Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel QueenThe ancient sources for the life and times of Zenobia are sparse, and the surviving literary works are biased towards the Roman point of view, much as are the sources for two other famous women who challenged Rome, Cleopatra and Boudica. In Empress Zenobia, Pat Southern seeks to tell the other side of the legendary 3rd century queen's place in history. As queen of Palmyra (present-day Syria), Zenobia was acknowledged in her lifetime as beautiful and clever, gathering round her at the Palmyrene court writers and poets, artists and philosophers. It was said that Zenobia claimed descent from Cleopatra, which cannot be true but is indicative of how she saw herself and how she intended to be seen by others at home and abroad. This lively narrative explores the legendary queen and charts the progression of her unequivocal declaration, not only of independence from Rome, but of supremacy. Initially, Zenobia acknowledged the suzerainty of the Roman Emperors, but finally began to call herself Augusta and her son Vaballathus Augustus. There could be no clearer challenge to the authority of Rome in the east, drawing the Emperor Aurelian to the final battles and the submission of Palmyra in AD 272. Zenobia's story has inspired many melodramatic fictions but few factual volumes of any authority have been published. Pat Southern's book is a lively account that is both up to date and authoritative, as well as thoroughly engaging. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 Palmyra and Rome | 17 |
Restorer of the East | 57 |
4 Zenobia Widowed | 83 |
5 Septimia Zenobia Augusta | 101 |
6 Aurelian and the Roman Recovery | 131 |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient annexation Antioch Arab Arabia Asia Minor assassination attack attested Aurelian battle battle of Immae campaign capture caravans cavalry Claudius Cleopatra coins command consul corrector defeat defence desert Dodgeon and Lieu east eastern provinces Egypt Emesa epanorthotes Equini Schneider 1993 Euphrates evidence Firmus frontier Gallic Empire Gallienus Gawlikowski Gordian III Greek Hartmann Herodianus Historia Augusta Immae Imperial inscription invasion Julius Aurelius King of Kings Lafange Latin legions Longinus Macrianus Mesopotamia military Odenathus’s orientis Palmyra Palmyrene army Palmyrene trade Parthian perhaps Persians Philip the Arab Prefect probably Probus Queen Quintillus Ras Tadmor reign Roman Emperor Roman Empire Rome routes rule Sartre says scholars senator Septimius Odenathus Severus Shapur soldiers sources status Stoneman Strategos suggested Syncellus Syria Syria Phoenice Tanukh temple territory Tetricus third century Thirty Pretenders took tribesmen usurper Vaballathus Valerian victory Vorodes Watson Young Zabbai Zabdas Zenobia Zonaras Zosimus