And the Queen of the East was Zenobia

Zenobia was born and raised in Palmyra, Syria. Her Roman name is Iulia Aurelia Zenobia, while her name in Arabic is al-Zabbā’ bint ‘Amr ibn al-Ẓarib ibn Ḥassān ibn Adhīnat ibn al-Samīda‘

(Arabic: الزباء بنت عمرو بن الظرب بن حسان ابن أذينة بن السميدع‎, al-Zabbā’, daughter of ‘Amr son of al-Ẓarib son of Ḥassān son of Adhīnah son of al-Samīda‘),

most commonly referred to simply as al-Zabbā’.

In Greek, she is known as Zēnobía (Greek: ἡ Ζηνοβία) or Septimia Zenobia, having added Septimia after marrying Septimius Odaenathus.

Zenobia herself signed official documents Bat-Zabbai (daughter of al-Zabbā’).

Zenobia and her mother were called al-Zabbā’, meaning ‘the one with long lovely hair’.

Queen Zenobia’s Last Look Upon Palmyra,
by Herbert Schmalz

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/vopiscus-aurelian1.html

During the disasters of the middle of the third century CE the Asiatic provinces of the Empire were nearly torn away, first by the Persians, then by the rulers of Palmyra, a thriving and powerful city situated upon an oasis in the Syrian desert. From 266 to 273 CE. the sovereign of this city and the “Queen of the East” was Zenobia, a woman of courage and energy, who almost founded an Oriental empire to the detriment of Rome. From this dismemberment the Roman world was saved by the  Emperor Aurelian, who among his other conquests overcame Zenobia and destroyed Palmyra (273 A.D.), after no puny struggle.

 Beginning in 212, Palmyra’s trade diminished as the Sassanids occupied the mouth of the Tigris and the Euphrates.

Septimius Odaenathus, a Prince of Palmyra, was appointed by Valerian as the governor of the province of Syria.

After Valerian was captured by the Sassanids and died in captivity in Bishapur, Odaenathus campaigned as far as Ctesiphon (near modern-day Baghdad) for revenge, invading the city twice.

When Odaenathus was assassinated by his nephew Maconius, his wife Septimia Zenobia took power, ruling Palmyra on the behalf of her son, Vabalathus.

Zenobia rebelled against Roman authority with the help of Cassius Longinus and took over Bosra and lands as far to the west as Egypt, establishing the short-lived Palmyrene Empire.

Next, she attempted to take Antioch to the north.

In 272, the Roman Emperor Aurelian finally retaliated and captured her and brought her back to Rome.

He paraded her in golden chains but allowed her to retire to a villa in Tibur, where she took an active part in society for years.

(Do we know where her bones are buried?  I wonder.)

 The Temple of Bel (Arabic: معبد بل‎) is an ancient stone ruin located in Palmyra, Syria.

The temple, consecrated to the Semitic god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra as Malakbel, formed the center of religious life in Palmyra and was dedicated in 32 AD.

Aedeen Cremin considers its ruins the “best preserved” at Palmyra.

 See also:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Giovanni_Battista_Tiepolo_-_Il_trionfo_di_Aureliano.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Ancient_Rome_271_AD.svg

 Palmyra provided everything that caravan merchants could want.

There were shops for the merchants selling food, clothes, travel items and even souvenirs.

These are the remains of a bathhouse furnace. A large bathtub was used. There was also a sauna.

This is the Roman-style Theatre. It is 48 metres wide and had seating around 2,000 people.

Temples were even built for merchants who came from different countries.

This one enshrines Greek gods, as well Arabian and Persian gods.

This international city reached the height of its prosperity in the 3rd century.

However, then Queen Zenobia revolted against the Roman Empire and lost.

The Romans destroyed the town

what was once a caravan traders paradise slowly disappeared into the sand.