Zenobia
Encyclopedia
Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire
Palmyrene Empire
The Palmyrene Empire was a splinter empire, that broke off of the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. It encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor....

 in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus
Odaenathus
Lucius Septimius Odaenathus, Odenathus or Odenatus , the Latinized form of the Syriac Odainath, was a ruler of Palmyra, Syria and later of the short lived Palmyrene Empire, in the second half of the 3rd century, who succeeded in recovering the Roman East from the Persians and restoring it to the...

, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267. By 269, Zenobia had expanded the empire, conquering Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 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
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...

.

Family, ancestry and early life

Zenobia was born and raised in Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. 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
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

 form of her name was Bat-Zabbai), and this is how she signed her name. To Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 writers she is known as al-Zabbā’ .

Zenobia was of Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 ancestry, and while epigraphic and sources are largely silent regarding her immediate family origins.

Her father's Roman name was Julius Aurelius Zenobius, with the gentilicium Aurelius showing that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....

 under either Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...

 (reigned 138–161), Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161–180) or Commodus
Commodus
Commodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...

 (reigned 180–192). Zenobius was Governor of Palymra 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
Usurper
Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...

 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
Royal family of Emesa
The royal family of Emesa, also known as the Emesani Dynasty or the Sempsigerami of Emesa , sometimes known as The Sampsiceramids were a ruling Roman client dynasty of priest-kings in Emesa, Syria Province...

 (modern Homs
Homs
Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

) and Gaius Julius Bassianus
Julius Bassianus
Gaius Julius Bassianus or Bassus, also known as Julius Bassianus was a Syrian, who lived in the 2nd century and 3rd century. Bassianus was a high priest for the Temple of the Sun, which was adored in a shape of a black stone. The Aramaean Sun God in Aramaic is El-Gabal. Bassianus was a member of...

, a high priest from Emesa and father of Roman Empress Julia Domna
Julia Domna
Julia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire.- Family background...

.

Zenobia claimed to be a descendant of Dido, Queen of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

, the King of Emesa Sampsiceramus, and the Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...

 Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 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
Augustan History
The Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...

, an imperial declaration of hers in 269 was sent to the citizens of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, describing the city as “my ancestral city”. This declaration only fits Vaballathus
Vaballathus
Lucius Iulius Aurelius Septimius Vabalathus Athenodorus was a king of the Palmyrene Empire. Vabalathus is the Latinized form of his name in the Arabic language, Wahb Allat or gift of the Goddess...

, the son of Zenobia. Historian Callinicus dedicated a ten-book history of Alexandria to a "Cleopatra", who can only be Zenobia.

Zenobia is descended from Sampsiceramus, Dido, and Cleopatra VII through Drusilla of Mauretania
Drusilla of Mauretania (born 38)
This article is about Drusilla of Mauretania for her paternal aunt of the same name; see Drusilla of Mauretania .Drusilla of Mauretania was a Princess of Mauretania, North Africa and was the great grandchild of Ptolemaic Greek Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.-Ancestry...

. Drusilla was a daughter of King Ptolemy of Mauretania
Ptolemy of Mauretania
Ptolemy of Mauretania was a prince and the last Roman client King of Mauretania.-Family and early life:Ptolemy was the son of King Juba II and Queen Cleopatra Selene II of Mauretania. He had a younger sister called Drusilla of Mauretania...

 and Queen Julia Urania
Julia Urania
Julia Urania was a Roman Client Queen of Mauretania. She married the Roman Client King Ptolemy of Mauretania, who was a son of the former Mauretanian Client Monarchs Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II.Her grandson was Gaius Julius Alexio.-Biography:...

 of Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...

. Drusilla’s mother most probably came from the Royal family of Emesa
Royal family of Emesa
The royal family of Emesa, also known as the Emesani Dynasty or the Sempsigerami of Emesa , sometimes known as The Sampsiceramids were a ruling Roman client dynasty of priest-kings in Emesa, Syria Province...

 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
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

. Drusilla’s paternal grandfather, the African King Juba II
Juba II
Juba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.-Early life:Juba II was a prince of Berber descent from North Africa...

 of Mauretania, claimed to be a descendant of the sister of the General of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

, 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
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, tradition accords her renown for hosting literary salons and surrounding herself with philosophers and poets, the most famous of these being Cassius Longinus.

Queen of Palmyra

Zenobia married King of Palmyra Septimius Odaenathus
Odaenathus
Lucius Septimius Odaenathus, Odenathus or Odenatus , the Latinized form of the Syriac Odainath, was a ruler of Palmyra, Syria and later of the short lived Palmyrene Empire, in the second half of the 3rd century, who succeeded in recovering the Roman East from the Persians and restoring it to the...

 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
Vaballathus
Lucius Iulius Aurelius Septimius Vabalathus Athenodorus was a king of the Palmyrene Empire. Vabalathus is the Latinized form of his name in the Arabic language, Wahb Allat or gift of the Goddess...

 (Latin from Arabic وهب اللات, Wahballāt "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 a 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 Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...

, for the peace of Rome, however, her efforts significantly increased the power of her 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
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 as far as Ancyra or Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 and Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...

, followed by Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. In her short-lived empire, Zenobia took the vital trade route
Trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...

s in these areas from the Romans. Roman Emperor Aurelian
Aurelian
Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...

, who was at that time campaigning with his forces in the Gallic Empire
Gallic Empire
The Gallic Empire is the modern name for a breakaway realm that existed from 260 to 274. It originated during the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century....

, 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
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...

. 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
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

 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 multiple reasons put forth for Zenobia's death—illness, hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...

, or beheading being some of the oft-cited. The happiest account, though, is 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
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...

). She supposedly lived in luxury and she became a prominent philosopher, socialite and Roman matron. Zenobia is said to have married a Roman governor and senator whose name is unknown, but there is reason to think it is Marcellus Petrus Nutenus. They had several daughters, whose names are also unknown, but who are reported to have married into Roman noble families. She would have further descendants surviving into the 4th and 5th centuries. The evidence of a descendant of Zenobia can be confirmed by an inscription found in Rome. The gloriously named L. Septimia Patavinia Balbilla Tyria Nepotilla Odaenathiania contains the names of her first husband and son. This person probably was named in honor of Zenobia's first husband and son, (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
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 who lived in the 5th century.

Zenobia in the arts

Operas

  • Zenobia (1694) by Tomaso Albinoni
    Tomaso Albinoni
    Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian Baroque composer. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is mainly remembered today for his instrumental music, such as the concertos, some of which are regularly recorded.-Biography:Born in Venice, Republic of Venice, to Antonio Albinoni, a...

  • Zenobia in Palmira (1789) by Pasquale Anfossi
    Pasquale Anfossi
    Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome....

  • Zenobia in Palmira (1790) by Giovanni Paisiello
    Giovanni Paisiello
    Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...

  • Aureliano in Palmira
    Aureliano in Palmira
    Aureliano in Palmira is an operatic dramma serio in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials "G. F. R." The libretto has generally been attributed to Giuseppe Felice Romani, but sometimes to the otherwise...

     (1813) by Gioachino Rossini
  • Zenobia (2007) by Mansour Rahbani
    Mansour Rahbani
    Mansour Rahbani , was a Lebanese composer, musician, poet and producer, known as one of the Rahbani brothers.- Musical Studies :...


Literature

  • Chaucer tells a condensed story of Zenobia's life in one of a series of "tragedies" in The Monk's Tale.
  • The Living Wood (1947) by Louis de Wohl
    Louis de Wohl
    Louis de Wohl, earlier Ludwig von Wohl was a German-British Catholic author, and an astrologer notable for his work with MI5 during World War II. Sixteen of his popular pre-war novels were the basis of movies...

     contains many references to Zenobia.
  • The Queen of the East (1956) by Alexander Baron
    Alexander Baron
    Alexander Baron was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for his highly acclaimed novel about D-Day entitled From the City from the Plough and his London novel The Lowlife .-Early life:...

  • Beloved (1986) by Bertrice Small
    Bertrice Small
    Bertrice Small is an U.S.American New York Times bestselling writer of historical and erotic romance novels. Bertrice lives on Long Island, New York with her husband George Small. She is a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC...

  • Haley Elizabeth Garwood
  • The Chronicle of Zenobia: the Rebel Queen (2006) by Judith Weingarten
  • The Book of the City of Ladies"" by Christine de Pisan

Sculpture

  • Zenobia in Chains (1859) by Harriet Hosmer

Characters named for Zenobia

Zenobia has become a popular name for exotic or regal female characters in many other works, including Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...

's The Blithedale Romance
The Blithedale Romance
The Blithedale Romance is Nathaniel Hawthorne's third major romance. In Hawthorne , Henry James called it "the lightest, the brightest, the liveliest" of Hawthorne's "unhumorous fictions."-Plot summary:...

, P.G. Wodehouse's Joy in the Morning
Joy in the Morning (1946 novel)
Joy in the Morning is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on August 22, 1946 by Doubleday & Co., New York, and in the United Kingdom on June 2, 1947 by Herbert Jenkins, London...

, William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...

's Rites of Passage
To the Ends of the Earth
To the Ends of the Earth is a trilogy of novels by William Golding, consisting of Rites of Passage , Close Quarters , and Fire Down Below...

, Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...

's Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...

, Surrealist author Gellu Naum
Gellu Naum
Gellu Naum was a prominent Romanian poet, dramatist, novelist, children's writer, and translator. He is remembered as the founder of the Romanian Surrealist group...

's Zenobia and in Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....

's Conan
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...

 series, Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...

's "Fletcher and Zenobia", and Zenobia/Zeena in Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome is a novel published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, New England, United States...

 by Edith Wharton.

Additional reading

  • Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Historia Augusta
    Augustan History
    The Augustan History is a late Roman collection of biographies, in Latin, of the Roman Emperors, their junior colleagues and usurpers of the period 117 to 284...

  • The Monkes Tale – Geoffrey Chaucer, Notes to the Canterbury Tales
  • Zenobia of Palmyra: History, Myth and the Neo-Classical Imagination, Rex Winsbury
    Rex Winsbury
    Rex Winsbury is a British journalist and author. He worked for BBC current affairs, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, was development director for Nation Newspapers in Nairobi, Kenya, and has written widely on the press and technology and health issues such as AIDS and cancer.He has written...

    , 2010, Duckworth, ISBN 978-0-7156-3853-8

External Links


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