Page:Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia; also, The Man Without a Name.djvu/102

86 Zenobia, queen of Palmyra, said to be descended from Ptolemus and Cleopatras. She was a pupil of the famous Longinus; spoke Latin, Egyptian, and Greek. She wrote an epitome of the history of Egypt; was, besides, admired for her beauty, chastity, sobriety, and extraordinary courage. She married Odenatus, a Saracen prince, who was much devoted to her. She was besieged in Palmyra by the Emperor Aurelius in 172; which town, after a most desperate resistance, was finally taken. In her latter days she lived in a villa near Rome.