Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, as well as large parts of Asia Minor.

The Palmyrene Empire was ruled by Queen Zenobia, officially as regent for her son Vaballathus, who inherited the throne in 267 at age ten.

In 271, she claimed the imperial title for both herself and her son, fighting a short war with the Roman emperor Aurelian, who conquered Palmyra and captured Zenobia.

[note 3][21] Odaenathus was assassinated along with his son Hairan in 267;[12] according to Joannes Zonaras and the Historia Augusta, he was killed by his cousin, whose name is given by the latter source as Maeonius.

[27] The queen was careful not to provoke Rome and took for herself and her son the titles that her husband had, while working on guaranteeing the safety of the borders with Persia, and pacifying the dangerous Tanukhid tribes in Hauran.

[40] The Roman general Tenagino Probus was able to regain Alexandria in November, but was defeated and escaped to the fortress of Babylon, where he was besieged and committed suicide after being captured by Zabdas, who continued his march south and secured Egypt.

[46] According to one account, Marcus Aurelius Probus regained Egypt from Palmyra,[note 5][47] while the emperor continued his march and reached Tyana.

[65] In 273, Palmyra rebelled under the leadership of a citizen named Septimius Apsaios,[66] and contacted the Roman prefect of Mesopotamia, Marcellinus, offering to help him usurp the imperial power.

[66] Marcellinus delayed the negotiations and sent word to the Roman emperor,[66] while the rebels lost their patience and declared a relative of Zenobia named Antiochus as Augustus.

[67] Aurelian marched against Palmyra and was helped by a Palmyrene faction from inside the city, headed by a man with a senatorial rank named Septimius Haddudan.

[61] The ultimate motive behind the revolt is debated; when dealing with the rise of Palmyra and the rebellion of Zenobia, historians most often interpreted the ascendancy as an indication of cultural, ethnic or social factors.

[72][73] Mark Whittow disagreed that the revolt was ethnic in its nature and emphasized that it was a reaction to the weakness of Rome and its inability to protect Palmyra from the Persians.

[76] Fergus Millar, although tending toward the view that it was not only an independence movement, believes there is not yet enough evidence to draw a conclusion on the nature of Palmyra's revolt.

[79] A Syrian TV show was produced based on Zenobia's life, and she was the subject of a biography written by Syria's former minister of defense Mustafa Tlass.