Representations of the palmirenian feminine: the uses of the past of Queen Zenobia

• Grant number: 21/02551-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Paulo Abreu Funari
• Grantee: Catarina de Faria Rodrigues
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/10859-5 - Zenobia and her reception, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Palmyra, also known as Tadmor, was an ancient city in present-day Syria, popular for its many cultural confluences and trade routes. For these, it also ended up being integrated into the Roman Empire. Nowadays the usage of terms such as acculturation in an uncritical way is considered problematic, therefore the resistance and significance of the natives have been identified by itself. An example of this was Queen Zenobia, who ruled Palmyra between the years AD 268 and AD 272, through rebellions and conquests against Rome. The present project aims to analyze the representations of the feminine in Palmyra, highlighting the importance of Queen Zenobia in sexist and racist speeches, likewise the uses of the past made by the current Syrian regime. This investigation uses sources from Art History, such as statues (modern statues and funerary busts of Palmyra), although it is not limited to them, with the possibility of analyzing and contextualizing other representations of the queen, such as those in old coins, modern bank notes and even literary productions, like the Historia Augusta.