Queen Of The Desert!

Are you a woman who has dreamed of telling the most powerful men in the world what to do?

Did you know that in the ancient world there was a lady who took territory away from the Roman Empire, and controlled trade routes that brought her lots of money and art? This wonderful woman was Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. Not to be confused with Priscilla, the other queen of the desert.

Palmyra is an oasis in the desert of modern-day Syria. Zenobia was second wife of the ruler Oedenathus when he died in 267. Two years later, she had seized the province of Egypt as well as parts of what is now Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. When the governor of Egypt tried to take back the land, she cut his head off. She lived it up, and had her favorite philosopher Cassius Longinus write poetry about it. Even the ruins she left behind are amazing.

The Romans had been terribly disorganized for the past 15 years. Rebellions and civil wars marked the third century (but not as badly as they marked the fourth or fifth centuries). Until one man decided to do something about it. That man was Emperor Aurelius, who in 272 marched into Palmyra, killed Zenobia's favorite philosopher, and reunited the Roman Empire. Zenobia was brought to Rome as a prisoner and possibly lived happily there.

Aurelius then decided to march against Persia (a country which had a habit of killing Roman Emperors) but only got as far as the province of Thrace before he was killed by his own troops.

Zenobia is much more famous.

-E.M.

painting by Herbert Schmalz