Palmyra and Zenobia

In late October 2026 AFP reported that Syria's new electronic textbooks had dropped some images, including statues emblematic of ancient Syrian civilisations, part of a wider debate over textbook changes; a year and a half earlier there had been an argument over whether Queen Zenobia would stay in the lessons. This film explains who she was and the city she ruled: Palmyra, or Tadmor, an oasis in the Syrian desert that grew rich on caravans between the Roman and Parthian empires; its temples, colonnaded street, bilingual tax law and tomb portraits; Odaenathus, who defended Rome's East against Persia; Zenobia, who ruled for her young son and took Egypt and much of Anatolia in 270 and 271; Aurelian's campaign of 272 and the city's destruction in 273; and the ruins today, from UNESCO listing in 1980 to the destruction of 2015 to 2017 and the debate over restoration.

Palmyra and Zenobia

An oasis city between two empires, and the queen who defied Rome.

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