Zenobia regina. Recensione a Lorenzo Braccesi, Zenobia, l'ultima regina d'Oriente. L'assedio di Palmira e lo scontro con Roma (Roma 2017)

In this book, Lorenzo Braccesi investigates the life of Zenobia, whose story intersects with that of the late Roman Empire. She was the wife of Odenato of Palmyra (today’s Syria), the powerful head of a territory strategically located between the Roman and the Persian Empires. After having helped the Romans, Odenato in turn became a danger and was condemned to an early death. Eager for revenge, Zenobia aimed to govern the kingdom in place of her husband but her ambition was thwarted by the emperor Aurelian who defeated Zenobia and deported her to Rome. Zenobia’s charisma, however, fascinated even Aurelian, who saved her from chains and humiliation, and safeguarded her for the rest of her life in a villa near Tivoli. Both a strong warrior and a refined intellectual, Zenobia has a prominent place in the annals of Famous Women, from Dido to Cleopatra. Following her posthumous fortune, Braccesi finds traces of her in literature and poetry (Petrarch, Boccaccio, Baudelaire). Traces of Zenobia can also be found in C17th-century playing cards, where she stands out among fictional and historical heroines. The monumental ruins of Palmyra – now the subject of unspeakable crimes against humanity – are a testament to the greatness of the Zenobia’s kingdom and her heroic resistance.