ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out to retrieve the historical persona of Zenobia, the famous warrior queen from Palmyra in the Syrian desert, by verifying the highly suspect literary sources with material evidence from the oasis and beyond. After a reconstruction of the events that took place during the years 268–272 CE, the chapter focuses on the background of the conflict between Palmyra and Rome and the position of women in the oasis. At the heart of the whole conflict lies a cultural miscommunication about dynastic legitimacy. From the Palmyrene point of view, the royal titles of Odainath were hereditary and it was only natural that his widow would govern for their minor son. In Roman eyes, such a state of affairs was intolerable: not only were royal titles not transmissible, but women were not supposed to act as guardians for their children, let alone rule in their place.
