"head-man" fell upon the army of the haughty Persian king,
defeated and despoiled it, and drove it back to Persia. As
Gibbon, the historian says: "The majesty of Rome, oppressed by a
Persian, was protected by an Arab of Palmyra."

For this he was covered with favors by Rome; made supreme
commander in the East, and, with Zenobia as his adviser and
helper, each year made Palmyra stronger and more powerful.

Here, rightly, the story of the girl Zenobia ends. A woman now,
her life fills one of the most brilliant pages of history. While
her husband conquered for Rome in the north, she, in his absence,
governed so wisely in the south as to insure the praise of all.
And when the time was ripe, and Rome, ruled by weak emperors and
harassed by wild barbarians, was in dire stress, the childish vow
of the boy and girl made years before found fulfilment. Palmyra
was suddenly declared free from the dominion of Rome, and
Odaenathus was acknowledged by senate and people as "Emperor and
King of kings."

But the hand of an assassin struck down the son as it had
stricken the father. Zenobia, ascending the throne of Palmyra,
declared herself "Zenobia Augusta, the Empress of the East," and,
after the manner of her time, extended her empire in every
direction until, as the record says: "A small territory in the
desert, under the government of a woman, extended its conquests
over many rich countries and several states. Zenobia, lately
confined to the barren plains about Palmyra, now held sway from
Egypt in the south, to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea in the
north."