Septimia Zenobia (240-274) was the Queen of the Palmyrene Empire from 267 to 272, leading the secessionist empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. Zenobia conquered the Levant and Egypt from the Roman Empire in 270, but her empire was short-lived, being destroyed by emperor Aurelian in 272 following the Battle of Emesa.
Biography[]
Zenobia was born in Palmyra, Syria in 240 AD to a family of Aramean and Arab blood. At the age of 14, she married Odaenathus, the lord of Palmyra; Odaenathus and his son were assassinated in 267 while returning from a campaign, and Zenobia became the Queen of the Palmyrene Empire. When Roman officials in the East refused to pledge allegiance to Zenobia's empire in 269, she sent out a series of expeditions to the Levant and Egypt a year later, conquering them from the loyal Romans. In 271, she launched an invasion of Asia Minor, reaching Ancyra before failing to conquer Chalcedon. That same year, she proclaimed herself an empress, and she ruled over a Semitic empire which was tolerant of Christianity, Judaism, and Manichaeism; she herself was a pagan. In 272 AD, the Roman emperor Aurelian invaded Asia Minor, and the Palmyrene garrisons abandoned Galatia, while Ancyra fell to Aurelian without resistance. Zenobia's army was defeated at Immae, and, while Aurelian prepared for an invasion of Syria, a concurrent expedition reconquered Egypt. The final battle between the two armies, the Battle of Emesa, saw the 180,000-strong Roman army destroy Zenobia's 70,000-strong army, and Zenobia attempted to flee to Persia. She was captured by the Romans and showcased at Aurelian's triumphal parade back in Rome, and she died not long after.
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