AURELIAN

The reference was to the Syrian Bat Zabbai, This audacious general and Queen of one of the Roman Provices conquered most of the area including Egypt. Then she declared her independence from the Roman Empire itself. A master of multilateral coalition leading, she was able to attract nearby provinces to join her. The Roman Emperor Aurelian himself set out to subjugate Zenobia—the Roman, Latin name. In the first battle, the Romans won a tactical victory for some territory but lost many men. The Emperor asked Bat Zabbai to surrender, but she refused. See {606344}. She was counting on the fact that the Romans would not accept the high losses she was inflicting. The Emperor was being criticized that the entire Roman Army was unable to beat a woman. The Romans did pay the price and eventually conquered Bat Zabbai and brought her to Rome as a captive. However she was very much admired by Roman society and after she pledged to not revolt against Rome she was allowed to live in Rome—but not go back to Syria where she might raise another army. She became a major celebrity of Roman society and married a Roman Senator. Her exploits although well known at the time lapsed into obscurity in that later Roman Christian society did not see her as a fitting Christian female example, and when Islam developed in Syria, she was not considered a model Muslim woman. So a key figure in Roman history, male or female, was ignored by most of the cultures until recently where the original documentation of the time has been made more widely available.

The reference was to the Syrian Bat Zabbai, This audacious general and Queen of one of the Roman Provices conquered most of the area including Egypt. Then she declared her independence from the Roman Empire itself. A master of multilateral coalition leading, she was able to attract nearby provinces to join her. The Roman Emperor Aurelian himself set out to subjugate Zenobia—the Roman, Latin name. In the first battle, the Romans won a tactical victory for some territory but lost many men. The Emperor asked Bat Zabbai to surrender, but she refused. See {606344}. She was counting on the fact that the Romans would not accept the high losses she was inflicting. The Emperor was being criticized that the entire Roman Army was unable to beat a woman. The Romans did pay the price and eventually conquered Bat Zabbai and brought her to Rome as a captive. However she was very much admired by Roman society and after she pledged to not revolt against Rome she was allowed to live in Rome—but not go back to Syria where she might raise another army. She became a major celebrity of Roman society and married a Roman Senator. Her exploits although well known at the time lapsed into obscurity in that later Roman Christian society did not see her as a fitting Christian female example, and when Islam developed in Syria, she was not considered a model Muslim woman. So a key figure in Roman history, male or female, was ignored by most of the cultures until recently where the original documentation of the time has been made more widely available.