Short answers, pulled from the story.
Zenobia was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria, born around 240. She governed as regent for her son Vaballathus after the assassination of her husband Odaenathus in 267, and declared herself empress in 272 before being defeated and captured by the Roman emperor Aurelian.
Zenobia conquered most of the Roman East between 270 and 271, annexing Arabia Petraea, Egypt, and much of Asia Minor. At its peak her realm stretched from Ancyra in central Anatolia to Upper Egypt, making the Palmyrene Empire one of the largest powers of the third century.
Zenobia was defeated by the Roman emperor Aurelian in 272 at the battles of Immae and Emesa. She was captured near the Euphrates while riding toward Persia and was taken to Rome, where most ancient historians say she appeared in Aurelian's triumph of 274 and survived it.
Zenobia's native Palmyrene Aramaic name was Bat-Zabbai, meaning daughter of Zabbai. She bore the Roman surname Septimia, and her full official title during her reign was Septimia Zenobia Augusta. The name Zenobia derives from the Greek Zenobios and translates as one whose life derives from Zeus.
Aurelian spared Zenobia from execution to display her in his triumph. According to the Augustan History, she was afterward given a villa at Tibur near Hadrian's Villa, where she lived with her children. Ancient sources differ on whether she also married a Roman nobleman or senator. She died after 274.
Zenobia is regarded as a patriotic symbol in Syria because she built and defended an empire centered on the Syrian city of Palmyra, challenging Rome at the height of its power. Syrian nationalist writers in the nineteenth century, including Ilyas Matar and Jurji Yanni, cast her as an emblem of Syrian greatness, and her image appeared on Syrian banknotes. The 1997 television series Al-Ababeed used her story to represent modern Syrian political struggles.