Zenobia Zenobia ( 240 – c . 275 Greek : Ζηνοβία Aramaic : בת זבי " Bat - Zabbai " Arabic : الزباء " al - Zabbā ’ " ) was a 3rd - century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria , who led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire . The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus , Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus ' death in 267 . By 269 , Zenobia had expanded the empire , conquering Egypt and expelling the Roman prefect , Tenagino Probus , who was beheaded after he led an attempt to recapture the territory . She ruled over Egypt until 274 , when she was defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor Aurelian . Family , ancestry and early life . Zenobia was born and raised in Palmyra , Syria . Latin and Greek writers referred to her as Zenobia . Her Roman name was Julia Aurelia Zenobia and in Greek , she is known as Zēnobía ( ) or Septimia Zenobia , having added " Septimia " after marrying Septimius Odaenathus . The Aramaic form of her name was Bat - Zabbai ( ) , and this is how she signed her name . To Arabic writers she is known as al - Zabbā ’ ( ) . She belonged to a family with Aramaic names . She herself claimed to be of the Seleucid line of the Cleopatras and the Ptolemies . Athanasius of Alexandria reported her being " a Jewess follower of Paul of Samosata " , which explains her strained relationship with the rabbis . Later doubtful Arabic sources provide indications of her Arab descent . Al - Tabari , for example , writes that she belonged to the same tribe as her future husband , the ' Amlaqi , which was probably one of the four original tribes of Palmyra . According to him , Zenobia ' s father , ‘ Amr ibn al - Ẓarib , was the sheikh of the ' Amlaqi . After he was killed by members of the rival Tanukh tribal confederation , Zenobia became the head of the ' Amlaqis , leading them in their nomadic lifestyle to summer and winter pastures . Her father ' s Roman name was Julius Aurelius Zenobius , with the " gentilicium " Aurelius showing that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under either Antoninus Pius ( reigned 138 – 161 ) , Marcus Aurelius ( reigned 161 – 180 ) or Commodus ( reigned 180 – 192 ) . Zenobius was Governor of Palmyra in 229 . Her father ' s Greek name was Antiochus , according to scriptures found in Palmyra . However , according to the Augustan History ( Aurel . 31 . 2 ) , his name was Achilleus and his usurper was named Antiochus ( Zos . 1 . 60 . 2 ) . Traceable up to six generations , her father ' s paternal ancestry includes Sampsiceramus , a Syrian chieftain who founded the Royal family of Emesa ( modern Homs , Syria ) and Gaius Julius Bassianus , a high priest from Emesa and father of Roman Empress Julia Domna . Zenobia claimed to be a descendant of Dido , Queen of Carthage ; Sampsiceramus , the King of Emesa ; and the Ptolemaic Greek Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt . Though there is no concrete evidence of this , she did have knowledge of the ancient Egyptian language , showed a predisposition towards Egyptian culture , and may have been part Egyptian through her mother . According to the Augustan History , an imperial declaration of hers in 269 was sent to the citizens of Alexandria , Egypt , describing the city as “ my ancestral city ” . This declaration only fits Vaballathus , the son of Zenobia . Historian Callinicus dedicated a ten - book history of Alexandria to a " Cleopatra " , who can only be Zenobia . Zenobia is thought to have descended from Sampsiceramus , Dido , and Cleopatra VII through Drusilla of Mauretania . Drusilla was a daughter of King Ptolemy of Mauretania and Queen Julia Urania of Mauretania . Drusilla ’ s mother most probably came from the Royal family of Emesa and married into the Mauretanian royal family . Drusilla ’ s paternal grandmother , the Queen of Mauretania Cleopatra Selene II , was a daughter of the Ptolemaic Greek Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony . Drusilla ’ s paternal grandfather , the African King Juba II of Mauretania , claimed to be a descendant of the sister of the General of Carthage , Hannibal ( Lucan . Pharsalia 8 . 287 ) . Hannibal ’ s family , the Barcids , claimed to be descended from Dido ’ s younger brother . Classical and Arabic sources describe Zenobia as beautiful and intelligent with a dark complexion , pearly white teeth , and bright black eyes . She was said to be even more beautiful than Cleopatra , differing though in her reputation for extreme chastity . Sources also describe Zenobia as carrying herself like a man , riding , hunting and drinking on occasion with her officers . Well educated and fluent in Greek , Aramaic , and Egyptian , with working knowledge of Latin , she is supposed to have hosted literary salons and surrounded herself with philosophers and poets , the most famous of these being Cassius Longinus . Queen of Palmyra . Zenobia had married Septimius Odaenathus , the King of Palmyra , by 258 ; she was his second wife . She had a stepson , Hairan , a son from Odaenathus ’ first marriage . There is an inscription , ‘ the illustrious consul our lord ’ at Palmyra , dedicated to Odaenathus by Zenobia . Around 266 , Zenobia and Odaenathus had a son , his second child , " Lucius Julius Aurelius Septimius Vaballathus Athenodorus " . Her son Vaballathus ( Latin from Aramaic , " Wahballat " " Gift of the Goddess " ) inherited the name of Odaenathus ’ paternal grandfather . In 267 , Zenobia ’ s husband and stepson were assassinated . The titled heir , Vaballathus , was only one year old , so his mother succeeded her husband and ruled Palmyra . Zenobia bestowed upon herself and her son the honorific titles of " Augusta " and " Augustus " . Zenobia conquered new territories and increased the Palmyrene Empire in the memory of her husband and as a legacy to her son . Her stated goal was to protect the Eastern Roman Empire from the Sasanian Empire ( Sassanid ) , for the peace of Rome ; however , her efforts significantly increased the power of her own throne . Invasions of Egypt and Anatolia . In 269 Zenobia , her army , and the Palmyrene General Zabdas violently conquered Egypt with help from their Egyptian ally , Timagenes , and his army . The Roman prefect of Egypt , Tenagino Probus and his forces , tried to expel them from Egypt , but Zenobia ' s forces captured and beheaded Probus . She then proclaimed herself Queen of Egypt . After these initial forays , Zenobia became known as a " Warrior Queen " . In leading her army , she displayed significant prowess : she was an able horse rider and would walk three or four miles with her foot soldiers . Zenobia , with her large army , made expeditions and conquered Anatolia as far as Ancyra or Ankara and Chalcedon , followed by Syria , Palestine , and Lebanon . In her short - lived empire , Zenobia took the vital trade route s in these areas from the Romans . Roman Emperor Aurelian , who was at that time campaigning with his forces in the Gallic Empire , probably did recognise the authority of Zenobia and Vaballathus ; however , this relationship began to break down when Aurelian began a military campaign to reunite the Roman Empire in 272 – 273 . Aurelian and his forces left the Gallic Empire and arrived in Syria . The forces of Aurelian and Zenobia met and fought near Antioch . After a crushing defeat , the remaining Palmyrenes briefly fled into Antioch and then into Emesa . Zenobia was unable to remove her treasury at Emesa before Aurelian successfully entered and besieged the city . Zenobia and her son escaped Emesa by camel with help from the Sassanids , but they were captured on the Euphrates River by Aurelian ’ s horsemen . Zenobia ’ s short - lived Egyptian kingdom and the Palmyrene Empire had ended . The remaining Palmyrenes who refused to surrender were captured by Aurelian and were executed on his orders . Among those who were put to death was Zenobia ' s chief counselor and Greek sophist , Cassius Longinus . Rome . Zenobia and Vaballathus were taken as hostages to Rome by Aurelian . Vaballathus is presumed to have died on his way to Rome . In 274 , Zenobia reportedly appeared in golden chains in Aurelian ’ s military triumph parade in Rome , in the presence of the senator Marcellus Petrus Nutenus . There are competing accounts of Zenobia ' s own fate : some versions suggest that she died relatively soon after her arrival in Rome , whether through illness , hunger strike , or beheading . The happiest narrative , though , relates that Aurelian , impressed by her beauty and dignity and out of a desire for clemency , freed Zenobia and granted her an elegant villa in Tibur ( modern Tivoli , Italy ) . She supposedly lived in luxury and became a prominent philosopher , socialite and Roman matron . Zenobia is said to have married a Roman governor and senator whose name is unknown , though there is reason to think it may have been Marcellus Petrus Nutenus . They reportedly had several daughters , whose names are also unknown , but who are reported to have married into Roman noble families . She is said to have had further descendants surviving into the 4th and 5th centuries . Evidence in support of there being descendants of Zenobia is offered by a name in an inscription found in Rome : the name of " L . Septimia Patavinia Balbilla Tyria Nepotilla Odaenathiania " incorporates the names of Zenobia ' s first husband and son and may be suggestive of a possible family relationship ( after the deaths of Odaenathus and his sons , Odaenathus had no descendants ) . Another possible descendant of Zenobia is Saint Zenobius of Florence , a Christian bishop who lived in the 5th century . Zenobia in the arts . Characters named for Zenobia . Zenobia has become a popular name for exotic or regal female characters in many other works , including Nathaniel Hawthorne ' s " The Blithedale Romance " , P . G . Wodehouse ' s " Joy in the Morning " , William Golding ' s " Rites of Passage " , Heinlein ' s " Stranger in a Strange Land " , Surrealist author Gellu Naum ' s " Zenobia " and in Robert E . Howard ' s " Conan " series , Edward Gorey ' s " Fletcher and Zenobia " , and " Zenobia / Zeena " in " Ethan Frome " by Edith Wharton . In the classic Dungeons and Dragons module B4 : The Lost City , Zenobia ' s name is used for a historical queen .