Zenobia, an illustration from Pierre Le Moyne's 'La Gallerie des femmes fortes'

Queen Zenobia, called Znwbyā Bat Zabbai in her native Aramaic, was the queen of Palmyra, the ancient Roman colony in present-day Syria. She led a rebellion against the Roman army. While Queen Znwbyā lost to the Romans, she remained a legend of courage. Renaissance European artists sometimes depicted her, as in this example by French artist Abraham Bosse. This engraving is a page from an illustration of “La Gallerie des femmes fortes.” The French poem lauded historical women warriors, from Znwbyā Bat Zabbai to Joan of Arc.