The mistress, who was called "the noblest and most beautiful of all women in the East" - Zenobia was stubborn, intelligent and very educated. Sometimes demanding and harsh, all Eastern peoples and even the Egyptians were terrified of her. But she was also generous and kind. And how she loved her children!..
The Romans called Palmyra a fertile oasis in the rocky desert that stretches across the territory of modern Syria: a lot of clear, icy water that watered the date palms that grew around. In their shadow, traders who brought goods from India, Persia, China to the Mediterranean countries found rest and quenched their thirst. Deals were made in the tents laid out for the night. Gradually, the oasis began to build up and at first was called Tadmor - the city of date palms.
Trading cities are growing and getting rich quickly. Temples, shopping arcades, rich houses appeared in Tadmore. During the conquests of Alexander the Great, the city of date palms became a precious grain of his vast empire. And by the 1st century BC. became part of the Roman Empire - became the outskirts, the border stronghold of the most powerful state. It was then that the new owners renamed Tadmor - and it became “just” Palmyra: the city of palm trees. No dates. Although until the beginning of the 21st century, dates were the main export item of these places, and the extract from them is called date honey here.
In 129 AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian endowed the oasis of palm trees with the rights of a free city. But Palmyra already felt quite at ease: a wonderful island in the lifeless sea of the desert.
GUARDIAN OF THE EMPIRE
In case of alien invasion, the city had its own army, and the Palmyra archers were considered the best in the Roman army. Defending itself, the outlying city guarded the borders of the Roman Empire. Therefore, sparing no expense, the Romans built good roads to Palmyra, which, by the way, have survived to this day. From year to year, the trading city blossomed with a wonderful exotic flower, in which, in a bizarre way, through the oriental traditions, the trends of antiquity grew.
The city of palm trees reached its peak in the III century, when the grandson of the Roman senator, Consul Odenat, came to power, having inherited the title of "Prince of Palmyra" from his father.
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And Odenath managed to marry Zenobia! She considered herself a descendant of the Ptolemies, a relative of Cleopatra herself. It is known that Zenobia knew the Egyptian language and studied Egyptian culture. But Odenath was worried about something else: she was a delightful woman! However, he soon had to find out that his chosen one was not only incredibly beautiful, but also disgustingly cunning …
The fact is that Odenath had a son from another woman. And he was the heir. What kind of new wife of the ruler will tolerate this ?! After all, she has her own son, her own contender for power! Zenobia "eliminated" her offspring's rival. And then the unloved husband. Cruel, you say? But all the wives of the rulers did this …
HOMER AND HORSE RIDING
Zenobia was a born ruler. She was not afraid of military campaigns either: she could not get off her horse for days. She could starve along with the soldiers, among whom she always appeared in purple clothes and a helmet. But at the same time, she loved to study: she signed up for herself the famous Syrian philosopher Cassius Longinus, the greatest connoisseur of the works of Homer. She was engaged in mathematics and architecture. Recently, archaeologists conducting excavations in Palmyra, under the ruins of a palace that belonged to Zenobia, unearthed an interesting find: an image of a woman who, imagine, dressed in an elegant dress, in an equally elegant necklace, and she bent over neither the cradle nor over the vessel with oil, and over an ancient scroll! And in her hands is not jewelry, but a feather! She wrote, oh Gods! Zenobia shocked the whole world with her exercises in philosophy and poetry. And then she also caused the emperor to be dismayed by declaring the independence of her land from Rome. Further more! Having successfully planned the campaigns, she subdued all of Syria, the eastern part of Asia Minor and Egypt to her power … Can you imagine what the effect was ?! It was then that Aurelian defeated her and again subjugated Palmyra to Rome, and the proud and beautiful Zenobia, a captive, led her in chains through the eternal city. Still, the hand did not rise to execute her, she grew old in the Tibur estate …she grew old at the Tibur estate …she grew old at the Tibur estate …
And Palmyra without Zenobia somehow very quickly turned into a backwater. Skilled artisans left the city, trade stopped, and then another earthquake happened - at the beginning of the 10th century it completed the destruction of the city. The surviving fragments of the palaces were gradually covered with sand. Further - oblivion.
Mikhail Mikhailov
