ZENOBIA WARRIOR QUEEN
Who was this woman who dared to challenge the Roman empire at its peak, defeated the Persians and overcame Egypt and ended up paraded through the streets of Rome in gold chains and jewelry during the triumph of Emporer Aurelian, after defeating her and her armies? In History Augusta, Zenobia (260-272), appears as descendant of Cleopatra and claims descent from the Ptolemies and according to the same source her lineage could be traced back to Septimius Severus (145-211), Roman emperor, the first of non-Roman but Punic and Berber origin, the Empress consort Julia Domna being an Arab from Syria, daughter of the Supreme Priest of Emèse, today called Homs. Zenobia was a cultured woman and promoted an intellectual environment in her court, open to academics and philosophers. As queen, she was tolerant of her subjects and protected religious minorities. She maintained a stable administration, governing a multi-ethnic and multicultural empire. According to the Augusta History, in addition to the native Aramaic-Palmirene language, she was fluent in Egyptian and Greek and spoke Latin. She died sometime after 274 and many tales were recorded about her fate. Her rise and fall inspired historians, artists, and novelists, and she is a national hero in Syria. Her face was black and dark, her eyes were black and powerful beyond the usual affection, her spirit was divinely great, and her beauty was incredible. So white were his teeth that several thought she had pearls in place of his teeth. She had a clear voice, dressed as an emperor (instead of an empress), mounted on horseback, assisted by eunuchs instead of chaperones, marched with her army, drank with her generals, was careful with money (contrary to habits stereotyped consumption patterns) and her hobby since childhood was hunting. At the age of 14 (ca. 255), she became the second wife of the king of Palmira Odenato and start accompanying her husband in his campaigns which must have increased the soldiers' morale and gained political influence, which she needed in her later career. After having defeated the Persians still as a Roman subject and occupied Egypt, she ended up assuming independence and for several years defied Roman power and army until she was finally defeated by Emperor Aurelian and taken to Rome.
Her life was spared after the Aurelian’s triumph and the Augusta History recorded that he gave Zenobia a village in the Tiber, near the village of Adriano, where she lived with her children until later she married a nobleman, possibly a senator. Also, according to the Augusta History, the descendants of Zenobia were later found being Roman nobles, during the reign of Valente. The house she supposedly occupied became a tourist attraction in Rome The queen's legend made her an idol, which can be reinterpreted to accommodate the needs of writers and historians; thus, she has sometimes been seen as a freedom fighter, heroine of the oppressed and a national symbol. The queen is a female model; according to historian Michael Rostovtzeff, the Russian empress Catherine the Great, liked to compare herself to Zenobia as a woman who created military power and an intellectual court. During the 1930s, thanks to an Egyptian-based feminist press, she became an icon for female magazine readers in the Arab-speaking world as a strong female nationalist leader. Perhaps today we can still use it to counterbalance the power of the dominant chauvinist caste in Arab countries.
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