But this is the only legacy I can leave you upon my death, and I wish with all my heart that this quality may pass from my heart into yours, so that even if you cannot be queens, you can at least rule over yourselves. If someone had a reason to despair because of an excess fate, I would certainly have been it, for I had more glory than any woman has ever been able to obtain. My distress has also been the most pitiful ever heard. You know that on my side, you can count among your ancestors the kings of Egypt from the line of the Ptolemies, and I am descended from the noble lineage of Cleopatra. But alas! It seems that the submission that Aurelian destined for me came to me by right of succession, and I only survived it. Yet fate has treated me even more inhumanely, for I followed a chariot I thought I was driving and that I had built to triumph over the one who had defeated me. You also know that the beginning of my life was filled only with happiness.
       
        The valiant Odenathus, your father and my husband, after giving me the crown of Palmyra, wanted me to share with him the glory of his conquests. I can say without pretension or disrespect to the memory of this remarkable man that if he had granted me more power during his lifetime, it would have earned him a few more laurel leaves on the crown that victory had placed on his head. Yes, my daughters, I can say without offending the memory of Odenathus that we conquered the entire East together and, driven by a honorable sentiment, we undertook to avenge ourselves on the Persians for the indignities that Emperor Valerian, captive of Sapor, was enduring while his ungrateful son, Gallienus, indulged in all kinds of pleasures. Yet, Odenathus did not fail to send back all the prisoners that we made during that war. We conquered the best cities of Mesopotamia and Nisibis, which my husband enslaved. Continuing our victory, we defeated a multitude of Persians near Ctesiphon. We had several satraps imprisoned, and their king himself fled. Almost always victorious in all battles where we found ourselves, glory has praised Odenathus's valour a lot, so that eventually Gallienus, driven by fear rather than gratitude, made him a friend of the Empire. To honor him even more, medals were struck where my Odenathus dragged captive Persians. Until then, I had only known joy. Victory and fate also favored me. But alas! Can I say it? My Odenathus and my eldest son were murdered, and I swung from one end to the other, from joy to misery. My daughters, that's where I needed all my determination to bear this misfortune. The loss of Odenathus is undoubtedly what has made my loss of freedom less painful. I had more trouble following my husband to the grave than following Aurelian's chariot. The funeral of Odenathus caused a lot more tears than the splendor of the victory celebrated in honor of my capture. But despite my enormous grief, I did not lament. I thought about preserving the empire for my children and washing away the blood he had shed with the blood of his murderers.
 
 
 
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