. Her descendants, apparently, assimilated into the Roman aristocracy, reminding of themselves throughout the 4th and 5th centuries. Today Zenobia is the national hero of Syria and a popular figure in cinema, literature and art.

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