Zenobia of Palmyra: The Warrior Queen
Zenobia’s husband was a Palmyrene noble. His name was Odaenathus and successfully campaigned against the Persians for the Roman Empire. Because of his victory he was awarded the rank of consul by the Romans. Two years later in recognition of a sucessful campaign agianst the Persian King Shapur I he was granted the title of Corrector Totius Orientis ( Govenor of all the East). Being Govener wasn’t enough for Odaenathus he eventually declared himself king. Zenobia was a real driving force for her husband. His sucess can be at least partialy attributed to her courage and good sense.
In 267 C.E. Odaenathus and his heir were assassinated. This left Odaenathus and Zenobia’s son to take his position, because he was so young Zenobia took over instead. She was a capable administrator and she managed to earn the love and respect of her subjects. She surrounded herself with intelligent people and one of advisers was a philosopher named Cassius Longinus. He was said to have been ” a living library and a walking museum.” She was able to establish herself as mistress of the east within five years of her husbands death.
Zenobia saw a chance to expand her empire in 269 C.E when a pretender appeared in Egypt. Her army marched into Egypt and crushed the pretender and took over the entire country. She then proclaimed herself as Queen of Egypt. Around the same time she annexed most of Syria making her empire even larger. She now felt that she could declare her independance from Rome. When she started to mint coins with her portriat on it the Roman Emperor Aurelian felt that this was going to far. He took decisive action. He started by taking back Egypt, it was an easy vicory Zenobia had overextended herself and her army. Aurelian then went on to retake Ankara. Zenobia and her army decided to make a stand at the Orontes river. This battle ended up being a slaugher in favor of the Romans.
Zenobia fell back to Emesa here her army was completely defeated. Zenobia was able to escape to Palmyra. The Romans put the city under seige. Eventually the city was captured, Zenobia tried to escape by disguising herself but was captured. She demanded immunity. The Romans executed her close advisors including Cassius Longinus. Zenobia herself was taken prisoner to Rome. She was made to walk into Rome in a procession with golden chains that her guards had to hold up because of their weight. There aren’t alot of records about her life after this point, however it is belived that she retired from public life and married a Roman Govenor.
Zenobia, like many strong women of the past, sparks our imagination. Her skills as a ruler and her love of learning are examples for women today. She took on the world power of her day and even though she was defeated she proved that women could and did make a diffrence in the world. Many men and women have lived and died yet we don’t know their names, however Zenobia will be rembered far into the future.
