The Daring Book for Girls - Andrea J. Buchanan [132]
Zenobia was born around 240 AD at Palmyra, a sparkling, palm-tree-filled paradise deep in the desert of Syria (now the ruins of Tadmor, about 150 miles northeast of Damascus). Her father was a tribal ruler who had enticed her mother from Egypt to this prosperous and cosmopolitan trading outpost.
Zenobia’s full given name was Iulia Aurelia Zenobia. “Iulia” was a popular girl’s name in Rome, which, even though it was far away, ruled the Syrian desert. “Aurelia” meant that her family were Roman citizens, an important honor. “Zenobia” came from her family’s Aramaic tribe. Historians know that by the age of eighteen, she had already married the governor of Palmyra, a man named Odainat (known in Latin as Septimius Odaenathus). Then she changed her name to Septimia Zenobia, to match his.
As wife to the land’s governor, Zenobia was well educated, and her court was filled with philosophers and poets. Many an evening was spent lingering over sumptuous meals, talking about Homer and Plato, making speeches, and laughing at riddles and wit. The peace was disturbed in 260, however, when the Persian king, Shapur, tried to take Syria from the Romans. As allies of Rome, the Palmyrans guarded the frontier where the Roman Empire met the Persian, so Odainat and Zenobia prepared for combat.
The emperor of Rome, Valerian, faced rebellion everywhere—to the west, north, and now to the east. His troops were dispirited, but nonetheless he marched them to battle. The Persians had superior strength and fighting skills, so they easily routed the weary Roman soldiers. Valerian and Shapur agreed to meet at the city of Edessa and negotiate terms. When Valerian showed up, the Persians ambushed him and took him into captivity.
That’s when two Roman messengers urged their horses across the desert sand to Palmyra, bringing the terrible news of Valerian’s capture. Odainat and Zenobia were ready. Side by side, the couple donned armor, saddled their horses, and led the army of Palmyra against the Persians, in search of Valerian.
While Odainat was a courageous and daring warrior, ancient writers tell us Zenobia was even more so, and praised her battle skills, including her exceptional way with the troops. She rallied them, kept them inspired, and at times even handed off her horse to march for miles with the foot soldiers. Unfortunately, the Persians killed Valerian before Odainat and Zenobia could save him, but the couple’s brave leadership earned them the complete respect of the Palmyran army and people.
Was it odd for these troops to see a woman in front, her long black hair streaming out from beneath her helmet? The ancient cultures of Greece and Rome often portrayed the deity of war as a woman, and female Victory statues graced nearly every city. In fact, the Palmyran soldiers followed Zenobia to battle again and again in the following years.
In 267 AD, seven years after their first battle together, Zenobia’s husband Odainat was assassinated. The royal line fell to Zenobia’s toddler son, Vaballathus, who was clearly too young to rule. Zenobia, then 27 years old, became queen in his stead. She dreamed of an empire of Palmyra and prepared the troops for a battle of independence.
The Romans were busy in Europe defending themselves from the Goths, Zenobia knew, so she attacked the Roman province of Egypt. The Egyptians, too, were distracted, off battling pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. She conquered them, and then went to conquer cities in Arabia, Palestine, and Syria. By 269, she declared her empire’s independence from Rome and minted new coins with her image and the word “REGINA”—Queen.
Historians tell us that Zenobia ruled tolerantly as Queen of the East, drawing on the Palmyran traditions of hospitality and openness to treat all people with fairness, including the pagans, Jews, and Christians of her