Editing Zenobia (section)

===Regent===
[[Image:Antoninian Vaballathus Augustus (obverse).jpg|thumb|alt=Old coin|[[Vaballathus]], Zenobia's son and successor of his father Odaenathus (on the obverse of an ''antoninianus'', AD 272)]]

In the ''Historia Augusta '', Maeonius was emperor briefly before he was killed by his soldiers,{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=q8Z7AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 292]}} however, no inscriptions or evidence exist for his reign.{{sfn|Brauer|1975|p= [https://archive.org/details/ageofsoldierem00brau 163]}} At the time of Odaenathus' assassination, Zenobia might have been with her husband; according to chronicler [[George Syncellus]], he was killed near [[Heraclea Pontica]] in [[Bithynia]].{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA81 81]}} The transfer of power seems to have been smooth, since Syncellus reports that the time from the assassination to the army handing the crown to Zenobia was one day.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA81 81]}} Zenobia may have been in Palmyra, but this would have reduced the likelihood of a smooth transition; the soldiers might have chosen one of their officers, so the first scenario of her being with her husband is more likely.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA81 81]}} The historical records are unanimous that Zenobia did not fight for supremacy and there is no evidence of delay in the transfer of the throne to Odaenathus and Zenobia's son, the ten-year-old [[Vaballathus]].{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA84 84]}} Although she never claimed to rule in her own right and acted as a regent for her son,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA92 92]}} Zenobia held the reins of power in the kingdom,{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA119 119]}} and Vaballathus was kept in his mother's shadow, never exercising real power.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=q8Z7AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 299]}}

====Consolidation of power====
The Palmyrene monarchy was new; allegiance was based on loyalty to Odaenathus, making the transfer of power to a successor more difficult than it would have been in an established monarchy.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}} Odaenathus tried to ensure the dynasty's future by crowning his eldest son co-king, but both were assassinated.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60]}} Zenobia, left to secure the Palmyrene succession and retain the loyalty of its subjects, emphasized the continuity between her late husband and his successor (her son).{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60]}} Vaballathus (with Zenobia orchestrating the process) assumed his father's royal titles immediately, and his earliest known inscription records him as King of Kings.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA84 84]}}

[[Image:Odaenathus Kingdom.png|thumb|alt=Color-coded map of the ancient Near East|Roman regions under Odaenathus (yellow) and the Palmyrene kingdom (green)]]
Odaenathus controlled a large area of the Roman East,{{#tag:ref|The Roman East traditionally included all the Roman lands in Asia east of the [[Bosphorus]].{{sfn|Ball|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=73-JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 6]}}|group=note}} and held the highest political and military authority in the region, superseding that of the Roman provincial governors.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215 215]}}{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=muVoB0O_XXMC&pg=PT61 61]}} His self-created status was formalized by Emperor Gallienus,{{sfn|Vervaet|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=nG-S-X_uI6EC&pg=PA137 137]}} who had little choice but to acquiesce.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 214]}} Odaenathus's power relative to that of the emperor and the central authority was unprecedented and elastic, but relations remained smooth until his death.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]}} His assassination meant that the Palmyrene rulers' authority and position had to be clarified, which led to a conflict over their interpretation.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]}} The Roman court viewed Odaenathus as an appointed Roman official who derived his power from the emperor, but the Palmyrene court saw his position as hereditary.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]}} This conflict was the first step on the road to war between Rome and Palmyra.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]}}

Odaenathus' Roman titles, such as ''[[dux]] Romanorum'', ''corrector totius orientis'' and ''[[imperator]] totius orientis'' differed from his royal eastern ones because the Roman ranks were not hereditary.{{sfn|Kulikowski|2016|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=XZokDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT158 158]}} Vaballathus had a legitimate claim to his royal titles, but had no right to the Roman ones—especially ''corrector'' (denoting a senior military and provincial commander in the Roman system), which Zenobia used for her son in his earliest known inscriptions with "King of Kings".{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60]}} Although the Roman emperors accepted the royal succession, the assumption of Roman military rank antagonized the empire.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=4ROhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT423 333]}} Emperor Gallienus may have decided to intervene in an attempt to regain central authority;{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2fTcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 209]}} according to the ''Historia Augusta'', [[praetorian prefect]] [[Aurelius Heraclianus]] was dispatched to assert imperial authority over the east and was repelled by the [[Palmyrene army]].{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 262]}} The account is doubtful, however, since Heraclianus participated in Gallienus' assassination in 268.{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 150]}} Odaenathus was assassinated shortly before the emperor, and Heraclianus would have been unable to be sent to the East, fight the Palmyrenes and return to the West in time to become involved in the conspiracy against the emperor.{{#tag:ref|A plausible scenario, according to the historian [[David Stone Potter|David Potter]], would be that a campaign was sent in 270 by [[Claudius Gothicus]], Gallienus' successor.{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 262]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 150]}}

====Early reign====
[[Image:Halabiya,N-wall.jpg|thumb|alt=Ruins of a sandstone fortress|The citadel of [[Halabiye]], renamed "Zenobia" after its renovation by the queen]]
The extent of Zenobia's territorial control during her early reign is debated; according to the historian [[Fergus Millar]], her authority was confined to Palmyra and [[Emesa]] until 270.{{#tag:ref|An often-cited argument for limited territorial control is that the [[Antioch]]ean [[Mint (facility)|Mint]] did not issue coins in the name of the queen or her son before 270.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} However, in the opinion of Southern, this can be explained by the existence of Claudius Gothicus on the imperial throne, which made it unnecessary for the queen to issue coins in the name of her son.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} After Claudius' death in 270, the imperial throne was contested by his brother [[Quintillus]] and the army candidate [[Aurelian]], but the Antiochean mint, probably under orders from Zenobia (who apparently did not recognize Quintillus) did not issue coins for both pretenders.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} When Aurelian prevailed, Zenobia might have found it an opportunity to declare for him; the new coins bore the picture of Aurelian but also, for the first time, Vaballathus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Millar|1971|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0fIq9wd3Z3oC&pg=PA205 9]}} If this was the case, the events of 270 (which saw Zenobia's conquest of the [[Levant]] and [[Egypt]]) are extraordinary.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} It is more likely that the queen ruled the territories controlled by her late husband,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} a view supported by Southern and the historian [[:de:Udo Hartmann|Udo Hartmann]],{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 186]}} and backed by ancient sources (such as the Roman historian [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], who wrote that the queen inherited her husband's power).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} The ''Historia Augusta'' also mentioned that Zenobia took control of the East during Gallienus' reign.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA186 186]}} Further evidence of extended territorial control was a statement by the Byzantine historian [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]], who wrote that the queen had a residence in [[Antioch]].{{#tag:ref|The palace was probably established by Odaenathus who crowned his son in Antioch,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}} Syria's historical capital.{{sfn|Nakamura|1993|p= [http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/3431 141]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 87]}}

There is no recorded unrest against the queen accompanying her ascendance in ancient sources hostile to her, indicating no serious opposition to the new regime.{{#tag:ref|According to the '' Historia Augusta '' the emperor Aurelian sent a letter to the Senate saying that the [[Egyptians]], [[Armenians]] and [[Arabs]] were so afraid of Zenobia that they did not dare revolt; however, the author does not say that the [[Syrians]] were afraid of the queen.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 88]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 88]}} The most obvious candidates for opposition were the Roman provincial governors, but the sources do not say that Zenobia marched on any of them or that they tried to remove her from the throne.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA89 89]}} According to Hartmann, the governors and military leaders of the eastern provinces apparently acknowledged and supported Vaballathus as the successor of Odaenathus.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA89 89]}} During Zenobia's early regency, she focused on safeguarding the borders with Persia and pacifying the [[Tanukhids]] in [[Hauran]].{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 299]}} To protect the Persian borders, the queen fortified many settlements on the [[Euphrates]] (including the citadels of [[Halabiye]]—later called Zenobia—and [[Zalabiye]]).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 91]}} Circumstantial evidence exists for confrontations with the Sassanid Persians; probably in 269, Vaballathus assumed the [[victory title]] of ''Persicus Maximus'' (the great victor in Persia); this may be connected to an unrecorded battle against a Persian army trying to control northern Mesopotamia.{{#tag:ref|Ancient sources accused Zenobia of sympathizing with the Persians, claiming that she was worshiped like the Persian leaders and drank wine with their generals;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 92]}} however, the accusations are unfounded since Zenobia fortified the frontier with Persia.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 91]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 92]}}{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA267 267]}}

====Expansion====
In 269, while [[Claudius Gothicus]] (Gallienus' successor) was defending the borders of [[Roman Italy|Italy]] and the [[Balkans]] against Germanic invasions, Zenobia was cementing her authority; Roman officials in the East were caught between loyalty to the emperor and Zenobia's increasing demands for allegiance.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} The timing and rationale of the queen's decision to use military force to strengthen her authority in the East is unclear;{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} scholar [[Gary K. Young]] suggested that Roman officials refused to recognize Palmyrene authority, and Zenobia's expeditions were intended to maintain Palmyrene dominance.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 163]}} Another factor may have been the weakness of Roman central authority and its corresponding inability to protect the provinces, which probably convinced Zenobia that the only way to maintain stability in the East was to control the region directly.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 163]}} The historian [[Jacques Schwartz]] tied Zenobia's actions to her desire to protect Palmyra's economic interests, which were threatened by Rome's failure to protect the provinces.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 162]}} Also, according to Schwartz, the economic interests conflicted; [[Bosra|Bostra]] and Egypt received trade which would have otherwise passed through Palmyra.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA164 164]}} The Tanukhids near Bostra and the merchants of [[Alexandria]] probably attempted to rid themselves of Palmyrene domination, triggering a military response from Zenobia.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA164 164]}}

=====Syria and the invasion of Arabia Petraea=====
[[File:Bosra-Ruins.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Extensive ruins|[[Bostra]], [[Sack of Bostra|sacked]] by Palmyra in 270]]
In the spring of 270, while Claudius was fighting the [[Goths]] in the mountains of [[Thrace]], Zenobia sent her general [[Zabdas|Septimius Zabdas]] to Bosra (capital of the province of [[Arabia Petraea]]);{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} the queen's timing seems intentional.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA114 114]}} In Arabia the Roman governor (''dux''), [[Trassus]] (commanding the [[Legio III Cyrenaica]]),{{#tag:ref|Although his name is only mentioned by [[John Malalas]], archaeological evidence supports the Arabian campaign.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}}|group=note}} confronted the Palmyrenes and was routed and killed.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} Zabdas [[Sack of Bostra|sacked the city]], and destroyed the temple of [[Amun#Greece|Zeus Hammon]], the legion's revered shrine.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} A Latin inscription after the fall of Zenobia attests to its destruction:{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 108]}} "The temple of Iuppiter Hammon, destroyed by the Palmyrene enemies, which&nbsp;... rebuilt, with a silver statue and iron doors (?)".{{sfn|Dodgeon|Lieu|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=3gGKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}} The city of [[Umm el-Jimal]] may have also been destroyed by the Palmyrenes in connection with their efforts to subjugate the Tanukhids.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 108]}}

After his victory, Zabdas marched south along the [[Jordan Rift Valley|Jordan Valley]] and apparently met little opposition.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} There is evidence that [[Petra]] was attacked by a small contingent which penetrated the region.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}} Arabia and [[Judea (Roman province)|Judaea]] were eventually subdued.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}} Palmyrene dominance of Arabia is confirmed by many milestones bearing Vaballathus' name.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}} Syrian subjugation required less effort because Zenobia had substantial support there, particularly in Antioch,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} Syria's traditional capital.{{sfn|Nakamura|1993|p= [http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/3431 141]}} The invasion of Arabia coincided with the cessation of coin production in Claudius' name by the Antiochean [[Mint (facility)|mint]], indicating that Zenobia had begun tightening her grip on Syria.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} By November 270, the mint began issuing coinage in Vaballathus' name.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA106 106]}}

The Arabian milestones presented the Palmyrene king as a Roman governor and commander, referring to him as ''[[vir clarissimus]] [[Rex (title)|rex]] [[consul]] imperator dux Romanorum''.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}} The assumption of such titles was probably meant to legitimize Zenobia's control of the province, not yet a usurpation of the imperial title.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}} Until now, Zenobia could say that she was acting as a representative of the emperor (who was securing the eastern lands of the empire) while the Roman monarch was preoccupied with struggles in Europe.{{sfn|Bryce|Birkett-Rees|2016|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=gDAFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282 282]}} Although Vaballathus' use of the titles amounted to a claim to the imperial throne, Zenobia could still justify them and maintain a mask of subordination to Rome;{{sfn|Kulikowski|2016|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=XZokDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT158 158]}} an ''"imperator"'' was a commander of troops, not the equal of an emperor (''"imperator caesar"'').{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}}

=====Annexation of Egypt and the campaigns in Asia Minor=====
{{main|Palmyrene invasion of Egypt}}
The invasion of Egypt is sometimes explained by Zenobia's desire to secure an alternative trade route to the Euphrates, which was cut because of the war with Persia.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA178 178]}} This theory ignores the fact that the Euphrates route was only partially disrupted, and overlooks Zenobia's ambition.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}} The date of the campaign is uncertain; Zosimus placed it after the [[Battle of Naissus]] and before Claudius' death, which sets it in the summer of 270.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 113]}} Watson, emphasizing the works of Zonaras and Syncellus and dismissing Zosimus' account, places the invasion in October 270 (after Claudius' death).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 190]}} According to Watson, the occupation of Egypt was an opportunistic move by Zenobia (who was encouraged by the news of Claudius' death in August).{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}}{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA204 204]}} Zenobia was declared Queen of Egypt after [[Palmyrene invasion of Egypt]].{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA304 304]}} The appearance of the Palmyrenes on Egypt's eastern frontier would have contributed to unrest in the province, whose society was fractured; Zenobia had supporters and opponents among local Egyptians.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}}

[[File:Palmyrene Empire.png|thumb|alt=Color-coded map of Palmyra|Palmyra at its zenith in 271]]
The Roman position was worsened by the absence of Egypt's [[Praetorian prefect|prefect]], [[Tenagino Probus]], who was battling pirates.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 113]}} According to Zosimus, the Palmyrenes were helped by an Egyptian general named Timagenes; Zabdas moved into Egypt with 70,000 soldiers, defeating an army of 50,000 Romans.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA204 204]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA114 114]}} After their victory, the Palmyrenes withdrew their main force and left a 5,000-soldier garrison.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA114 114]}} By early November,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}} Tenagino Probus returned and assembled an army; he expelled the Palmyrenes and regained Alexandria, prompting Zabdas to return.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA114 114]}} The Palmyrene general aimed a thrust at Alexandria, where he seems to have had local support; the city fell into Zabdas' hands, and the Roman prefect fled south.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}} The last battle was at the [[Babylon Fortress]], where Tenagino Probus took refuge; the Romans had the upper hand, since they chose their camp carefully.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} Timagenes, with his knowledge of the land, ambushed the Roman rear; Tenagino Probus committed suicide, and Egypt became part of Palmyra.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}} In the ''Historia Augusta '' the [[Blemmyes]] were among Zenobia's allies,{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA122 122]}} and Gary K. Young cites the Blemmyes attack and occupation of [[Qift|Coptos]] in 268 as evidence of a Palmyrene-Blemmyes alliance.{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}

Only Zosimus mentioned two invasions, contrasting with many scholars who argue in favor of an initial invasion and no retreat (followed by a reinforcement, which took Alexandria by the end of 270).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA114 114]}} During the Egyptian campaign, Rome was entangled in a succession crisis between Claudius' brother [[Quintillus]] and the general [[Aurelian]]. Egyptian [[List of ancient Egyptian papyri|papyri]] and coinage confirm Palmyrene rule in Egypt; the papyri stopped using the [[regnal year]]s of the emperors from September to November 270, due to the succession crisis. By December regnal dating was resumed, with the papyri using the regnal years of the prevailing emperor Aurelian and Zenobia's son Vaballathus. Egyptian coinage was issued in the names of Aurelian and the Palmyrene king by November 270.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA106 106]}} There is no evidence that Zenobia ever visited Egypt.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA205 205]}}

Although the operation may have commenced under Septimius Zabbai, Zabdas' second-in-command, the invasion of Asia Minor did not fully begin until Zabdas' arrival in the spring of 271.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}} The Palmyrenes annexed [[Galatia]] and, according to Zosimus, reached [[Ancyra]].{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA116 116]}} [[Bithynia]] and the [[Cyzicus]] mint remained beyond Zenobia's control, and her attempts to subdue [[Chalcedon]] failed.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}} The Asia Minor campaign is poorly documented, but the western part of the region did not become part of the queen's authority;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA116 116]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA117 117]}} no coins with Zenobia or Vaballathus' portraits were minted in Asia Minor, and no royal Palmyrene inscriptions have been found.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA117 117]}} By August 271 Zabdas was back in Palmyra, with the [[Palmyrene Empire|Palmyrene empire]] at its zenith.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}}

====Governance====
Zenobia ruled an empire of different peoples; as a Palmyrene, she was accustomed to dealing with multilingual and multicultural diversity since she hailed from a city which embraced many cults.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA86 86]}} The queen's realm was culturally divided into eastern-Semitic and [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] zones; Zenobia tried to appease both, and seems to have successfully appealed to the region's ethnic, cultural and political groups.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 66]}} The queen projected an image of a Syrian monarch, a Hellenistic queen and a Roman empress, which gained broad support for her cause.{{sfn|Nakamura|1993|p= [http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/3431 135]}}

=====Culture=====
[[File:Colossi of Memnon May 2015 2.JPG|thumb|alt=Two huge statues of seated figures|The right [[Colossi of Memnon|colossus of Memnon]] was probably restored by Zenobia.]]
Zenobia turned her court into a center of learning, with many intellectuals and sophists reported in Palmyra during her reign.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 335]}} As academics migrated to the city, it replaced classical learning centers such as Athens for Syrians.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 335]}} The best-known court philosopher was [[Cassius Longinus (philosopher)|Longinus]],{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA95 95]}} who arrived during Odaenathus' reign and became Zenobia's tutor in ''[[paideia]]'' (aristocratic education).{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA96 96]}}{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 335]}} Many historians, including Zosimus, accused Longinus of influencing the queen to oppose Rome.{{sfn|Schneider|1993|p= 19}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA96 96]}} This view presents the queen as malleable,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA96 96]}} but, according to Southern, Zenobia's actions "cannot be laid entirely at Longinus' door".{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA97 97]}} Other intellectuals associated with the court included [[Nicostratus of Trapezus]] and Callinicus of Petra.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA336 336]}}

From the second to the fourth centuries, Syrian intellectuals argued that [[Ancient Greece#Culture|Greek culture]] did not evolve in [[Greece]] but was adapted from the [[Near East]].{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA336 336]}} According to [[Iamblichus]], the great Greek philosophers reused Near Eastern and Egyptian ideas.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA337 337]}} The Palmyrene court was probably dominated by this school of thought, with an intellectual narrative presenting Palmyra's dynasty as a Roman imperial one succeeding the Persian, Seleucid and Ptolemaic rulers who controlled the region in which Hellenistic culture allegedly originated.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA337 337]}} Nicostratus wrote a history of the Roman Empire from [[Philip the Arab]] to Odaenathus, presenting the latter as a legitimate imperial successor and contrasting his successes with the disastrous reigns of the emperors.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA336 336]}}

Zenobia embarked on several restoration projects in Egypt.{{sfn|Bowersock|1984|p= [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/basp/0599796.0021.001/38:4?page=root;size=100;view=image 32]}} One of the [[Colossi of Memnon]] was reputed in antiquity to sing; the sound was probably due to cracks in the statue, with solar rays interacting with dew in the cracks.{{sfn|Bagnall|2004 |p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5ig4uQC20_IC&pg=PA195 195]}} The historian [[Glen Bowersock]] proposed that the queen restored the colossus ("silencing" it), which would explain third-century accounts of the singing and their disappearance in the fourth.{{sfn|Bowersock|1984|pp= 31, 32}}

=====Religion=====
[[File:Relief Bel Baalshamin Yarhibol Aglibol MBA Lyon 1992-13.jpg|thumb|alt=Bas-relief of four human-looking gods|Palmyra's most important deities: ''(right to left)'' [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]], [[Yarhibol]], [[Aglibol]] and [[Baalshamin]]]]
Zenobia followed the Palmyrene paganism,{{sfn|Macurdy|1937|p= [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015019188914;view=1up;seq=147 123]}} where a number of [[Ancient Semitic religion|Semitic gods]], with [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]] at the head of the pantheon, were worshipped.{{sfn|Butcher|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YJPn3-rRjC0C&pg=PA345 345]}} Zenobia accommodated [[Early Christianity|Christians]] and [[History of the Jews in the Roman Empire|Jews]],{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA86 86]}} and ancient sources made many claims about the queen's beliefs;{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}} [[Manichaeism|Manichaean]] sources alleged that Zenobia was one of their own;{{sfn|Ball|2016|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=hblTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA489 489]}} a manuscript dated to 272 mentions that the Queen of Palmyra supported the Manichaeans in establishing a community in Abidar, which was under the rule of a king named Amarō, who could be the [[Lakhmids|Lakhmid]] king [[Amr ibn Adi]].{{sfn|Intagliata|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=l6RTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 98]}} It is more likely, however, that Zenobia tolerated all cults in an effort to attract support from groups marginalized by Rome.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}}

Bishop [[Athanasius of Alexandria]] wrote that Zenobia did not "hand over churches to the Jews to make them into synagogues";{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA217 217]}} although the queen was not a Christian, she understood the power of bishops in Christian communities.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA220 220]}} In Antioch—considered representative of political control of the East and containing a large Christian community—Zenobia apparently maintained authority over the church by bringing influential clerics, probably including [[Paul of Samosata]], under her auspices.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA220 220]}} She may have bestowed on Paul the rank of ''[[ducenarius]]'' (minor judge); he apparently enjoyed the queen's protection, which helped him keep the [[Diocese|diocesan]] church after he was removed from his office as [[Roman diocese|bishop of Antioch]] by a [[synod]] of bishops in 268.{{sfn|Millar|1971|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DFLqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 1]}} [[Philip Hughes (historian)|Hughes]] 
suggested that Paul's position while Zenobia ruled was in the state treasury.{{sfn|Hughes|1949|p= [https://archive.org/details/historyofchurch0001phil/page/134/mode/2up?view=theater 134]}}{{#tag:ref|Paul of Samosata is considered a [[Heresy|heretic]] by mainstream Christianity, accused of denying the preexistence of [[Jesus|Christ]].{{sfn|Macquarrie|2003|p= [https://archive.org/details/stubborntheologi0000macq/page/149 149]}} The earliest reference to the relationship between Zenobia and Paul of Samosata comes from Athanasius of Alexandria's fourth-century ''History of the Arians''.{{sfn|Downey|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=gTTWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA312 312]}} According to [[Eusebius]], Paul preferred to be called ''"ducenarius"'' instead of bishop;{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA149 149], [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA151 151]}}{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA220 220]}} There is evidence that he held this rank in the service of Zenobia.{{sfn|Millar|1971|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DFLqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244 1]}} There is no evidence that Paul was invited to the Palmyrene court, and his relationship with Zenobia was exaggerated by later sources.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA86 86]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}} The queen may have supported him as bishop to promote religious tolerance.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA86 86]}}|group=note}}

======Judaism======
Less than a hundred years after Zenobia's reign, Athanasius of Alexandria called her a "Jewess" in his ''History of the Arians''.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA217 217]}} In 391, archbishop [[John Chrysostom]] wrote that Zenobia was Jewish; so did a [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac]] chronicler around 664 and bishop [[Bar Hebraeus]] in the thirteenth century.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA217 217]}} According to French scholar [[Javier Teixidor]], Zenobia was probably a [[proselyte]]; this explained her strained relationship with the rabbis.{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA218 218]}} Teixidor believed that Zenobia became interested in [[Judaism]] when Longinus spoke about the philosopher [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] and his interest in the [[Old Testament]].{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA218 218]}} Although [[Talmud]]ic sources were hostile to Palmyra because of Odaenathus' suppression of the Jews of [[Nehardea]],{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=FdQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA532 532]}} Zenobia apparently had the support of some Jewish communities (particularly in Alexandria).{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64]}} In [[Cairo]],{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSYbpitEjggC&pg=PA517 517]}} a plaque originally bearing an inscription confirming a grant of immunity to a Jewish synagogue in the last quarter of the first millennium BC by King Ptolemy Euergetes ([[Ptolemy III Euergetes|I]] or [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon|II]]) was found.{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSYbpitEjggC&pg=PA517 517]}} At a much later date, the plaque was re-inscribed to commemorate the restoration of immunity "on the orders of the queen and king" and the precedence of the queen in the ordering of the two titles is remarkable.{{sfn|Bowersock|1984|p= [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/basp/0599796.0021.001/38:4?page=root;size=100;view=image 32]}}{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSYbpitEjggC&pg=PA517 517]}} Although it is undated, the letters of the inscription date to long after Cleopatra and Anthony's era; Zenobia and her nominal co-monarch Vaballathus, who controlled Egypt in 270–272, are the only candidates for a king and a queen ruling Egypt after the Ptolemies.{{sfn|Bowersock|1984|p= [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/basp/0599796.0021.001/38:4?page=root;size=100;view=image 32]}}{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=jSYbpitEjggC&pg=PA518 518]}}

The historian [[E. Mary Smallwood]] wrote that good relations with the [[Jewish diaspora#Under the Roman Empire|diaspora]] community did not mean that the Jews of Palestine were content with Zenobia's reign, and her rule was apparently opposed in that region.{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=FdQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA532 532]}} The [[Jerusalem Talmud]], in [[Masekhet|Tractate]] [[Terumot]] tells the story of the [[amoraim]] Rabbi "Ammi" and Rabbi "Samuel bar Nahmani", who visited Zenobia's court and asked for the release of a Jew ("Zeir bar Hinena") detained on her orders.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA330 330]}} The queen refused, saying: "Why have you come to save him? He teaches that your creator performs miracles for you. Why not let God save him?"{{sfn|Neusner|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=OClDBJfW79QC&pg=PA125 125]}} During Aurelian's destruction of Palmyra, Palestinian conscripts with "clubs and cudgels" (who may have been Jews) played a vital role in Zenobia's defeat and the destruction of her city.{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=FdQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA533 533]}}

There is no evidence of Zenobia's birth as a Jew; the names of her and her husband's families belonged to the Aramaic [[wikt:onomasticon|onomasticon]] (collection of names).{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA218 218]}} The queen's alleged patronage of Paul of Samosata (who was accused of "Judaizing"),{{sfn|Smallwood|1976|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=FdQUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA532 532]}} may have given rise to the idea that she was a proselyte.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}} Only Christian accounts note Zenobia's Jewishness; no Jewish source mentions it.{{sfn|Graetz|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=pnMtoAjig7wC&pg=PA529 529]}}

=====Administration=====
The queen probably spent most of her reign in Antioch,{{sfn|Teixidor|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=oZcr7SzzVYYC&pg=PA205 205]}} Syria's administrative capital.{{sfn|Nakamura|1993|p= [http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/3431 141]}} Before the monarchy, Palmyra had the institutions of a Greek city ([[polis]]) and was ruled by a senate which was responsible for most civil affairs.{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA122 122]}}{{sfn|Smith II|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=h5cMho6zFckC&pg=PA127 127]}} Odaenathus maintained Palmyra's institutions, as did Zenobia;{{sfn|Sivertsev|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=OfWUkVoHP7YC&pg=PA72 72]}} a Palmyrene inscription after her fall records the name of [[Septimius Haddudan]], a Palmyrene senator.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA384 384]}} However, the queen apparently ruled [[Autocracy|autocratically]]; [[Septimius Worod]], Odaenathus' viceroy and one of Palmyra's most important officials, disappeared from the record after Zenobia's ascent.{{sfn|Stoneman|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8kLFfE1qPhIC&pg=PA117 117]}} The queen opened the doors of her government to Eastern nobility.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA86 86]}} Zenobia's most important courtiers and advisers were her generals, Septemius Zabdas and Septimius Zabbai;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA95 95]}} both of whom were generals under Odaenathus and received the ''[[Roman naming conventions#Nomen|gentilicium]]'' (surname) "Septimius" from him.{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA257 257]}}

Odaenathus respected the Roman emperor's privilege of appointing provincial governors,{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=bpd3tBPN4v8C&pg=PA171 171]}} and Zenobia continued this policy during her early reign.{{sfn|Southern|2008|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA87 87], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA88 88]}} Although the queen did not interfere in day-to-day administration, she probably had the power to command the governors in the organization of border security.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA88 88]}} During the rebellion, Zenobia maintained Roman forms of administration,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA116 116]}} but appointed the governors herself (most notably in Egypt,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA115 115]}} where [[Julius Marcellinus]] took office in 270 and was followed by [[Statilius Ammianus]] in 271).{{#tag:ref|One of Statilius' inscriptions is firmly dated to spring 272, so he could have been appointed by the Romans who regained Egypt at that time.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 169]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA88 88]}}

======Agreement with Rome======
[[File:AURELIANUS RIC V 381-795833.jpg|thumb|alt=Front and back of ancient coin|Palmyrene ''[[antoninianus]]'' minted in Antioch in AD 271, showing [[Aurelian]] (left) as emperor and Vaballathus as king]]

Zenobia initially avoided provoking Rome by claiming for herself and her son the titles, inherited from Odaenathus, of subject of Rome and protector of its eastern frontier.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 299]}} After expanding her territory, she seems to have tried to be recognized as an imperial partner in the eastern half of the empire and presented her son as subordinate to the emperor.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}}{{sfn|Bryce|Birkett-Rees|2016|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=gDAFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA282 282]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA118 118]}} In late 270, Zenobia minted coinage bearing the portraits of Aurelian and Vaballathus; Aurelian was titled "emperor", and Vaballathus "king".{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} The regnal year in early samples of the coinage was only Aurelian's.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} By March 271,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68]}} despite indicating Aurelian as the paramount monarch by naming him first in the dating formulae, the coinage also began bearing Vaballathus' regnal year.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=G9qqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 210]}} By indicating in the coinage that Vaballathus' reign began in 267 (three years before the emperor's), Vaballathus appeared to be Aurelian's senior colleague.{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=G9qqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 210]}}

The emperor's blessing of Palmyrene authority has been debated;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA118 118]}} Aurelian's acceptance of Palmyrene rule in Egypt may be inferred from the [[Oxyrhynchus]] papyri, which are dated by the regnal years of the emperor and Vaballathus.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}}{{sfn|Ando|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=G9qqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 211]}} No proof of a formal agreement exists, and the evidence is based solely on the joint coinage- and papyri-dating.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA118 118]}} It is unlikely that Aurelian would have accepted such power-sharing,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} but he was unable to act in 271 due to crises in the West.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA118 118]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} His apparent condoning of Zenobia's actions may have been a ruse to give her a false sense of security while he prepared for war.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA118 118]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 67]}} Another reason for Aurelian's tolerance may have been his desire to ensure a constant [[Cura Annonae|supply of Egyptian grain to Rome]];{{sfn|Drinkwater|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&pg=PA52 52]}} it is not recorded that the supply was cut, and the ships sailed to Rome in 270 as usual.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA115 115]}} Some modern scholars, such as [[:de:Harold B. Mattingly|Harold Mattingly]], suggest that Claudius Gothicus had concluded a formal agreement with Zenobia which Aurelian ignored.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA190 190]}}

====Empress and open rebellion====
[[File:ZENOBIA - RIC V 2 - 80000750.jpg|thumb|alt=Both sides of a coin commemorating Zenobia|Coin of Zenobia as empress with [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] on the reverse, AD 272]]

An inscription, found in Palmyra and dated to August 271, called Zenobia ''eusebes'' (the pious);{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68]}} this title, used by Roman empresses, could be seen as a step by the queen toward an imperial title.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69]}} Another contemporary inscription called her ''sebaste'', the Greek equivalent of "empress" (Latin: ''[[Augusta (honorific)|Augusta]]''), but also acknowledged the Roman emperor.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69]}}{{#tag:ref|An Egyptian grain receipt dated to June 241 refers to both Aurelian and Vaballathus as ''[[Augustus (honorific)|Augusti]]'', but it is considered an anomaly and most likely a scribal error.{{sfn|Watson|2004|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69], [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA240 240]}}{{sfn|Andrade|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mLhwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA176 176]}}|group=note}} Finally, Palmyra officially broke with Rome;{{sfn|Dignas|Winter|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2hqcRDvJgC&pg=PA161 161]}} the Alexandrian and Antiochian mints removed Aurelian's portrait from the coins in April 272, issuing new [[tetradrachm]]s in the names of Vaballathus and Zenobia (who were called ''Augustus'' and ''Augusta'', respectively).{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69]}} On Zenobia's ''antoninianus'' of 272, she appeared as a Roman ruler, depicting herself in the style of the Syrian Empresses: [[Julia Domna]], [[Julia Mamaea]] and [[Julia Soaemias]].{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA126 126]}}

The assumption of imperial titles by Zenobia signaled a [[Usurper|usurpation]]: independence from, and open rebellion against, Aurelian.{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 169]}} The timeline of events and why Zenobia declared herself empress is vague.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA120 120]}} In the second half of 271,{{sfn|Potter|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=7HKFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA266 266]}} Aurelian marched to the East, but was delayed by the [[Goths]] in the Balkans;{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 169]}} this may have alarmed the queen, driving her to claim the imperial title.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA120 120]}} Zenobia also probably understood the inevitability of open conflict with Aurelian, and decided that feigning subordination would be useless;{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA121 121]}} her assumption of the imperial title was used to rally soldiers to her cause.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA121 121]}} Aurelian's campaign seems to have been the main reason for the Palmyrene imperial declaration and the removal of his portrait from its coins.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 69]}}{{sfn|Young|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E5yCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 162]}}

====Downfall====
[[File:AurelianusPalmyra272.png|thumb|Route of Aurelian's campaign]]
The usurpation, which began in late March or early April 272, ended by August.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA359 359]}} Aurelian spent the winter of 271–272 in [[Byzantium]],{{sfn|Southern|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=2p9hCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 170]}} and probably crossed the [[Bosporus]] to Asia Minor in April 272.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}} Galatia fell easily; the Palmyrene garrisons were apparently withdrawn, and the provincial capital of Ancyra was regained without a struggle.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} All the cities in Asia Minor opened their doors to the Roman emperor, with only [[Tyana]] putting up some resistance before [[Siege of Tyana (272)|surrendering]]; this cleared the path for Aurelian to invade Syria, the Palmyrene heartland.{{sfn|Watson|2004|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71], [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 72]}} A simultaneous expedition reached Egypt in May 272; by early June Alexandria was captured by the Romans, followed by the rest of Egypt by the third week of June.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 71]}} Zenobia seems to have withdrawn most of her armies from Egypt to focus on Syria—which, if lost, would have meant the end of Palmyra.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ecfiAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}}

In May 272, Aurelian headed toward Antioch.{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA368 268]}} About {{convert|40|km}} north of the city, he defeated the Palmyrene army (led by Zabdas) at the [[Battle of Immae]].{{sfn|Hartmann|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=BdcHK8Ll1jMC&pg=PA368 268]}}{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 73]}} As a result, Zenobia, who waited in Antioch during the battle, retreated with her army to Emesa.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 74]}} To conceal the disaster and make her flight safer, she spread reports that Aurelian was captured; Zabdas found a man who resembled the Roman emperor and paraded him through Antioch.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DqMrR29Cc7MC&pg=PA137 137]}} The following day, Aurelian entered the city before marching south.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA74 74]}} After defeating a Palmyrene garrison south of Antioch,{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}} Aurelian continued his march to meet Zenobia in the [[Battle of Emesa]].{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}}

The 70,000-strong Palmyrene army, assembled on the plain of Emesa, nearly routed the Romans.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}} In an initial thrill of victory they hastened their advance, breaking their lines and enabling the Roman infantry to attack their flank.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}} The defeated Zenobia headed to her capital on the advice of her war council, leaving her treasury behind.{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}} In Palmyra, the empress prepared for a siege;{{sfn|Powers|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=A7joBeDsajcC&pg=PA133 133]}} Aurelian blockaded food-supply routes,{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA143 143]}} and there were probably unsuccessful negotiations.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 144]}} According to the ''Augustan History'', Zenobia said that she would fight Aurelian with the help of her Persian allies; however, the story was probably fabricated and used by the emperor to link Zenobia to Rome's greatest enemy.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 144]}} If such an alliance existed, a much-larger frontier war would have erupted; however, no Persian army was sent.{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 144]}} As the situation worsened, the queen left the city for Persia intending to seek help from Palmyra's former enemy; according to Zosimus, she rode a "female camel, the fastest of its breed and faster than any horse".{{sfn|Watson|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kJ2JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}{{sfn|Southern|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wnTOBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 145]}}