Hello fellow historians!
I am looking to see what kind of historical basis we have (if any) for the physical appearance of Queen Zenobia?
I've only found coins cast with her image on them, with Juno on the reverse, and some imagery of Odaenathus.
Are there written records decribing her that were made at the time or based on credible sources? If we don't have any physical imagery at all made at that time, can we surmise why that is? For example: is it because of her ruling through first her husband then her son, is it Roman historian's bias against recording the influences of women, or lost from the many sacks and massive losses in Palmyra?
Bonus questions:
- How did the imagery traditions of the Palmyrenes differ at the time from the Romans? Was it similar to what we saw later with a focus on 2d, mosaic, and representative imagery as opposed to realistic imagery?
- Where is best for me to go to start learning about Palmyra and Zenobia, either in public or academic sources? (I have access through my university, but my only language at the moment is English which is limiting)
Thanks everyone!
Queen Zenobia is one of my all-time favorite badass historical figures. Unfortunately, the only written source on her appearance comes from a short anecdote from the notoriously unreliable (but still entertainingly ahistorical) Historia Augusta, written several decades after her death:
Her face was dark and of a swarthy hue, her eyes were black and powerful beyond the usual wont, her spirit divinely great, and her beauty incredible. So white were her teeth that many thought that she had pearls in place of teeth. 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 treasures beyond the wont of women.
Keep in mind that by "dark," I assume the author wouldn't mean it in our modern since, but rather what the Romans would've considered "dark," which might be more akin to what the modern Middle Easterner might look like. And personally, I take that when he says her voice was "like that of a man," the author really meant to say that she was more outspoken and stern than would be expected of women at that time, but that's just me.
As for Palmyrene imagery, Palmyrene art and society in general was quite unique. The whole vibe of the place was like a mesh of Greek, Roman, and Parthian all in one. Its funerary imagery is among the most abundant of the ancient world, with over 1,000 reliefs and statues excavated since its rediscovery in the 17th century. Typically, the portraits show citizens with stoic, calm faces, lying on dining couches. The women wear jeweled turbans and long gowns, while the men don the Greek chiton and baggy Parthian trousers.
Also, in response to the coinage you mentioned, keep in mind that in ancient times coinage was very idealized and might not have accurately represented what she actually looked like. She claimed descent from another prominent Syrian, Julia Domna, and since the distinctive hair that the Queen wears on the coins is almost identical to that of the former, it can be assumed that she intentionally portrayed herself in a similar way to an empress of Rome to add validity to her rebellion.
To start learning more about her, I highly recommend Pat Southern's Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen. Not only does it squeeze what little accurate sources we have, but delves into the greater Crisis of the Third Century which produced the likes of Queen Zenobia. While you can also read the accounts of Zonoras and Zosimus, which are slightly more accurate than the Historia Augusta, I'd still take them with a grain of salt, as they were written well after the Queen's life.