Zenobia or Al-Zabbāʾ: The modern Arab literary reception of the Palmyran protagonist

Historical sources present us with two Zenobia of Palmyra characters. In the Greco-Latin sources she is the leader of a great rebellion against the Roman Empire. That is the most commonly known version. There is, however, a second historiography of Zenobia. This Arab version presents us with a very different tale, in which Zenobia (al-Zabbāʾ) struggles in the context of Arab tribal warfare. This article is concerned with the way modern Arab authors have revived the memory of Zenobia. A key question will be which version of history was adopted by modern Arab authors, and why. This will involve a close reading of texts that will bring into play discussion of ideology, (anti-)colonialism and gender equality.