The Syrian Queen Who Challenged Rome
Septimia Zenobia (circa 240 – circa 274) was a third-century Syrian queen who ruled the short-lived Empire of Palmyra from 267 to 272, and challenged the authority of Rome. During that stretch in power, via war, conquest, and diplomacy, Zenboia came to control and govern a huge realm that included most of the Roman Empire’s eastern provinces.
Born in Palmyra, a wealthy Syrian city that grew prosperous from its strategic location astride caravan trade routes, Zenobia was educated in Latin and Greek, and was fluent in Aramaic and Egyptian. She was put in charge of her family’s flocks and crews of shepherds in her youth, and grew accustomed to horseback riding, the outdoors life, and developed endurance and stamina. Those assets would serve her well, later on.
She was married to Lucius Septimus Odaenathus, Rome’s client ruler of Palmyra. Her life overlapped with a decades-long period of Roman chaos and political instability that came to be known as the Crisis of the Third Century. Taking advantage of that weakness, the Persian Sassanid Empire conquered much of the Roman east. Acting at Rome’s behest, Odaenathus fought off the Persians, and recovered the lost provinces. For his services, he was made governor of most of the Roman East, and in 260, he crowned himself king.
In 267, Odaenathus and his eldest son by a previous wife were assassinated, at which point Zenobia assumed power as regent on behalf of her underage son. She also crowned herself queen of Palmyra, and surrounded herself at court with intellectuals and philosophers. She was a remarkable queen, noted for her culture, her intellect, her beauty, and her toughness. Unlike her deceased husband, Zenobia was not content to remain a Roman client. So she conquered Egypt in 269, seized a significant part of Asia Minor, and declared herself an independent ruler.
Reportedly, she could march on foot long distances with her soldiers, could hunt as well as any man, and could out-drink anybody. By 270, Zenobia had conquered an empire stretching from Asia Minor to Egypt, and from Mesopotamia to the deserts of Libya. Rome was forced to take note, and in 270, a new emperor, Aurelian, restored order in the western Roman empire and turned his attention to the east. Marching against Zenobia, he defeated her armies at Antioch and Emesa, and besieged her in Palmyra. She attempted to fight her way out, but was eventually captured. Zenobia was supposed to march as a trophy in Aurelian’s triumph in Rome, but she denied him that satisfaction by starving herself to death in 274 during the trip to Rome.
