In contrast to his mother's barbaric beauty, young Vaba was dressed quite simply… He wore the flowing white robes of his Bedawi heritage, but the hood of the garment was pushed back to reveal his strong, handsome face, the dark head topped with a magnificent gold crown. Standing next to his mother on the top steps of the portico, he listened with impassive face as Cassius Longinus, several steps down from them and dressed in an impressive white tunic, intoned in a loud, clear voice to the great mass of humanity who had crowded into the square before the palace.
"Behold, Egypt! Behold Zenobia, Queen of the East, and her son, Vaballathus, Augustus of the Eastern Empire!"
Three times the queen's favorite councillor called out, each time followed by a great trumpet fanfare. The crowds cheered and shouted their approval of Zenobia and her son. Longinus looked up at the queen, and said so just she might hear, "Rome will not fail to notice this demonstration, Majesty."
"Then let them be warned, Longinus," was the icy reply.
Aurelian was indeed warned, and in far less time than Zenobia had anticipated. On the very day that Zenobia had proclaimed herself Queen of the East, and her son Augustus of the Eastern Empire, a Roman spy in Alexandria let loose a pigeon. The pigeon, a small capsule attached to his leg, flew to the city of Cyrene, where his message was transferred to the leg of another bird, who flew to Lepcis Magna; then to another who flew to Carthage; and yet another who traversed the length of Sicily. The last bird left Sicily, rested overnight at a cote in Naples, and within a week the message from Alexandria had arrived in Rome.
Eagerly the emperor removed the message from the capsule carried by the last bird; and a slow, satisfied smile spread over his face as he read it.
"It is good news, Caesar?"
"Yes, Gaius Cicero, it is very good news. Praise the gods for creating women to be predictable. The Queen of Palmyra has done exactly what I expected her to do, and now we may march against her."
"Zenobia of Palmyra, sir? But I thought she was our ally?" Gaius Cicero looked puzzled. "Has she not kept the peace for us in the eastern provinces since her husband died? Why are we to march against her?"
"Because, my dear Gaius, the Queen of Palmyra has just seven days ago had the temerity to declare herself Queen of the East, and her son Augustus of the Eastern Empire."
Gaius Cicero sought out his old friend, Marcus Alexander, at his new home in Tivoli. "The Queen of Palmyra has revolted against Rome, and the legions will soon march," he announced. "Will Rome prevail, Marcus?"
"Rome must prevail, Gaius, although I now question my own loyalty to a rotting empire."
Gaius Cicero shook his head. "It will take more than a war with Palmyra to turn Rome from the path of decay."
"Will you be going with the emperor?"
"Of course!"
"Then you will have an opportunity that I have not had, Gaius. The Queen of Palmyra was to have been my wife. Tell her that I yet love her, that my marriage is but a sham. I was not able to communicate with Zenobia after my return. Do this for me, Gaius, for the sake of our long friendship, I beg you!"
Gaius Cicero saw the pain that lurked within his friend's eyes. He knew the cost to Marcus's pride to have to ask even as old a friend as he to relay such a personal message. "I will gladly take your message, Marcus," he said. He was very surprised by his old friend's revelation, and for the briefest of moments Gaius Cicero had doubts about the emperor's conduct in this matter. Then he thought of the good Aurelian had accomplished in his short tenure as emperor. What were the problems of two lovers in light of such greatness?
Aurelian marched east, his troops departing from Brindisi, then ferrying across the Adriatic to Apollonia in Macedonia. From there they marched into Thrace, crossing the water once again to Dar-danus in Asia Minor. The emperor moved at a steady pace, stopping to reassert imperial authority in major towns, allowing the local officials to tell him that they could not be blamed for assuming that Zenobia, like her late husband, Odenathus, spoke for imperial Rome. Aurelian agreed, nodding wisely, laughing silently to himself at their quick defection from Palmyra's queen, and levying token fines to impress upon them Rome's authority.
Before the walls of Antioch Aurelian met in battle with Zen-obia's general, Zabdas. No one was more surprised than the Palmyrans, for they had not expected the Romans for some time, and yet suddenly here they were. The force commanded by General Zabdas was small, the bulk of the army being with the queen in Alexandria. Though they fought well, and bravely against the legions, they were overcome. Zabdas fell back to Emesa, leaving Antioch to the Romans. But securing the city, they quickly followed him and defeated him a second time at Emesa. His small force virtually wiped out, Zabdas fell on his sword, ending his life, but satisfying honor.
Aurelian might then have crossed the hundred miles between Emesa and Palmyra, securing Palmyra in its king and queen's absence and taking its regent, Prince Demetrius, prisoner. That he did not he was to regret. So far he had not lost many men to battle, disease, or fatigue, and he was feeling invincible. Swiftly he moved his army down through Palestine, avoiding as many towns and villages as he could, for surprise was to be his greatest weapon. In Emesa and Antioch his authorities made very sure that no messenger escaped the city to warn Palmyra's queen. They would meet in Alexandria!
The emperor, however, was doomed to disappointment for in a quirk of fate the armies of Rome and those of Palmyra passed within a few miles of each other in the Egyptian desert of Gaza, and neither saw the other. Zenobia, having made her position clear in Alexandria, was hurrying home to await Rome's answer. Aurelian arrived in Egypt's premier city to find his quarry gone, and what was worse, the Alexandrians were not one bit repentant of their support of Palmyra's queen. In retaliation Aurelian set fire to their famous library. By the time the fire was contained, many of its valuable books had been destroyed.
When Zenobia reached her beloved city she found surprising news waiting for her. The enemy was almost at her gates. On the battlefield at Emesa one Palmyran had pretended to be among the casualties, then waited until dark before making good his escape. He had had no supplies or water to aid him; but he was of Bedawi parentage, and tough. It had taken him five days to reach the Qasr-al-Hêr fortress, where he told his story before collapsing. Rufus Curius had immediately sent word to Palmyra.
"But how could Aurelian have heard so quickly?" Zenobia was puzzled.
"The Romans have been known to use pigeons to carry messages," Longinus said. "The message was most likely sent from Alexandria, Majesty."
"And Aurelian has come himself?" she mused. "He will find that Palmyra's legions are not so easily beaten. General Zabdas's defeat will have made the Romans overconfident."
"You don't propose to meet them in open battle, Majesty?"
"No. We will withdraw within Palmyra, and then wait. I am curious to see how long the Romans can survive in our desert, Longinus. Send a message to Rufus Curius. I want all civilians withdrawn from Qasr-al-Hêr immediately, and only a token force left at the fortress. Those who remain are to poison the wells and build upon the highest tower the makings of a bonfire. At the first sign of Aurelian they are to light the fire as a beacon to Palmyra and men retreat. It is easy to fight in the forests of Gaul, where the dew drips from the very branches of the trees, but here in the desert how long will Rome's legions last without water? With luck we will not lose one Palmyran to Aurelian's armies."
The order was sent, and soon the people who had made the Qasr-al-Hêr fortress their home began arriving, crowding the desert road from the west with their carts and livestock. Most had relatives within the city that they might stay with. For those who did not, the queen offered shelter within properties owned by the royal family.