The sack of Bostra occurred around the spring of 270 AD when

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

sent her general, Zabdas, to

Bostra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...

, the capital of

Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province or simply Arabia, was a frontier Roman province, province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century. It consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, th ...

, to subjugate the Tanukhids who were challenging Palmyrene authority. The sack marked the beginning of Zenobia's military operations to consolidate Palmyrene authority over the Roman east. During the sack, the governor of

at the time, a certain Trassus, attempted to confront the Palmyrenes but was defeated and killed, while the city was sacked and the Legio III Cyrenaica's revered shrine, the temple of Zeus Hammon, was destroyed. The sack of the city was shortly followed by the subjugation of Arabia and

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, and later a full invasion of Egypt, and is the first in the string of events which ended in open rebellion against the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and the declaration of an independent

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt ...

Background

In 269, while the Romans were occupied with defending the empire against Germanic invasions, Zenobia was consolidating her power; Roman officials in the East were caught between loyalty to the emperor and Zenobia's increasing demands for allegiance. It is unknown when or why Zenobia resorted to using military force to strengthen her rule, it has been suggested that Roman officials refused to recognize Palmyrene authority, and Zenobia's expeditions were intended to maintain Palmyrene dominance over the east. Another factor may have been the weakness of Roman central authority over its eastern provinces and its corresponding inability to protect them, which harmed Palmyrene trade and probably convinced Zenobia that the only way to maintain stability in the East was to control the region directly. Paired with the conflict of Palmyra's economic interest; as

and Egypt received trade which would have otherwise passed through Palmyra. Regardless, the defiance of the Tanukhids and the merchant class of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

against Palmyrene domination triggered a military response from Zenobia.

Attack

The attack seemed to be intentionally timed, as Zenobia commanded Zabdas to move the Palmyrene army south to Bostra while the Romans were preoccupied with their battles against the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

in the mountains of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

. The Roman governor of Arabia, a certain Trassus, who at the time was commanding the Legio III Cyrenaica, confronted the approaching Palmyrene army, but was routed and killed. As a result, the city of Bostra opened its gates, and the Palmyrene army captured and sacked the city, and destroyed the temple of Zeus Hammon, the legion's revered shrine.

Aftermath

After the victory, Zabdas marched across Jordan Valley and apparently met little opposition.

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

, south of Bostra, was attacked as well, and the Palmyrene army had now penetrated the region. Arabia and Judaea, as well as

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, were now subdued under Palmyrene control. A

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription after the fall of Zenobia attests to the sack of the city mentioning the "Palmyrene enemies" and the destruction of the temple:

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite book, title=Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy 31 BC – AD 305, first=Gary K., last= Young, publisher=Routledge, year= 2003, isbn= 978-1-134-54793-7

270

270s in the Roman Empire

Bosra

Background

Attack

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources