In this recent contribution to the Women in Antiquity series of Oxford University Press, A. seeks ‘to craft a likeness of Zenobia’ (p. 13), the queen of the Syrian city of Palmyra who became a Roman empress in the third century ad. One cannot produce a truly satisfying biography of Zenobia, since problematic sources have rendered her an enigma. Fittingly, A. does not attempt a conventional biography. Rather, he aims to use Zenobia's social and material environment to illuminate the queen, ‘if only in part’ (p. 13), for academic and lay readers alike. The result is an intriguing study that is as much about life in Roman Palmyra as it is about Zenobia.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the sources for Zenobia and Palmyra. Chapter 2 discusses Palmyra's urban landscape, and Chapter 3 its social, civic and economic landscape. The latter covers a variety of topics including language, identity and Palmyra's relationship with Rome. Chapter 4 considers childhood in Palmyra in order to reflect on Zenobia's upbringing, but also continues to look at other aspects of her social context, including slaves, sex work and the roles of women in religion. Chapter 5 discusses adolescence and pays particular attention to gender, education and marriage. Chapter 6 focuses on Zenobia's husband Odainath. A. discusses his political ascendancy, his dynasty and his effect on Palmyra, and he places these things within the context of third-century political history. He also considers property, inheritance and household authority. Chapter 7 combines a discussion of Odainath's assassination with a consideration of burial customs. Chapter 8 contemplates Zenobia's leadership over the Roman Near East, which she asserted on behalf of her son Wahballath. Chapter 9 discusses her civil war with Aurelian, which led to her downfall. Chapter 10 reflects on the post-Zenobian history of Palmyra, and the manipulation of Palmyra's and Zenobia's likeness by European imperialists and pan-Arabists. Lastly, there are three helpful appendices: a list of URLs for reports of the Syrian Heritage Initiative on the destruction of antiquities in Palmyra; a guide to the transliteration and pronunciation of Palmyrenean Aramaic; and a complete collection of inscriptions that honour Odainath, his son Herodian Hairan, Zenobia and Wahballath, with translations included.
There is much to praise about this book. A.’s determination to locate Zenobia within the social, civic and economic context of Palmyra makes this study unique. The book is up to date in its use of scholarship, and it employs a wide array of evidence including ancient literature, monuments, funerary portraits, inscriptions, coins, mosaics and tesserae. Chapters 2–5 treat an impressive range of topics that relate to life in Roman Palmyra. Inevitably, there are gaps in the Palmyrene evidence, but A. confronts this issue by finding possible parallels, drawing on his expansive knowledge of the broader Roman Near East and, interestingly, Bedouin ethnography. Fascinating discussions are contained within these chapters. A. considers the impact of Greek and Roman social and civic trends (pp. 36–43, 97–104), and contemplates the many civic and ethnic identities that governed Palmyrene life (pp. 52–5). He explores Palmyra's eclectic religious and artistic life (pp. 86–8), argues strongly against the idea that Palmyrenes engaged in mut'a marriage (pp. 104–7) and, in demonstrating the lack of evidence for eunuchism in Palmyra, challenges the Roman claim that Zenobia was especially fond of the practice (pp. 74–5, 78–9). Unfortunately, while these chapters allow one to imagine what life in Palmyra might have been like for Zenobia, for the most part they do not help to explain her political career. There are exceptions: A. attributes Odainath's prominence in the 250s partly to his role in protecting Palmyrene trade (pp. 130–1), and he explains the widow Zenobia's authority over her household through reference to the jural power of Palmyrene women (pp. 123–7, 165). Regardless, the chapters on life in Palmyra are interesting beyond their relevance to Zenobia and are useful for university teaching.
In the book's second half A., like U. Hartmann, presents Zenobia's political ascendancy and military campaigns as a reaction to the aggression of Roman emperors (U. Hartmann, Das palmyrenische Teilreich [2001]; cf. R. Stoneman, Palmyra and its Empire: Zenobia's Revolt against Rome [1992], pp. 155, 160–3). A. advances this idea most strongly when he persuasively argues that Gallienus’ court, in league with Palmyrene conspirators, assassinated Odainath in order to end the power of his dynasty (pp. 143–52). A.’s discussion of Odainath's life and career is admirable (pp. 111–22, 127–41). He locates him within the history of third-century Syria, handles the contentious matters of his titulature and children, and considers Roman, Greek and Persian influences on how Odainath presented his authority. In an insightful manner A. discusses stories preserved by the Historia Augusta, Zosimus and Peter the Patrician as possible instances of third-century imperial propaganda against Odainath and Zenobia (pp. 145–7, 152, 192–5, 197–9, 202, 204).
On the other hand, A.’s contention that Zenobia's political rise was a reaction to imperial aggression is not wholly convincing. He thinks it probable that Heraclianus’ campaign against Zenobia pre-dates her annexation of Roman Arabia, but he does not explain why (pp. 149–50, 172). He also does not give sufficiently detailed attention to the ways in which Zenobia sought to enhance Wahballath's status beyond that of Odainath and opposite that of Aurelian (pp. 176–8). For example, A. does not comment on the significance of the fact that coins were minted for Wahballath and not Odainath, and he only briefly notes Wahballath's adoption of Imperator and his retroactive reception of regnal years. The latter made clear that Wahballath's reign began before that of Aurelian and could thus be used to suggest his seniority. As A. Watson has detailed, from 270 to 272 the presentation of Wahballath, Zenobia and Aurelian on coins, inscriptions and papyri in the Zenobian Near East and Egypt can be interpreted as a series of encroachments on Aurelian's authority (A. Watson, Aurelian and the Third Century [1999], pp. 67–9). This trend undermines A.’s presentation of a Zenobia who sought to preserve dynastic authority but also maintain subordination to the imperial regime (pp. 166, 172–3, 176–8, 191, 195). Indeed, one generally wishes that A. gave more attention to how Zenobia's mints presented Roman emperors. A. does not always distinguish between Zenobia's relations with Claudius and with Aurelian. For this reason, A.’s discussion of Zenobia's relations with the imperial court in 270 could give the mistaken impression that she had coins minted for Wahballath as early as Claudius’ reign (p. 173). A. is also sometimes excessive in his use of conjecture, as is the case when he speculates for quite a few pages on which rulers may have inspired Zenobia in her leadership (pp. 167–71). It is unfortunate but unavoidable that A.’s treatment of the civil war tells us more about Aurelian than Zenobia, since he is the focus of the ancient narratives.
A. writes well and with an enjoyable flair for the dramatic, but his text is sometimes repetitive. Most notably, in the space of six pages A. thrice states that Zenobia expected to be buried in Odainath's tomb, but that this was not to be (pp. 155–60). The discussions on Palmyrene society are a bit jarring where inserted into chapters that predominantly concern dynastic and political history, and it is a pity that A. does not translate most of Odainath's and Wahballath's titles, since the book appeals to popular as well as academic audiences.
Ultimately, this book provides many fascinating insights into Zenobia and Roman Palmyra that will attract both academic and lay readers. It will engage many, whether their interest is Palmyra, the political history of the third century or women in the ancient world.
