Zenobia: The queen who challenged the Roman empire

She may not be well known to us today, but Zenobia – who was queen of what’s now Syria in the third century BC – definitely deserves to be. That’s because she took on the might of the Roman empire and, for a short time at least, emerged victorious. So how did she succeed where so many others failed? Was she a skilled leader, or merely an opportunist taking advantage of her opponent’s weakened circumstances?
In this episode, historian and author Shushma Malik talks to Mike Soutar about the remarkable story of this forgotten female leader – and whether her eventual downfall can offer any lessons about the dangers of aiming too high.

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GO BEYOND THE PODCAST

For more on Zenobia's life and times, don’t miss our curated collection of articles, podcasts and videos: https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/beyond-the-podcast-historys-greatest-leaders/

Watch Mike’s interview with Shushma on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@historyextra

And check out the HistoryExtra app for our full archive here: https://www.historyextra.com/the-historyextra-app/

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