Zenobia, a Palmyrene warrior queen, daringly declared independence from Rome and sought to establish her own united kingdom in the East.

Name variations: Septimia Zenobia in Latin, Bat Zabbai in Aramaic, Bath-Zabbai, Zabaina. Born in third century; married: Septimius Odainat (Odenathus, Odenath); children: at least one son, Vaballath (Vaballathus, Wahballat), and two stepsons, Hairan and Timolaus. Descendants: Zenobius, fifth-century Bishop of Florence. Predecessor: Odainat.

Great physical strength, tremendous beauty, respected intellect and chastity, all overlaid with the suspicion of murder and betrayal, have come to stand for the third-century warrior queen of Palmyra. The scarcity of detail concerning all but five historic years of her life has not helped to demystify her image nor shed light upon her true character. Even the course of her five ruling years differs enormously from one account to another, and the majority of these accounts come from the pens of those whom...