Zenobia, Sultana of the East

There is nothing strange in this title. Between her and an actual sultanate there stood only a passing glance from fortune, a smile from fate.

When the Caesar Aurelian attacked the armies of Palmyra and saw their might and courage, and the might and courage of Zenobia, he wrote to the Senate in Rome saying: "Some people may laugh at me for making war upon a woman; know, then, that when Zenobia fights, she is more of a man than any man."

Weeks later, Caesar's armies were perishing in vain around the city. So he thought of a way to conciliate Zenobia and summon her to surrender her capital, and he sent her this message:

"From Caesar Aurelian, king of the Roman world and sultan of the East, to Zenobia and her companions, greetings.

You ought to have done of your own accord what I now call upon you to do by this letter: to submit to the Romans and surrender to me. On this condition, and no other, will you obtain your safety and deserve your pardon. If you do so, the supreme Senate will permit you and your household to live in a city they will appoint for you. Hand over, then, to our treasury all that you possess of jewels, gold, silver, horses, and camels, and I pledge to you that I shall preserve for the Palmyrenes their rights."

And Zenobia answered:

From Zenobia, Sultana of the East, to Aurelian Augustus.

What you have sought of me in your letter, no one has ever dared demand of me by message. Have you forgotten that victory is won by courage, not by blackening pages?.. If the brigands of Syria overcame you though they stood alone, what will your state be when my allies join with me to fight you? You will doubtless bow before me and strip yourself of that pride which drove you to demand the impossible." —

An answer such as this, harsh in tone and strong in accent, bespeaks a courage and a self-assurance without parallel. Whence came Zenobia's assurance? Who is this woman who confronted the Romans and very nearly overcame them... who is Zenobia, who gave her sons the highest preparation and taught them the Latin tongue, that they might one day be fit to mount the throne of Rome!..

All that the public knows of her is that she is Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, or Zaynab al-Zabba', and no more!.. Yet the truth lies deeper than this naming.

The name Zenobia in the Aramaic language is "Bat Zabbine," meaning: the merchant's daughter. In this form it appears in the Palmyrene inscriptions.

As for the form "Zenobia," it is, in Waddington's opinion, the image of a Greek name which the Easterners of Palmyra were accustomed to add to their Semitic names. Perhaps her name carries an allusion to the name of her father, "Zenobios," who was one of the notables of Palmyra.

But "Zenobia" would never consent to be reckoned "a merchant's daughter." She strove her utmost to conceal her origin, which drove the historians to invent suppositions that often stray very far indeed from the truth. Thus the date of her birth, and the place where she was born, are lost to us.

And it pleased Zenobia to trace her descent to Cleopatra, Semiramis, and Dido.

She would insist that Cleopatra was an ancestress of hers. Perhaps the name "Zenobia" itself was her own invention, contrary to what Waddington supposed, for in Greek it means "the power of Jupiter," and in that meaning there is balm for her vanity. What is beyond doubt, however, is that Zenobia was the wife of Septimius Odaenathus II, king of Palmyra. She made no strong appearance upon the stage of politics before her husband's death. But after his death she took the reins of rule in hand and began to manage the affairs of the subjects on behalf of her eldest son Wahballat, whose name in Aramaic means "gift of the gods."

In truth, Zenobia lacked not a single one of the qualities of kingship. Together with her intellectual capacity and her political suppleness, she was marked by chastity and virtue, while famed also for her beauty — that enchanting beauty attested and confirmed by the writers of the Greeks and the Romans. Trebellius said: "The beauty of the queen of Palmyra surpasses all description. Her complexion inclines to a dusky hue; the pupils of her eyes are black as an eagle's; and upon her person appear such marks of power, such tokens of resolution, such signs of graciousness and gentleness, as astonish the mind and delight the eye. Her teeth are of a gleaming white, as though they were pearls. And her voice is strong and ringing, like the voice of a man."

And Zosimus said: "The life of the queen of Palmyra is the life of a hero, not the life of a woman." There is nothing in this saying that flies in the face of truth. Zenobia did in fact delight in plunging into battle and rushing into the din of combat. Often she led her armies in person, mounting her own horse and putting on the dress of war, like some hardened commander long inured to roughness and severity.

After her husband's death, Zenobia bore the burdens of kingship most excellently. She established justice throughout the Palmyrene realm and organized the trade routes for the Syrian and Iraqi caravans, which had of necessity to pass through Palmyra on their going and their coming.

It appears that intellectual and religious freedom was respected in her days to a striking degree. Though we do not know Zenobia's true religion, we cannot establish that she was zealous for any one of the faiths, or that she followed any of them more than slightly.

This is what moved all the neighboring nations to stream into the city of Palmyra in search of livelihood and of freedom. In the days of Zenobia's reign Palmyra was like a second Tower of Babel in its mingling of tongues and peoples. As for its original inhabitants, a large part of them belonged to the original Aramaic nation of those regions; the other part was made up of various foreigners, among them Arabs, Nabataeans, Syrians, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Persians. But the Arabs were more numerous than all the rest..

Zenobia's foreign policy did not differ greatly from the policy of her husband Odaenathus — a policy of alliance and solidarity with the Romans. But the Romans were not pleased at the advance and flourishing of Zenobia's kingdom, above all now that her capital Palmyra had come to rival Rome and threaten her with danger. So the Romans began watching for the chance to pounce upon Zenobia and blot out her kingdom. Yet they always tarried and made ready, until Aurelius Claudius mounted the throne of the Roman Empire in the year 268 after Christ. At the acclamation of this new Caesar, the Senate cried out with one voice: "O Claudius Augustus, deliver us from Zenobia!" — and they repeated it seven times."

It was natural that Caesar should be fired with zeal at the outset of this acclamation. He made full preparation to war upon Zenobia. But Zenobia paid no heed to the Romans' preparations, until the first collision came between her armies and the armies of the Romans on the borders of Persia, where the fighting raged and Zenobia's armies overcame the Romans, and their commander Heraclianus was slain.

This defeat produced among the Romans a violent reaction. They gathered their forces and returned to the attack time after time under the command of Caesar himself, until they came to the walls of Palmyra; and between Caesar and Zenobia passed that exchange of letters which we recorded at the beginning of this account.

Zenobia thought to attack her enemy's army from the rear. That was possible for her only through alliance with the Persians and their succor. She met with her commanders to take counsel with them one last time; then, on a certain night, she slipped out of her capital and set off upon a she-camel toward the Euphrates, to seek the aid of the king of the Persians. She kept her mount racing for a night and a day until she came near a place known today as "al-Dayr," on the bank of the Euphrates. She had just dismounted when she noticed behind her horsemen who were not of her own company. She knew them for enemies. She called out to the master of a boat that lay there, bidding him carry her across the river; but the horsemen overtook her and fell upon her, then set her upon her camel and hastened back to Palmyra, to present to their Caesar the "Sultana of the East" in captivity. So ended Zenobia's political career. But Caesar granted her pardon and carried her with him to Rome, to give proof of his power, his greatness, and his might.

And in the summer resort of "Tibur" in Italy, Zenobia lived out her last days cut off from the world, dreaming of a past heavy-laden with memories, until death overtook her, still yearning, with an aching yearning, for the ruins of Palmyra — but in vain; she would never again see kingship, never again see Palmyra, for from her own depths she heard a voice like a roar: "Sit silent, and enter into the darkness... for you shall no more be called mistress of kingdoms."