ABSTRACT
The tripartite Roman Empire that came into being during the years 261-62 was inherently unstable, resting on Gallienus’ inability to defeat Postumus, and Odaenathus’ willingness to live with the arrangement that he had with Gallienus. By the end of 268 both situations ceased to obtain. Odaenathus was dead, the result of court intrigue, probably in the spring of 268, and Gallienus fell victim to a mutiny within his ranks. In the case of Odaenathus the trouble allegedly had to do with the conduct of one of his relatives on a lion hunt. Chastised for his poor conduct, this relative arranged the assassination of both Odaenathus and his heir apparent, Herodianus.1 Power then passed to a younger son, Vaballathus, who was dominated by one of the remarkable figures of the age: his mother Zenobia.
