Episode 18
Zenobia
Tue, 2017-May-23 00:09 UTC
Length - 3:00
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Tuesday, 23 May 2017 is Zenobia.
Septimia Zenobia (Palmyrene: (Btzby), pronounced Bat-Zabbai; c.240–c.274) was a third-century queen of the Syria-based Palmyrene Empire. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was certainly born to a noble Palmyrene family and married the ruler of the city, Odaenathus. Her husband became king in 260, elevating Palmyra to supreme power in the Near East by defeating the Sassanians and stabilizing the Roman East. After Odaenathus' assassination, Zenobia became the regent of her son Vaballathus and held de facto power throughout his reign.
In 270, Zenobia launched an invasion which brought most of the Roman East under her sway and culminated with the annexation of Egypt. By mid-271 her realm extended from Ancyra in the north to southern Egypt, although she remained nominally subordinate to Rome. However, in reaction to Roman emperor Aurelian's campaign in 272, Zenobia declared her son emperor and assumed the title of empress (declaring Palmyra's secession from Rome). The Romans were victorious after heavy fighting; the queen was besieged in her capital and captured by Aurelian, who exiled her to Rome where she spent the remainder of her life.
Zenobia was a cultured monarch and fostered an intellectual environment in her court, which was open to scholars and philosophers. She was tolerant toward her subjects, and protected religious minorities. The queen maintained a stable administration which governed a multicultural, multiethnic empire. Zenobia died after 274, and many tales have been recorded about her fate. Her rise and fall have inspired historians, artists and novelists, and she is a national hero in Syria.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:09 UTC on Tuesday, 23 May 2017.
For the full current version of the article, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenobia.
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