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Middle Eastern Literatures

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Zenobia or al-Zabbāʾ: The Modern Arab

Literary Reception of the Palmyran
Protagonist
Robbert A. F. L. Woltering
Published online: 04 Aug 2014.

To cite this article: Robbert A. F. L. Woltering (2014) Zenobia or al-Zabbāʾ: The Modern Arab
Literary Reception of the Palmyran Protagonist, Middle Eastern Literatures, 17:1, 25-42, DOI:
10.1080/1475262X.2014.903047

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1475262X.2014.903047

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 Middle Eastern Literatures, 2014
Vol. 17, No. 1, 25–42, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1475262X.2014.903047

Zenobia or al-Zabbāʾ: The Modern Arab Literary

Reception of the Palmyran Protagonist

ROBBERT A. F. L. WOLTERING
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Abstract
Historical sources present us with two Zenobia of Palmyra characters. In the Greco-
Latin sources she is the leader of a great rebellion against the Roman Empire. That is
the most commonly known version. There is, however, a second historiography of
Zenobia. This Arab version presents us with a very different tale, in which Zenobia
(al-Zabbāʾ) struggles in the context of Arab tribal warfare. This article is concerned
with the way modern Arab authors have revived the memory of Zenobia. A key
question will be which version of history was adopted by modern Arab authors, and
why. This will involve a close reading of texts that will bring into play discussion of
ideology, (anti-)colonialism and gender equality.

Introduction1
Zenobia of Palmyra is said by some to have been a queen, while others cast her as a tribal
chief. She led a great rebellion against the Roman Empire, or perhaps she lived and
fought in the context of Arab tribal clashes. She died in Italy, or perhaps in Syria. The
stories about the life of the third-century Zenobia of Palmyra vary more widely than is
commonly recognized. The Zenobia with whom most people are familiar is largely
based on the Historia Augusta (HA), with a supporting role for Greek sources such as
Zosimus’ Historia Nova. This Latin-Greek tradition tells a story of a militant queen
who rebels against the central authority of Rome. Arab-Islamic history, however, tells
a different story; one in which Zenobia is not struggling with Romans, but with rivalling
Arab kingdoms and tribes. This article first offers a brief account of both historiographi-
cal traditions, and then focuses on Zenobia’s Nachleben, or perhaps one should say
‘revival’, in modern Arab literature. We will see how Zenobia has reappeared in opera
and theatre works, in novels, songs and recently even in a musical. It is remarkable
that in this modern Arab retelling of the story of Zenobia, it is not the autochthonous
Arab version of Zenobia that is employed, but rather the Latin-Greek version. I will
argue that this is best understood as being the result of contemporary ideological
needs. In connection with this argument I will discuss the issue of gender by contrasting
the classical and modern tales of Zenobia. I hope to make it clear how Zenobia is used as
an historical argument for the authenticity of women’s emancipation in the Arab world.

Robbert A. F. L. Woltering, Arabic Language & Culture, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 134 r. 207,
1012 VB Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Email: r.a.f.l.woltering@uva.nl

© 2014 Taylor & Francis

 26 R. A. F. L. Woltering

The Greco-Latin Tale

The most comprehensive classic source for the history of Zenobia is the fourth-century
HA, the collection of biographies of Roman emperors and their challengers in the period
117–284 AD. In the HA, we first read about Zenobia in the passages that deal with her
husband, Odaenathus, ruler of Palmyra. Palmyra was a vassal-state of Rome, functioning
as a buffer against the Persian Empire, and economically dependent on trade.2 During
Odaenathus’ rule, Palmyra acquired relative independence from Rome, specifically
because of the Palmyrene attacks against the Persian Empire. In gratitude for this help
the Roman emperor Gallienus bestowed on Odaenathus the titles corrector orientis
(restorer of the East) and rex regum (king of kings).3 Not long after acquiring this imperial
prestige, Odaenathus falls victim to betrayal and deception. It is at this point in the story
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that the widow Zenobia appears on the scene, in the words of the HA:

Now all shame is exhausted, for in the weakened state of the commonwealth
things came to such a pass that [ … ] even women ruled most excellently.
For in fact, even a foreigner, Zenobia by name, [ … ] boasting herself to be of
the family of the Cleopatras and the Ptolemies, proceeded upon the death of
her husband Odaenathus to cast about her shoulders the imperial mantle; [
… ] ruling longer than could be endured from one of the female sex.4

Already in the biography of Odaenathus, Zenobia was repeatedly mentioned as the

person accompanying him during battles against the Persians. In addition, we read
that she:

… was inured to hardship and in the opinion of many was held to be more
brave than her husband, being, indeed, the noblest of all the women of the
East, and [ … ] the most beautiful.5

These words set the tone for the remainder of the Latin tale of Zenobia. Zenobia was
generous where possible, but harsh when needed. She reigned ably and with ambition,
went to war and thereby encouraged her soldiers personally. However, Emperor Aure-
lian—the second successor to Gallienus—considers the Palmyrene success as a breach
of Roman supremacy. Aurelian prepares an army and goes off to Syria where he achieves
victory, although only after considerable difficulties. Zenobia is captured and suffers the
humiliation of being paraded in Aurelian’s triumph in Rome. Chronologically speaking
this marks the end of Zenobia, but in a narratological sense we could speak of a new
beginning. It is at this point in the HA that the glorification of Zenobia goes full throttle.
For instance, we learn that she was in fact the driving force behind Odaenathus’ victories
over the Persians. In other respects, we find that she was very distant to her husband:

Such was her continence, it is said, that she would not know even her own
husband save for the purpose of conception. For when once she had lain
with him, she would refrain until the time of menstruation to see if she were
pregnant; if not, she would again grant him an opportunity of begetting
children.6

This does not mean that Zenobia is generally described as having lived monastically:
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 27

She lived in regal pomp. It was rather in the manner of the Persians that she
received worship and in the manner of the Persian kings that she banqueted;
but it was in the manner of a Roman emperor that she came forth to public
assemblies, wearing a helmet and girt with a purple fillet.7

Her beauty is mentioned, but does not play a central role. More attention is paid to her
stamina, toughness and masculinity:

Her voice was clear and like that of a man. Her sternness, when necessity
demanded, was that of a tyrant, her clemency, when her sense of right called
for it, that of a good emperor. Generous with prudence, she conserved her
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treasures beyond the wont of women. She made use of a carriage, and rarely
of a woman’s coach, but more often she rode a horse; it is said, moreover,
that frequently she walked with her foot-soldiers for three or four miles. She
hunted with the eagerness of a Spaniard. She often drank with her generals,
though at other times she refrained, and she drank, too, with the Persians
and the Armenians, but only for the purpose of getting the better of them.8

The ‘Zenobia’ is the only example of a biography of a woman in antiquity (apart from
the HA’s portrait of Zenobia’s western counterpart Victoria, immediately following
thereafter). In Zenobia’s case there is an obvious explanation for the elaborate attention
paid to Zenobia. The praise for Zenobia is in fact an instrument for the glorification of
Emperor Aurelian, the emperor who broke her power, and the champion of the HA.
Two passages illustrate this in particular. When asked where she got the nerve to defy
Roman rule, Zenobia answers Aurelian as follows:

You, I know, are an emperor indeed, for you win victories, but Gallienus and
Aureolus and the others I never regarded as emperors.9

In a later passage, following a description of another female challenger to Roman rule,

the author of the HA notes the following:

It was with deliberate purpose that I included the women, namely that I might
make a mock of Gallienus, a greater monster than whom the Roman state has
never endured.10

The HA is now universally recognized as a work with largely fictional content, at least
for this part of the history. The work was long thought to have been a collaborative effort
of six authors from around the beginning of the fourth century. Nowadays, however,
there is a general consensus that a single anonymous author from the late fourth
century has composed the HA.11 Other written sources in the classic Greek-Latin cul-
tural area hardly help us to strengthen our historical reconstruction of the life of
Zenobia. One exception is the sixth-century Greek historian Zosimus, whose story of
Aurelian’s campaign against Palmyra is largely consistent with the HA, adding some
details about Zenobia’s offspring still living in northern Italy. But there is more to say
about the Zenobia history: a fascinating source for another look at Zenobia can be
found in the Arab world.
 28 R. A. F. L. Woltering

The Arab Narrative

Classical Arabic literature speaks of a Syrian female ruler called al-Zabbāʾ, who is com-
monly identified as the above-mentioned Zenobia, despite the fact that the stories differ
greatly.12 Apart from short and scattered references in histories and poetries, the story of
al-Zabbāʾ is told in the histories of al-Ṭ abarı̄, al-Masʿū dı̄, Ibn al-Athı̄r and in al-Iṣfahānı̄’s
Kitā b al-Aghānı̄. For the oldest and most comprehensive treatment of Zenobia in Arab
history, we must turn to the magnum opus of al-Ṭ abarı̄ (839–923), Tārı̄kh al-rusul wa
l-mulūk (The History of Prophets and Kings [HPK]). In al-Ṭ abarı̄’s history of al-Zabbāʾ
we encounter a third-century Syria of a very different nature. Most notably, we encoun-
ter a Syria where Romans play no part and where instead Arab tribal disputes and rival-
ling principalities form the background to an exciting tale of fate, vendetta and a fearless
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ruler.
The story begins with the Arab leader ʿAmr ibn Ẓ arib, who controls a part of Syria.
Jadhı̄ma, his rival, mounts a successful attack, in which ʿAmr is killed. After a round of
looting, Jadhı̄ma retreats from ʿAmr’s territory. ʿAmr is then succeeded by his daughter
al-Zabbāʾ, properly named al-Nāʾila. Even though in third-century Syria it was not
common that a woman took charge of political leadership (and neither was it common
in al-Ṭ abarı̄’s time), it seems that al-Ṭ abarı̄ is not particularly taken aback. Dryly, he
informs us that Zenobia had built a fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates and
that, as soon as she had consolidated her regime, she conceived of the plan to attack
Jadhı̄ma, in order to avenge her father. At this point it is her sister Zabı̄ba—‘thoughtful,
clever and cunning’,13 according to al-Ṭ abarı̄—who warns Zenobia. A war against
Jadhı̄ma can have unexpected consequences: they could lose and in that case the
entire realm would fall. Al-Zabbāʾ takes the advice to heart, and instead of undertaking
a risky war campaign she resorts to trickery and deception. She writes a letter to Jadhı̄ma
in which she invites him to marry her, to merge their two kingdoms together, and to be
king over their combined realms, because ‘the reign of women tended only toward ill-
repute, weak rule, and inefficient administration’.14 Such arguments go down well
with Jadhı̄ma, who decides to respond positively to the request. His advisor Qaṣır̄
warns him, however, that this is rather likely to be a ruse: ‘You enraged her because
you killed her father’.15 Qaṣır̄ ’s opinion is ignored, which is soon to be regretted. On
the way to al-Zabbāʾ, Jadhı̄ma is ambushed, captured and brought before Zenobia. Al-
Ṭ abarı̄ recounts the following conversation: ‘When she saw him, she uncovered and,
lo and behold, the hair of her pudendum was plaited. She said: ‘O Jadhı̄ma, do you
see the concern of a bride?’16 At first sight this passage seems bizarre, but there is a
logical explanation. Zenobia’s dramatic gesture reveals that Jadhı̄ma, who was lured to
Zenobia with the promise of marriage, has fallen into a trap. Zenobia’s physical appear-
ance down under reveals that she never intended to marry Jadhı̄ma, for women in her
time and place were wont to shave their pudenda before intercourse. The fact that her
pubic hair is so long that it can be plaited also indicates that Zenobia has not been
with a man for a very long time.17
The story then takes a bloody turn. Zenobia had been told that Jadhı̄ma’s death might
not be avenged if his blood was not spilt. In other words, if the blood is collected in a
bowl, then the fatal cycle of the blood feud need not be set in motion. Al-Zabbāʾ tries
her best to avert fate and kills Jadhı̄ma by bleeding him to death in a golden bowl.18
But as these stories go, a few drops of blood fall next to the bowl, and Jadhı̄ma’s successor
starts to prepare for revenge.
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 29

Jadhı̄ma’s successor is ʿAmr ibn ʿAdı̄, who is assisted by Qaṣır̄ , the tragically ignored
advisor. At this stage of the story, the roles are reversed. Al-Zabbāʾ must be on the
lookout for an attack by ʿAmr, while he in turn should devise a scheme to get near to
al-Zabbāʾ. This is not the place to discuss ʿAmr’s trick at length, but the end result is
that ʿAmr and his troops through a kind of Trojan-horse-strategy succeed in overpower-
ing the city of al-Zabbāʾ.19 Our heroine then licks her signet ring, which contains poison,
and calls to ʿAmr: ‘by my own hand, not by yours, O ʿAmr’. ʿAmr, however, responds
quickly and kills her with his sword.
The HPK is the primary Arab source for al-Zabbāʾ/Zenobia. Other classical authors
treat her less comprehensively, without differing greatly from the storyline as told
above.20 Just as we found a motive for the recording of the Zenobia story in the Historia
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Augusta (i.e. praising Aurelian and belittling Gallienus), we may also be able to say some-
thing about the narratological function of the Zenobia tale in al-Ṭ abarı̄’s work of history.
As with other pre-Islamic episodes, it seems that the history of Zenobia serves to convey
the message that the Arabs in the period before Islam were in a deplorable state of discord
and instability. It is clear that the inevitability of the cycle of vengeance and revenge plays
an important role, and that is precisely the vicious circle that is broken by the unifying
effect of Islam. In other words, al-Ṭ abarı̄ offers the pre-Islamic history of the Arabs in
such a way as to imply the achievements of Islam.
Before we make a giant leap into the contemporary perception of Zenobia, it might be
a good idea to make some observations about the historicity of the two different sources.
As stated above, the HA is generally unreliable as far as Zenobia’s portrait is concerned.
Regarding the HPK as a whole, we are less definite. Large parts of the HPK are used as
an authoritative source. However, where the pre-Islamic period is concerned, it can be
said that there is good reason to mistrust al-Ṭ abarı̄. Al-Ṭ abarı̄ worked with lists of
spokesmen and spokeswomen, and the reliability of a particular historical message
depended on the reliability of these individuals who were thought to have narrated this
message throughout the ages until al-Ṭ abarı̄’s time. It was crucial that the list of narrators
could be traced back to a first spokesperson who had seen the historic event with his own
eyes. Where the pre-Islamic period is concerned, al-Ṭ abarı̄’s sources are not traced back
to such contemporary witnesses. Rather he relies on myths and legends, whose origin is
uncertain. This certainly applies to the Zenobia story, whose source material is of a folk-
loric nature and seems intended to entertain rather than inform on historic events. Apart
from this, the tale of Zenobia functions as a paremiological treasure trove, containing
dozens of aetiologies of proverbs.21
On the basis of archaeological excavations, the discovery of contemporary coins and
the deciphering of inscriptions, we can only say the following. There was a late third-
century woman ruler over Palmyra (probably as regent in the name of her minor son Vab-
balatus), by the Latin name Zenobia and the Aramaic name Bat Zabbay. She had coins
struck in her own name and in the name of her son (a sign of far-reaching autonomy).
The Roman Emperor Aurelian conquered Palmyra and so put an end to a period of Pal-
myrene (semi-)independence. It was also around this time that the city of Palmyra was
destroyed. That is all we have as reliable historical evidence. We know nothing of Zeno-
bia’s bravery, drinking, or how she styled her hair. There is, however, a tendency to
assume that the Greek and Latin sources are more credible and historical than they
really are. Burgersdijk has pointed this out in particular reference to the HA.22 Illustrative
in this regard may be Shahid’s entry on al-Zabbāʾ in the second edition to the Encyclopae-
dia of Islam:
 30 R. A. F. L. Woltering

as to [what is said about al-Zabbāʾs] death, its Arabic account has to be whole-
heartedly rejected since the incontestable Greek and Latin sources testify to her
defeat by the Roman emperor Aurelian in A.D. 272, whose triumph in Rome
she later graced.23

A detailed account of Zenobia/al-Zabbāʾ in the classical Arabic sources is not intended

here. The above has merely served to present a concise overview of the two storylines
concerning the life of the heroine in question. If we are now fully aware that classical
authors on both sides of the Bosporus, when they were writing their wildly different
tales of Zenobia, have never been held back by this lack of historical evidence, we
should not be surprised when we see that also in our times Zenobia functions as a
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great source for the imagination.

Modern Arab Reception

For centuries it seems the tale of Zenobia was largely forgotten in the Arab world, until a
new interest arose in modern times. The earliest modern Arabic publication on Zenobia
of any substance is the historical novel Zanū byā malikat Tadmur (1870–1871).24 This was
authored by the Lebanese Salı̄m al-Bustānı̄ (1846–1884), who published it in al-Jinān,
the journal that had been established by his father Buṭrus al-Bustānı̄. This work is
largely ignored by most scholars of Arab literature, which may have to do with its literary
quality. There are, however, reasons why this book commands our attention. If it must be
admitted that the characters are flat and often serve as mouthpieces for a moralistic
author,25 the book is still of interest in that it forms a stage or at least a very early
moment in the development of the modern Arabic novel.26 In addition, al-Bustānı̄’s
Zanū byā is obviously of interest to the present inquiry into the revival of Zenobia in
the modern Arab world, because it is the publication that forms the beginning of said
revival. It is therefore one of the works that will be treated at some length, while most
others will necessarily be referred to cursorily.
Al-Bustānı̄’s Zanūbyā is only available in its serialized form. Its 169 pages were pub-
lished in 24 instalments, totalling as many chapters (although not every instalment
neatly covers a chapter).27 It is thus not to be confused with a short story. The work is
preceded by a foreword and an historical introduction. Al-Bustānı̄ refers to the Bible
and Flavius Josephus as sources for Palmyra’s early history. This unexpected selection
of sources and the way in which they are quoted indicates that al-Bustānı̄ was working
with Baptistin Poujoulat’s Voyage à Constantinople, dans l’Asie mineur, en Mésopotamie,
à Palmyre, en Syrie, en Palestine et en Egypte (1841).28 A few years later, this travelogue
was to play an important role as source material for Ilyās Maṭar’s history of Syria, as
pointed out by Choueiri.29 Baptistin Poujoulat is also interesting for the way he promi-
nently mentions the existence of a classical Arabic version of the Zenobia history,30 which
means we can be sure that al-Bustānı̄ was aware of this tradition as well. Nevertheless, it
is clear that al-Bustānı̄ worked with material that was essentially informed by Greco-
Latin sources. The fact alone that the heroine is called Zenobia rather than al-Zabbāʾ
(or Nāʾila, etc.) points out that there can be no structural role for the Arabic sources.
Al-Bustānı̄ relates the tale of a noble, steadfast queen who rebelled against Roman
rule rather than a story of tribal feuds. Much of the book is devoted to describing the
extraordinary quality of Zenobia’s appearance, her mind and her character. Although
al-Bustānı̄ contrasts Zenobia to ordinary women, this is not done to strip Zenobia of
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 31

her femininity.31 It seems that Zenobia is provided as a model for other women to follow:
‘Although she was beautiful in this magnificent manner, her looks did not effect her in the
way it would effect most of her fellow countrywomen (akthar banāt jinsihā )’.32 The tone
that al-Bustānı̄ strikes is often educational and sometimes he steps outside the story to
relate a certain passage from the novel to a contemporary ailment of society.33 Apart
from beauty, also knowledge, bravery and morality are most important factors in the
description of Zenobia as a character and as a ruler. Zenobia is provided with four chil-
dren: two daughters named Julia and Livia, and two sons called Timolaos and Herennia-
nus. Interestingly, the (fictitious) daughters are the more prominent offspring in the
story. The two (possibly historical) sons are described as being not so bright,34 and
the reader is regularly reminded of their irrelevance whenever the royal family sets out
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for a trip. Such a trip is typically introduced by a phrase such as: ‘And so they went
out, Zenobia, Julia, Livia, the two male children and Longinus the Wise [ … ]’.35 In
other instances the two boys are not mentioned at all, or only after even more others
have been mentioned, such as Fausta, the loyal female servant of Julia. It seems here
and elsewhere that al-Bustānı̄ intends to stress that there is no such thing as superiority
based on gender.36
Another character of importance is General Zabda, who is mentioned by the HA and
by Zosimus but not by Poujoulat, indicating that al-Bustānı̄ had multiple sources at his
disposal. Apart from Zabda, Zenobia is aided by the philosopher Longinus. Mention is
also made of Mionius (nephew and murderer of Odaenathus), Antiochus (another trea-
cherous nephew, but of less consequence) and of course the unquestionably historical
characters; the Persian emperor Shapur and the Roman emperors Gallienus, Valerian
and Aurelian. One key character whose role, if not existence, is utterly fictional is Piso
(Bı̄zū).37 The HA mentions a Roman named Piso and heaps exceptional praise upon
him, although the man’s historical significance remains wholly unpretentious. In al-
Bustānı̄’s Zanubyā , Piso is the Roman officer with whom Zenobia’s daughter and heir-
apparent has fallen hopelessly in love. The feeling is mutual. What unfolds is a seemingly
never-ending drama in which the couple’s impossible love is gradually spelled out. Even
if Piso were to betray his responsibilities to Rome, there could be no happy union
between Julia and Piso, because Piso’s uprightness is an integral part of the man who
has captured Julia’s heart. Similarly, Julia honestly does not want to let go of her respon-
sibilities toward her kingdom and her people; and even if she would, how could Piso con-
tinue to love her, if she was to be so treacherous. These lovers are both patriotic, dutiful
and, in that sense, bound by the very thing that keeps them apart.38
This love story is what binds the chapters together. Of course there is also a potentially
exciting political and military history that unfolds, but instead of luring the reader by
describing fierce fights and dangerous manoeuvring, al-Bustānı̄ mostly relates events
from a distance, preferring to devote more attention to poorly disguised (or undisguised)
social criticism and reflections on the characters’ behaviour, which fails to result in enli-
vening these characters for the reader. Only towards the end of the novel is the reader
treated to more lively scenes of war and drama. The final siege of Palmyra by Aurelian
involves a diverse array of techniques such as molten tar, a rain of fire and huge
towers. Zenobia continues to be loved by her people, and the reader is informed that
the fall of Palmyra was mainly the result of the northern provinces having deserted
Palmyra.39 Piso has by this time left the scene, as he has thrown himself in the Tigris
when a Roman army unit overtook the Palmyran company of which he is part. Although
Piso had not in fact joined the Palmyrans against the Roman army (that would be a
 32 R. A. F. L. Woltering

breach of his uprightness), his presence in the company would have been construed as an
indication of treason. To escape this infamy he drowns himself. Or so it seems.
After the fall of Palmyra, Zenobia and Julia are taken to Rome. Emperor Aurelian
seeks to marry Julia, but Zenobia tells him to wait. Zenobia herself, we are told, starts
to feel the need to remarry. Having lost the kingdom, she now feels an emptiness. The
highly respected Romulus Maximian is the groom. Then at the end of the book Piso res-
urfaces; as it turns out he was a good swimmer. He reconnects with Julia in Rome. When
Aurelian hears of their pure love, he is so impressed that he does not want to be an impe-
diment to their happiness.40 This ending also befits one of the key themes of the novel,
which is the importance of true love as the basis of marriage. In passing comments and
once quite emphatically, al-Bustānı̄ points out that people should be free to marry the
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person of their choice. This means that people should first of all be of a certain age,
and, second, people should be enabled to genuinely get to know one another, for love
to bloom. Al-Bustānı̄ places this in the frame of East–West cultural difference:

This is one of the things that are strange to the peoples of the East, particularly
to the common folk among them, similar to how since thirty years they have
found it strange [to see] European clothes or to eat with a fork [ … ].41

It is not coincidental, then, that true love’s victory is achieved in the union of a Pal-
myran–Roman couple representing East and West.
The subsequent publication on Zenobia is an opera by the Egyptian Aḥ mad Zakı̄ Abū
Shādı̄ (1892–1955), entitled al-Zabbāʾ aw Zı̄nūbyā , malikat Tadmur and published in
1927. A curious detail is that this historical opera in four acts was published by the
Masonic Lodge in Alexandria. This may explain why this story introduces a ‘high
priest’ among the cast. The opera is preceded by a historical introduction. The title indi-
cates that the author is aware of the dualistic nature of Zenobia’s historiography, but this
dualism does not figure in the libretto. Details such as a high priest aside, Abū Shādı̄
follows the version of the HA: the tale of conflict between Rome and the queen of
Palmyra. A look at the list of other publications by Abū Shādı̄ shows his fascination
with the ancient world of pharaohs, Greeks and Romans. Like many Egyptian intellec-
tuals of his time, and as a graduate of the University of London, he was well versed in
the European classics. Abū Shādı̄ was also a key figure in the renewal or transformation
of Arabic poetry, founding the influential journal Apollo in 1933. Being a man of letters,
he must have been aware of what al-Ṭ abarı̄ had to say about Zenobia, but we can only
conclude that he has worked primarily with European sources or with modern Arabic
reflections of the Greco-Roman version of Zenobian history (such as Ilyās Maṭar’s afore-
mentioned history of Syria). The same can be said about the play that was published in
1969 in Beirut, entitled Malikat Zanūbyā and written by ʿAdnān Mardam Bey, which,
like Abū Shādı̄’s opera, is in rhyme. With the exception of a few supporting roles that
are not attributable to the HA or the HPK, Mardam Bey also follows the events that
are recorded in the HA.
The fourth publication to be mentioned here is a fairly anonymous work. A dozen
writers, poets and scholars are responsible for writing and editing the book series entitled
‘Abṭāl al-ʿArab’. The 14th part in this series is dedicated to Zenobia.42 Again we see that
the storyline of the HA is followed, not that of al-Ṭ abarı̄. At first glance this seems to be a
result of European influences, as can be said for the previous publications by al-Bustānı̄,
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 33

Abū Shādı̄ and Mardam. But there is more to say, as we shall see when we consider this
work more closely.
Zanū byā is not a difficult book. It has an unassuming design, with a somewhat clum-
sily drawn image of a pretty woman who seems perfectly capable of standing her ground.
She is presented as an Arab hero, an example for the Arabs of today to live up to. The
relevance of the story in terms of its historical parallels is presented with little sense of
prudence or subtlety. The rivalry between the Persians and the Romans, and the position
of Palmyra as being between these two superpowers, is sketched in such a way that it is
impossible not to bring the Cold War to mind.
Zenobia advises her husband, King ʿUdhayna (Odaenathus) to wait until the battle
between Persians and Romans is finished and to mount an attack on the weakened
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victor immediately after. ʿUdhayna takes this advice to heart, and so the basis for a
new empire in the region is laid. After the murder of ʿUdhayna, Zenobia assumes
power. She is presented as an enlightened, energetic monarch. Of interest is the follow-
ing passage, in which she complains to her advisor Longinus about the religious status quo
in Palmyra. The passage shows both Zenobia’s unbridled ambition as well as her admir-
able delegating skills:

Zenobia: We have forty gods in Palmyra, which serve no purpose except That
they encourage people to put their trust in religious counselors, by whom they
are exploited.
Longinus: What do you mean?
Zenobia: We need a new god, one that serves a purpose for the people.
Longinus: Such as?
Zenobia: Well, I do not know Longinus. Go and use all your knowledge to find
me a deity who can assume this role.43

In the fight against Aurelian, Zenobia is extremely brave. Eventually she goes to the
final confrontation, knowing that the situation is hopeless because the traders and the
sheikhs of Palmyra have declined to send her any horses.44 It is no coincidence that
traders and tribal sheiks are made to play this frustrating role. At the same time we
read of how Zenobia repeatedly succeeds in motivating her people and armed forces.
She is therefore not betrayed by her own people, but by the capitalist Palmyrene bour-
geoisie (traders) and the ancien regime (the sheikhs). As the story approaches its con-
clusion, Aurelian is victorious over Zenobia and captures her. Zenobia remains
unmoved and bears her fate with dignity. Only when her loyal advisor Longinus is exe-
cuted does she show emotion. Zenobia is taken to Rome and lives out her life in exile.
The fact that Zenobia’s life is spared is quite remarkable, and the reader—ignorant of
the HA—requires an explanation. The explanation provided by the authors of
Zanūbyā gives an interesting twist to Aurelian’s seemingly benevolent gesture in
sparing the queen’s life:

Aurelian: This woman wanted to rise above her position as a woman, and [so]
corrupt the women of Rome and the world. She has already become an
example, and every woman of Rome dreams of becoming like the warring
Zenobia. If you kill her or imprison her, you will only strengthen the example
that women see in her. [ … ]
Senators: What do you propose?
 34 R. A. F. L. Woltering

Aurelian: I propose we marry her to one of the Roman notables, to make her
lead the rest of her life as a normal woman: [functioning as] a wife, a mother,
a cook.45

Looking beyond literary genres, we find that non-fiction writings about Zenobia in the
Arab world also tend to ‘remember’ her in the version of the HA. Under its entry ‘Al-
Zabbāʾ’ (her Arabic name) the authoritative encyclopaedic dictionary al-Munjid
(Beirut) refers to the entry ‘Zenobia’ (her Latin name), where the reader is informed
that after the death of Odaenathus Zenobia assumed power and continued the indepen-
dence policy of her late husband. Eventually she had to concede to Aurelian, who took
her to Rome. Although the honour of having originated the liberation idea goes to Odae-
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nathus, Zenobia is certainly not unfairly treated: she is given at least three times as much
space as Odaenathus, about whom we only learn that he was ‘King of Tadmur and
husband of Zenobia; defeated the Persians; appointed by Gallienus to rule the Eastern
regions in 262; murdered in Homs in 268.’ Furthermore, other Arab encyclopaedic
sources tell the Roman version of Zenobia’s story (Arab Wikipedia for instance).
Casting the widest possible net yields similar results; the ratio between Internet search
results for Zanūbyā and al-Zabbāʾ is almost seven to one.46
And yet there are publications that go against this general tendency.47 The Egyptian
playwright Maḥ mū d Diyāb (1932–1983) wrote Arḍ lā tunbitu l-zuhūr.48 He starts his
play with queen al-Zabbāʾ awaiting the arrival of the foolhardy hopeful suitor,
Jadhı̄ma. Without the display of pudenda, Jadhı̄ma is made to understand he has
fallen into a trap. Zabdāy (Zabda, Zabados) plays an important role, not only as army
general but also as suitor to al-Zabbāʾ: he is deeply in love with his queen. Al-Zabbāʾ is
aware of his affection but she will not act upon it, since she is so filled with vengeance
that she cannot love. As she explains to Zabdāy: ‘You mistake me. [You think] you
play on a woman’s feelings, but you are plucking an oud with no strings’.49 And to
her sister Zabı̄ba she says:

The day our father was killed, I realized I would bear neither son nor daughter.
Rather I produced an avenger (muntaqima). That is the goal for me to achieve in
my life; that I should avenge. You on the other hand bring forth children [ … ]
You are my womb, you are the womb of Tadmur.50

This all-consuming quest for revenge renders al-Zabbāʾ a tragic character, something
that is evident towards the end of the play when ʿAmr has captured Palmyra and is in al-
Zabbāʾs room. Although al-Zabbāʾ is perfectly resigned to her fate, ʿAmr refuses to kill her
for a variety of reasons. It becomes a humorous scene:

ʿAmr: Listen Zabbāʾ, I don’t understand what it is you’re saying. I don’t under-
stand your reasons for wanting to die. You deserve to live a thousand years.
(Suddenly speaking in a pleading manner) Now lend me your ear … You say
that you work wonders. So take me into the world of your wonders. Let’s do
something wondrous (shayʾan gharı̄ban) together, something beyond people’s
imagination.
Zabbāʾ: And what would that be?
ʿAmr: (He pauses to catch his breath) We get married.51
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 35

ʿAmr’s suggestion may at first seem silly, but his intentions are serious and praise-
worthy. Apart from the fact that he has suddenly fallen in love with al-Zabbāʾ, his
motives are those of a social engineer. He admits that both his people and the people
of Palmyra will despise the married couple and hate their union, but in the long run
the result will be that the wheel of vengeance ceases to turn. Al-Zabbāʾ, unsurprisingly,
turns down the offer, saying—with reference to the play’s title—‘On soil watered with
hate, will never grow a flower of love’.52 She kills herself with the poison in her ring,
leaving ʿAmr grief-stricken and perplexed.
Noteworthy in this regard is a television series broadcast on Syrian national television
in 1976, entitled Intiqām al-Zabbāʾ. The musalsal was directed by Ghassān Jabrı̄, and
depicts internecine fighting between Arab kingdoms before the Islamic era.53 The
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closing credits state that the script was written by Maḥ mū d Diyāb. The television
series and the play are largely identical, although certain adjustments have been made.
General Zabda (Zabādāy)—bearing a striking resemblance to the young Luciano Pavar-
otti—is again the love in al-Zabbāʾ’s life. But strangely ʿUdhayna also plays a part, in this
case that of army general. The final scene is different in that it does not include ʿAmr’s
proposal to al-Zabbā’ (although he does confess his love to her), but the play and the
series share the theme of seeking an end to the vicious cycle of revenge.
The publications mentioned above notwithstanding, it is clear that contemporary Arab
remembrances of Zenobia usually employ the Roman tale as the historical framework of
the story. Only very few works can be traced to al-Ṭ abarı̄ or another classical Arabic
source. This can be explained partly as the result of the cultural influence of Europe
on the Arab world. It has long been argued that it is not uncommon that one’s own tra-
dition is read through the lens of one dominant, often colonial, other.54 The earliest
modern Arab publication on Zenobia, al-Bustānı̄’s Zanū byā, is clearly informed by a con-
temporary French source. As pointed out above, the same source (Poujoulat) was to play
a role in the history of Syria written a few years later by Maṭar. For Levantine authors to
view and represent the history of their own region through European sources is culturally
significant. To this day, there continues to be a tendency (also among authors with a
Levantine background) to overestimate the Greco-Latin sources at the expense of
those of classical Arab origins.55
There are, however, other reasons why the HA version has been more commonly
employed than al-Ṭ abarı̄’s version of events. Apart from the fact that a key moment in
al-Ṭ abarı̄’s tale—the unveiling of al-Zabbāʾ’s private parts—is unlikely to be faithfully
transmitted by contemporary Arab authors who feel themselves bound to a conservative
concept of decency, a very important factor is that the HA version can be read in such a
way that it brings two worlds, West and East, into contact. All modern Arab tales of the
Greco-Latin history of Zenobia contain an element of Orientalism and Occidentalism, or
an ideologically charged identification of East and West. This is already evident in al-
Bustānı̄’s work; he frames his story in such a way as to recommend a certain posture
vis-à-vis European culture. A century later, we find that the HA version is used very natu-
rally in Arab nationalist discourse. In the educational novel Zanū byā from 1975 (noted
above) we can easily identify the passages that have an ideologizing purpose. The com-
parison between Rome and Persia on the one hand and the United States and the Soviet
Union has already been pointed out. Furthermore, the relationship between Rome and
Palmyra can be seen as an earlier episode of the 20th-century power relationship between
the West, the East, and the Arab world located in-between. That is why Zenobia makes
so many flamboyant statements that speak of Arab independence and of the value of
 36 R. A. F. L. Woltering

freedom. Fascinating also is the phrase in which Zenobia acknowledges the importance
of science, but on the condition that this science is made to serve social reality and lived
practice. This seems a hardly veiled reference to the ideal of organic intellectualism, inex-
tricably linked to Arab nationalism, which demands that science does not rise to detach
itself from the common people, but rather grows from it in a mutually nurturing
relationship.56
Since al-Bustānı̄’s pioneering work in 1871, I estimate that no more than a few dozen
Arab publications have appeared in modern times about Zenobia.57 However, the
biggest step in the revitalization of Zenobia in the Arab popular imagination has been
taken in a different artistic genre. In 2007 and 2008 a prominent Lebanese musical
theatre performed the musical Zenobia. It was a spectacular show based on the story of
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the HA. Here too, the political is not eschewed, as when Zenobia (played by the Leba-
nese pop star, Carole Samaha), accompanied by exciting music and marching, pro-
claims: ‘I am the first cry for freedom from this Arab country, I am the word “no” in
the face of injustice, I give my blood for freedom!’58

Zenobia as a Woman
A gender perspective on Zenobia should first take account of the two classical traditions
before proceeding to the modern Arabic revival, which has made use of these old tra-
ditions. In the following treatment of the classical traditions I will mostly limit myself
to the key publications of the HA and the HPK.
Regarding the HA there is a fundamental contradiction arising from the problem that
the Zenobia personage functions on the one hand as the reason to mock Gallienus, while
on the other she is the big prize that honours Aurelian. It is first stated to be a disgrace
that a ‘mere woman’ gets to be in power, for which Gallienus is blamed. But when Aur-
elian overcomes Zenobia, she is suddenly deemed a worthy opponent, an opponent
whose exhibition during the triumph is justified because she is indeed an honourable
trophy. That ambivalence is ‘solved’ by castigating Zenobia in the latter case as a real
man: she speaks, walks, thinks, spends, drinks and hunts like a man. Also sexually she
is unlike a woman: it is possible that we should understand her lack of bedtime enthu-
siasm as part of her masculinity, in the sense that much like a man she is unwilling to
offer herself to a man. It is this masculine woman, or she-man, who gives credit to the
conquering Aurelian.
The image of woman in the Zenobia story of the HPK is more difficult to interpret.
Paradoxically, al-Ṭ abarı̄ is much less visible as an author than is the case with the anon-
ymous author(s) of the HA. We have far fewer comments by the author himself with
which to reconstruct al-Ṭ abarı̄’s opinion of the events he has described.59 Virtually the
only thing we can do is look at the descriptions of the events themselves. The most strik-
ing fragment is probably that of Zenobia showing off her pubic plaiting. ‘O Jadhı̄ma, do
you see the concern of a bride?’ Zenobia’s razor-sharp commentary is a reference to her
earlier false testimony, in which she has pretended to believe that as a woman she is unfit
to rule and therefore invites Jadhı̄ma to marry her and assume her responsibilities. While
it would be going too far to qualify this section as emancipatory—al-Ṭ abarı̄ would at least
not have intended it this way, the reader is inevitably struck by the irony. Other elements
in the story seem—at first sight—to confirm prejudice against women. Zenobia decides
not to expose herself to open conflict with Jadhı̄ma, for fear of ‘unexpected conse-
quences’. This can be seen as in line with familiar stereotypes of women as gentle
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 37

creatures who prefer to avoid danger. This suggestion is strengthened by the fact that in
this case it is Zenobia’s sister who plays the role of consultant. However, such an
interpretation should be rejected, because the cunning with which Zenobia operates is
not in any way criticized. Indeed, the successor to Jadhı̄ma also prefers the ruse to
open battle, which suggests that, according to al-Ṭ abarı̄’s sources, deceit and deception
form part of the standard repertoire of competing Arab leaders in the pre-Islamic period.
The most striking and clearly intentional gender themes are found in modern Arab
representations of Zenobia. In a time and place in which education for girls was far
from normal and public offices were not open to women, al-Bustānı̄’s novel opens up
a new horizon. Zenobia and the princesses Julia and Livia are consistently described
as superior in intellect and cultural refinement. Women always make important
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decisions. Even Julia’s confidante Fausta is made into a warrior of the highest order,
as if to underline that female greatness such as that found in Zenobia and Julia is not
simply the result of royal blood. For al-Bustānı̄ to mention the sons only rarely, and
then mostly secondarily and neglecting to call them by their names, cannot be accidental.
Perhaps also the book’s key theme of the need to reform the culture of (marital) love
should be seen as part of a reform agenda in gender relations. More evident references
of such a kind are to be found a century later.
The educational novel Zanūbyā (1975) is not only full of Marxist-Gramscian wisdom,
but also brimming with references to gender equality. The first page shows an illustration
of Zenobia, with the caption:

Zenobia, the warrior who fought the enemies of the Arabs in the period before
the advent of Islam, and who proved that woman is capable of a noble struggle
and able to function in the centre of power, with thoroughness, perseverance
and self-control.60

From there the story begins. The reader is confronted from the outset with a reversal of
traditional gender roles. A lion jumps on a helpless man, but an arrow pierces his neck
just before his claws cut into his prey. The archer is Zenobia, and the man is her
husband Odaenathus. Once Zenobia beheads the lion, they walk back to the other par-
ticipants in the lion hunt. As if this was not clear enough, Zenobia gets the opportunity to
describe the meaning of this incident: as the hunting party decides to go home, General
Zabda offers to send for a number of horses, so not everyone has to walk. This does not
please Zenobia:

‘You’re talking about me, right? You’re afraid I will not be able to walk the
whole way home. When will you forget that I am a woman? And when will
you let go of the thought that a woman is always weak?’ [To which Odaenathus
adds:] ‘Have you already forgotten that she just saved the king’s life?’61

The phrase ‘when will you forget again that I am a woman’ is at first sight reminiscent
of passages in the HA in which Zenobia’s most admirable qualities significantly detract
from her femininity. But this seems a rare lapse in the book: generally, the book offers a
very consistent message of female emancipation. This image of powerful women is also
linked to the desired Arab self-image, which is also visible in the way in which Zenobia is
ultimately dealt with: in the end it is Roman rule that refuses to accept that Zenobia is an
independent, strong woman. It is significant that Rome, the imperialist oppressor, is not
 38 R. A. F. L. Woltering

only pictured as a political oppressor, but as a conservative tyrant in male–female

relationships. The struggle here is a comprehensive one, in which freedom for the
Arab nation and liberation of women from traditional gender roles come together in
one story.

Conclusions
This study of the different histories of Zenobia leads to surprising contrasts that are not at
all easy to understand. This is partly because the authors are often not well known. The
writer behind the HA is even anonymous. Al-Ṭ abarı̄ presents his story as if he is only a
conduit of collected messages, and explicitly refuses to judge or comment. Even modern
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representations of Zenobia have something obscure about them: Salı̄m al-Bustānı̄’s novel
is hardly mentioned in standard works in the field of Arabic literary history, and of some
other authors we do not know much more than their name. In the case of the discussed
educational novel, even that is not given (we only have the editorial board of the series in
which the book appeared). Conclusions regarding the literature on Zenobia are therefore
mainly related to the texts themselves.
It is striking that in all views of Zenobia an important role is played by the fact that
Zenobia is a woman. The way in which her womanhood is given meaning varies greatly
from one perspective to another. The HA has an internal problem, because it presents
Zenobia both as a disgrace to the Roman Empire and as an honorary trophy. The
authors resolve this problem in their careful replication of stereotypes of man and
woman. In an Arab-Islamic context, the 10th-century view of al-Ṭ abarı̄ not only differs
sharply in terms of storyline, but also in the narrative processing of Zenobia’s womanhood.
The fact that Zenobia is a woman does not constitute a problem to be solved but plays a
positive role in the story. Zenobia exploits Jadhı̄ma’s belief in the weakness of women, and
when her objective is met she engages in a display of ironic exhibitionism, sealing the ven-
geance that is finally achieved. Apart from this, there are remarkably no passages in the
HPK in which Zenobia’s womanhood plays a role. Nothing is said about why exactly
Zenobia is the successor of ʿAmr ibn Ẓ arib (and not a male relative). Even when her
regime is described, this is done in a businesslike manner, without referring to the fact
that Zenobia was exceptional in being a woman in power. We have too little material to
be able to answer the question of how al-Ṭ abarı̄ in general looked at male–female relation-
ships. That question can be answered with respect to the writers of modern Arabic Zenobia
stories. In nearly all these modern cases, the Zenobia story is associated with a progressive
agenda, which pays much attention to gender roles. This is most evident in the Zenobia
found in the Arab Heroes series. Even though most modern representations of Zenobia
opted for the HA version, the misogynistic passages are carefully left out. Contemporary
Arab tellers of the Zenobia story obviously have no business with taunting Gallienus or
praising Aurelian. On the basis of the HA and other sources they are free to construct
the story that they want to tell. In this modern Arab story, Zenobia is a superwoman
who fights simultaneously against the discrimination of women, for the independence of
her people and against imperialism.

Notes
1. An earlier version of this article was presented as a lecture at the Netherlands Institute
for Academic Studies in Damascus, at the American University of Beirut and at the
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 39

University of Jordan in December 2010. The author thanks these audiences for their
valuable comments.
2. For a detailed assessment of the balance of power between Rome and Palmyra in this
period, see Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay.
3. The question of titles is a heavily debated topic, see Potter, ‘Palmyra and Rome,’ 271–
285.
4. Magie, The Scriptores Historiae Augustae, 136.
5. Ibid., 105 and 107.
6. Ibid., 137 and 139.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., 141.
10. Ibid., 145. For an elaborate treatment of the biography of Zenobia in the HA, see Bur-
gersdijk, ‘Zenobia’s Biography in the Historia Augusta.’
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11. The theory was already first proposed in 1889 by Dessau, ‘Über Zeit und
Persönlichkeit.’
12. An intricate study can be made of the onomastics behind the various names applied to
our protagonist (Zaynab/Zenobia; al-Zabbāʾ/Bat Zabbay/Zabı̄ba, etc.). Such an assess-
ment would, however, best figure in an article focused on the classical Arabic tales.
Much of what I write here concerning the ancient Arabic al-Zabbāʾ is derived from
Weststeijn, ‘De Zenobia-novelle in Tabari’s Geschiedenis’; Müller, Studien über
Zenobia und Palmyra; and Retsö, The Arabs in Antiquity, 462–466 and 476–483.
13. For references to al-Ṭ abarı̄, I will be using Moshe Perlmann’s translation in Abbās et al.,
The History of al-Ṭ abarı̄, 139 [757].
14. Ibid., 140 [758].
15. Ibid., 140 [759].
16. Ibid., 142 [760].
17. Such an interpretation of the episode in question is supported by an 11th-century manu-
script of Sharaf al-Zamān al-Marwāzı̄’s Ṭ abā ʾiʿ al-ḥ ayawā n (MS UCLA, Ar. 52, 59a4
ff.). The author is grateful to Remke Kruk for bringing this to his attention.
18. Abbās et al., The History of al-Ṭ abarı̄, 142 [761].
19. Interestingly, it is the aforementioned adviser Qaṣır̄ who plays an important part in this
trickery. Muth has pointed to a parallel with similar tricks pulled in the tale of Zopyros as
related in Herodotus’ History; see Muth, ‘Zopyros bei den Arabern.’
20. One rare study of the classical Arab tale of Zenobia that focuses on the differences
between the various traditions is Piotrovsky, ‘Arabskaja versija istorii caricy Zenobii.’
21. For this aspect, see al-Maydānı̄, Majmaʿ al-amthā l.
22. For a confirmation of Burgersdijk’s opinion in this matter, see also Paschoud, Histoire
Auguste.
23. EI² ‘al-Zabbāʾ’(italics added).
24. I thank Zenobia aficionada Judith Weingarten for bringing this publication to my atten-
tion at the Zenobia Congress of 2008, Amsterdam, 24 May.
25. As has been pointed out already in Moosa, Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction, 179.
26. See also Allen, who does not mention Zanū byā but does state that al-Bustānı̄ ‘laid the
groundwork for the emergence of the historical novel in a series of works published in
the periodical al-Jinān’; Allen, ‘Beginnings of the Arabic Novel’, 182. Moosa refers to
Bustānı̄ as no less than ‘The Father of the Modern Arabic Novel’ (sic); Moosa,
Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction, 183. Holt offers the most recent study of Levantine seri-
alized novels from the 1870s, in particular Salı̄m al-Bustānı̄’s al-Shā bb al-maghrū r and
al-Huyā m fı̄ jinā n al-Shā m; Holt ‘Narrative and the Reading Public.’
27. References to the work will be to chapter, followed by the page number as printed on the
page, followed by the page-number [in square brackets] that corresponds to those con-
secutively added manually to the bundled installments.
28. Vol. II, 115–154.
29. Choueiri, Modern Arab Historiography, 65, n. 48. Choueiri states that around this time
Zenobia had become a ‘cult-figure for some Western-educated Syrians’ (ibid.).
 40 R. A. F. L. Woltering

30. ‘Quelques auteurs arabes font mention d’une guerrière célèbre qui vivait du temps de
Valérien et de Sapor; le portrait qu’ils en font [ … ] se trouve complétement [sic] appli-
cable au caractère, aux travaux, à la destine de Zénobie. Ils l’appellent tour à tour Zeyna,
Zabba et Saba. [ … ]’; Poujoulat, Voyage à Constantinople, 119–120). As sources for his
knowledge of the classical Arabic version, Poujoulat mentions Abū al-Fidāʾ (probably
the 1837–1840 French translation of Kitā b Taqwı̄m al-buldā n), De Sacy’s Les séances
de Hariri (misspelt ‘Haïrri’), and a Rasmussen (presumably Janus Lassen Rasmussen,
Historia praecipuorum Arabum regnorum rerumque ad iis gestarum ante Islamismum, 1821).
31. As is the case with the HA, such as in the passage quoted above, referenced with note 7.
32. Al-Bustānı̄, Zanū byā Malikat Tadmur, ch. 1, 29 [4].
33. For example, al-Bustānı̄’s views on eastern and western cultures of love (ibid., ch. 23,
819? [157]), or the issue of infatuation with foreign clothes (ibid., ch. 23, 820? [158]).
34. Ibid., ch. 1, 63 [9]: ‘anna wāliday Zanū byā al-dhākirayni kānā dū na shaqı̄qatihimā maʿr-
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ifatan wa idrākan’.
35. Ibid., ch. 5, 169 [28].
36. A very clear reference to gender (in)equality is in the reaction of the sot Antiochus to
Zenobia’s request to show his arching skills during a trip into the desert: ‘I don’t see
what’s the point, since it is clear these days that fate has given the keys of power and
glory to women’ (ibid., ch. 7, 211 [41]).
37. Moosa (Origins, 179) transliterates the name as Pisa, but this does not correspond to any
contemporary Latin name for a male. Incidentally, al-Bustānı̄’s choice for including this
character may not be drawn directly from the HA, but rather from the work of the Amer-
ican novelist William Ware (1797–1852). Ware’s historical novels Zenobia, or the Fall of
Palmyra (1837) and Aurelian (1838) contain a number of characters that do not appear
in the HA or other historical sources who also feature in al-Bustānı̄’s novel, such as the
princesses Julia and Livia, and Julia’s confidante Fausta, daughter of Gracchus (in al-
Bustānı̄: Fū stā bint Krākū s). I thank Rosalind Meehan for bringing William Ware to
my attention.
38. Al-Bustānı̄, Zanū byā Malikat Tadmur, ch. 14, 352 [65].
39. We will see that, in a novel written 100 years later, the explanation for the fall of Palmyra
is given a specifically ideological twist. No such double layer is apparent here.
40. Ibid., ch. 24, 859–860 [168–169].
41. Ibid., ch. 23, 819? [157].
42. Zanū byā (Beirut: Dār al-ʿAwda, 1975).
43. Ibid., 46.
44. Ibid., 77–80.
45. Ibid., 104–105.
46. A Google search through Yamli (www.yamli.com) on 16 August 2011 yielded 31 800
and 4610 pages respectively.
47. I have come across a reference to a book entitled Nā ʾila bint ʿAmr al-mashhū ra bil-Zabbā ʾ
written by Ḥ asan Jawhar (Cairo: Lajnat al-bayān al-ʿArabı̄, 196? non vidi). Its title clearly
suggests that this work (of fiction?) employs a point of view from the classical Arabic
sources.
48. Cairo: al-Sharka al-Duwaliyya li l-Ṭ ibāʿa, 2004. It is not clear when this book was first
published. An earlier print was produced in 1986 in Cairo at al-Hayʾa al-Miṣriyya al-
ʿāmma li l-Kitāb; that is, three years after the author’s death. The matter is further com-
plicated by a 1976 Syrian television series of which the script was written by (the same?)
Maḥ mū d Diyāb. This television series will be discussed shortly.
49. Ibid., 54.
50. Ibid., 59.
51. Ibid., 162.
52. Ibid., 165.
53. At lectures I gave about Zenobia in the Levant, it happened several times that people in
the audience recalled their memories of this series. There is currently one Internet
website that offers downloads of all 13 episodes: http://www.vb.arabspots.com/t1010.
html.
54. For example, Mitchell, Colonising Egypt.
 Zenobia or Al-Zabbā ʾ 41

55. Shahid’s lemma in the second edition of the EI has already been quoted; another
example is al-Bunnı̄’s tellingly entitled ‘Zaynab al-tārı̄kh wa al-Zabbāʾ al-usṭū ra’ in Les
Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes.
56. Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks.
57. Not mentioned thus far is Hardān’s Zanū byā al-ʿaẓım ̄ a, in the preface of which the
author explains that through this novel he intends to correct mistakes that have been
made intentionally or unwittingly by (foreign) historians; Hardān, Zanū byā al-ʿaẓım ̄ a,
18. One of the things history apparently has failed to mention is that ‘the Jews’ were
much to blame for the fall of Palmyra (ibid., 20). Two other books are Zanū byā
malikat Tadmur by Muḥ ammad Farı̄d Abū Ḥ adı̄d (Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahḍ a al-
Miṣriyya, 1941); and Zanū byā malikat Tadmur. Riwāya tā rı̄khiyya adabiyya gharā miyya
written by Imı̄l Ḥ abashı̄ Ashqar and published in four installments (Beirut: Dar al-
Andalus, 1958–1960), non vidi.
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58. A video pastiche of the musical is available online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

tVIe5Au_nig&feature=related
59. In the HA we find, for instance, the author reflecting on his work when he states that he
included the women ‘to make a mockery of Gallienus’. See note 9 above.
60. Zanū byā , 9.
61. Ibid., 12.

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