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Historic Uprisings that Shook Powerful Governments

Khalid Elhassan February 14, 2022 35 min

26. Zenobia’s Revolt Tore the Roman World Apart

Bust believed to be that of Emperor Aurelian, who eventually defeated Zenobia and put down her revolt. Wikimedia

Zenobia was a remarkable queen, noted for her culture, her intellect, her beauty, and her toughness. It was recorded that she could march long distances on foot with her soldiers, could hunt as well as any man and could out-drink anybody. Unlike her deceased husband, she was not content to remain a Roman client and instead wanted to go her own way. So she rose up in revolt against Rome. In quick order, she conquered the Roman province of Egypt in 269, seized a significant part of Asia Minor from the Romans, and declared herself an independent ruler. By 270, she had conquered an empire that stretched from modern Turkey to Egypt, and from Mesopotamia to the deserts of Libya.

Revolt Facts - Zenobia in chains — An 1888 painting by Herbert Gustave Schmalz, depicts Zenobia in golden chains when she was forced to surrender to the Romans. National Geographic

Rome was forced to take note, and in 270, a new emperor, Aurelian, finally managed to restore a measure of order to the Western Roman Empire. He then turned his attention to the east and marched against Zenobia. He defeated her armies at Antioch and Emesa and besieged her in Palmyra. Zenobia tried to fight her way out and flee, but she was eventually captured. The queen of Palmyra 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 while en route to Rome.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.