Zenobie, or Zenobia, was a cultured and ambitious queen of the eastern Roman colony, Palmyra. Zenobia ruled the Palmyrene Empire, what is today’s, Syria, around 267. A queen unhappy under Roman rule, she invaded her neighbors as far as Egypt, grew her empire in the process and to the chagrin of Rome, proclaimed herself an Empress.
This of course did not please Rome, and Emperor Aurelius besieged her city, Palmyra fell and Zenobia was captured and brought back to Rome. Legend has it that on her way to Rome she starved herself to death.
Reigning with tolerance over her multicultural empire, she managed to keep her government stable even protecting religious minorities in the process. Scholars, artists and philosophers were part of her court.
To this day she is held in high regard in Syria and over centuries she has inspired both historians, writers and artists alike, including Annie Faivre [Short Bio], who created this fabulous scarf in her honor.
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