Mavia (queen)
Encyclopedia
Mavia, was an Arab
warrior-queen
, who ruled over a confederation of semi-nomad
ic Arabs, in southern Syria
, in the latter half of the fourth century. She led her troops in a rebellion against Roman rule
, riding at the head of her army into Phoenicia
and Palestine
. After reaching the frontiers of Ancient Egypt
and repeatedly defeating the Roman army, the Romans finally made a truce with her on conditions she laid. The Romans later called upon her for assistance when being attacked by the Goths
, to which she responded by sending a fleet of cavalry
.
Considered to be "the most powerful woman in the late antique Arab world
after Zenobia
," much of what is known about Mavia comes from early, almost contemporaneous accounts, such as the writings of Rufinus
, thought to be derived from a now lost account by Gelasius of Caeserea
. Later authors transformed her into a Christian
of Roman
stock, though she was evidently Arab, and perhaps initially pagan.
name was Mawiyya, were Tanukhids
, a loose affiliation of Arab tribes that migrated northwards from the Arabian peninsula
a century before Mavia was born, because of growing Sassanian influence in Iran
. Mavia's husband was al-Hawari, the last king of the semi-nomadic Tanukh confederation in southern Syria in the latter half of the fourth century. When he died in 375 CE without leaving an heir, Mavia rose to command the confederation in a revolt against Roman rule that extended throughout the Levant
.
The reasons for the revolt are thought to have been religious. After al-Hawari's death, the Roman emperor Valens
, an Arian
heterodox, decided to disregard the requests of the Arabs for an orthodox bishop, insisting on the appointment of an Arian bishop instead. Mavia withdrew from Aleppo
into the desert with her people, forming alliances with desert Arabs and gaining support throughout much of Arabia and Syria, in preparation for the fight against Roman rule. It is unclear as to whether Mavia herself was Christian at this time or not. Some historians report that it was during her military exploits that she met an ascetic monk
who so impressed her that she converted to orthodox Christianity. All agree, however, that the conditions she set for any truce with Rome, was this monk's appointment as bishop
over her people.
a century earlier. Her forces, which she often led personally, swept into Arabia and Palestine and reached the edges of Egypt, defeating the armies of Rome many times. Because she and the Tanukhids had left Aleppo to use the desert as their base, the Romans were left without a standing target upon which to inflict retribution. Mavia's highly mobile units, using classic guerilla warfare tactics, conducted numerous raids
and frustrated Roman attempts to subdue the revolt.
Mavia and her forces proved themselves to be superior to Roman forces in open battle as well. A century of having fought alongside Roman forces meant that they were familiar with Roman tactics and easily defeated the forces of the Roman governor over Palestine
and Phonecia, the first to be sent in to crush the revolt. She gained favour among townspeople in the region, sympathetic to her cause as well, and it seemed as though the whole Roman East would break away to be ruled by Mavia and her Arabs.
A second force, led by the Roman military commander of the East himself, was sent out to meet Mavia's forces in open battle. Personally leading her forces into battle, Mavia proved to be not only an able political leader but also a strong field tactician. Her forces, using Roman battlefield techniques and their own traditional fighting methods had a highly mobile cavalry that used long lances with deadly effect. The Romans were defeated, and it was not the first time they had been humiliated at the hands of a woman. This time, however, they had no indigenous forces to call upon for help as had been the case in their battles against Zenobia, since it was the Tanukh confederation they were now fighting, that had come to their aid then. Valens had no choice but to sue for peace.
efforts in the Levant
. For example, Rufinus
writes,
Socrates of Constantinople writes of these same events, and notes that Moses
, "a Saracen by birth, who led a monastic life in the desert" had become "exceedingly eminent for his piety
, faith
and miracles." He suggested that Mavia was "therefore desirous that this person should be constituted bishop over her nation
, and promised on this condition to terminate the war." Mavia's firm commitment to the truce, as exemplified in her marrying her daughter to Victor, the commander-in-chief of the Roman army, is also noted by Socrates.
Sozomen
provides even more detail on Mavia, referred to in his text as Mania, describing her rule, and the history of her people, whom he calls "Saracens". He writes that they are Ishmaelites
, descended from the son of Hagar
, Abraham
's concubine, and that they name their children after Sarah
, so as not to be regarded as sons of Hagar, and therefore as slaves. Of battle with "Mania, who commanded her own troops in person," Sozomen writes that it was considered "arduous" and "perilous", and that the general of the entire cavalry and infantry of the East had to be "rescued with difficulty" from battle against her and her troops by the general of the troops of Palestine
and Phonecia.
As part of the truce agreement, Mavia sent her forces to Thrace
to help the Roman fight the Goths
. Her forces proved less effective outside of their native territory and the Goths pushed the Romans back to Constantinople
, even killing Valens, the emperor, in the process. Mavia's forces returned home, badly bruised and depleted in number. The new emperor, Theodosius I
, favored the Goths, giving them many positions within the Roman establishment, at the expense of the Arabs. After having demonstrated their loyalty to Rome, the Arabs felt increasingly betrayed and mounted another revolt in 383 CE. This revolt was quickly put down and the Tanukh-Roman alliance ended for good, as Rome courted another Arab tribe, the Salih.
It is not known whether Mavia commanded this second revolt or not as there is no mention of its leadership. It is known that she died in Anasartha
, east of Aleppo in the heart of the Tanukh tribal territory, where there is an inscription recording her death there in 425 CE.
. For example, Irfan Shahid notes that the armies of both queens reached the same waterway dividing Asia
from Europe
, with Mavia even crossing the Bosporus
into Byzantium
. Noting the absence of any mention of Mavia in Zosimus
' work who was familiar with the writings of Sozomen and Socrates, Shahid concludes this omission is deliberate since it did not accord with the Zosimus' thesis regarding the destructive effects of the Christianization and barbarization he associated with Constantine I
's reforms. Shahid writes that, "The contrast between the careers of the two Arab queens - the first belonging to the world of the third century, pagan and disloyal to Rome, the second belonging to the new world of the fourth century, Christian and loyal - would have been attributed only to the success of the Constantinian experiment."
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
warrior-queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
, who ruled over a confederation of semi-nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic Arabs, in southern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, in the latter half of the fourth century. She led her troops in a rebellion against Roman rule
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, riding at the head of her army into Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. After reaching the frontiers of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and repeatedly defeating the Roman army, the Romans finally made a truce with her on conditions she laid. The Romans later called upon her for assistance when being attacked by the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, to which she responded by sending a fleet of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
.
Considered to be "the most powerful woman in the late antique Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
after Zenobia
Zenobia
Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...
," much of what is known about Mavia comes from early, almost contemporaneous accounts, such as the writings of Rufinus
Tyrannius Rufinus
Tyrannius Rufinus or Rufinus of Aquileia was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is most known as a translator of Greek patristic material into Latin—especially the work of Origen.-Life:...
, thought to be derived from a now lost account by Gelasius of Caeserea
Gelasius of Cyzicus
Gelasius of Cyzicus was an ecclesiastical writer in the fifth century. The often attributed name Gelasius is an error of Photius I of Constantinople and of the editor of the editio princeps; the anonymous author never mentioned his name....
. Later authors transformed her into a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
stock, though she was evidently Arab, and perhaps initially pagan.
Biography
The ancestors of Mavia, whose ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name was Mawiyya, were Tanukhids
Tanukhids
The Tanûkhids or Tanukh were originally from the Qahtani confederation of Arab tribes, sometimes characterized as Saracens. They first rose to prominence in northern Arabia and south of Syria in the 3rd century BCE...
, a loose affiliation of Arab tribes that migrated northwards from the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
a century before Mavia was born, because of growing Sassanian influence in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Mavia's husband was al-Hawari, the last king of the semi-nomadic Tanukh confederation in southern Syria in the latter half of the fourth century. When he died in 375 CE without leaving an heir, Mavia rose to command the confederation in a revolt against Roman rule that extended throughout the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
.
The reasons for the revolt are thought to have been religious. After al-Hawari's death, the Roman emperor Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
, an Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
heterodox, decided to disregard the requests of the Arabs for an orthodox bishop, insisting on the appointment of an Arian bishop instead. Mavia withdrew from Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
into the desert with her people, forming alliances with desert Arabs and gaining support throughout much of Arabia and Syria, in preparation for the fight against Roman rule. It is unclear as to whether Mavia herself was Christian at this time or not. Some historians report that it was during her military exploits that she met an ascetic monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who so impressed her that she converted to orthodox Christianity. All agree, however, that the conditions she set for any truce with Rome, was this monk's appointment as bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
over her people.
Details of the revolt
It was in the spring of 378 CE that Mavia launched the massive revolt against the central government, often compared to that launched by ZenobiaZenobia
Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...
a century earlier. Her forces, which she often led personally, swept into Arabia and Palestine and reached the edges of Egypt, defeating the armies of Rome many times. Because she and the Tanukhids had left Aleppo to use the desert as their base, the Romans were left without a standing target upon which to inflict retribution. Mavia's highly mobile units, using classic guerilla warfare tactics, conducted numerous raids
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
and frustrated Roman attempts to subdue the revolt.
Mavia and her forces proved themselves to be superior to Roman forces in open battle as well. A century of having fought alongside Roman forces meant that they were familiar with Roman tactics and easily defeated the forces of the Roman governor over Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Phonecia, the first to be sent in to crush the revolt. She gained favour among townspeople in the region, sympathetic to her cause as well, and it seemed as though the whole Roman East would break away to be ruled by Mavia and her Arabs.
A second force, led by the Roman military commander of the East himself, was sent out to meet Mavia's forces in open battle. Personally leading her forces into battle, Mavia proved to be not only an able political leader but also a strong field tactician. Her forces, using Roman battlefield techniques and their own traditional fighting methods had a highly mobile cavalry that used long lances with deadly effect. The Romans were defeated, and it was not the first time they had been humiliated at the hands of a woman. This time, however, they had no indigenous forces to call upon for help as had been the case in their battles against Zenobia, since it was the Tanukh confederation they were now fighting, that had come to their aid then. Valens had no choice but to sue for peace.
As recorded by church historians
Church historians record Mavia's exploits, focusing in particular on the condition she set for the truce she procured from the Romans, which is considered to be important to early Christian evangelicalEvangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
efforts in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. For example, Rufinus
Tyrannius Rufinus
Tyrannius Rufinus or Rufinus of Aquileia was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is most known as a translator of Greek patristic material into Latin—especially the work of Origen.-Life:...
writes,
"Mavia, queen of the Saracens, had begun to convulse the villages and towns on the border of PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Arabia with a violent warWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and to ravage the neighboring provinces. After she had worn down the Roman armyRoman armyThe Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
in several battles, had felled a great many, and had put the remainder to flight, she was asked to make peacePeacePeace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, which she did on the condition already declared: that a certain monk Moses be ordained bishop for her people."
Socrates of Constantinople writes of these same events, and notes that Moses
Moses (bishop)
Moses or St Moses spent many years in the fourth century as a hermit on the fringes of the Roman empire between Egypt and Syria, before becoming the first Arab bishop of the Arab people...
, "a Saracen by birth, who led a monastic life in the desert" had become "exceedingly eminent for his piety
Piety
In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality, or a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.- Etymology :...
, faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and miracles." He suggested that Mavia was "therefore desirous that this person should be constituted bishop over her nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
, and promised on this condition to terminate the war." Mavia's firm commitment to the truce, as exemplified in her marrying her daughter to Victor, the commander-in-chief of the Roman army, is also noted by Socrates.
Sozomen
Sozomen
Salminius Hermias Sozomenus was a historian of the Christian church.-Family and Home:He was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christian family of Palestine....
provides even more detail on Mavia, referred to in his text as Mania, describing her rule, and the history of her people, whom he calls "Saracens". He writes that they are Ishmaelites
Ishmaelites
According to the Book of Genesis, Ishmaelites are the descendants of Ishmael, the elder son of Abraham.-Traditional Origins:According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham's first wife was named Sarah and his second wife Hagar. However Sarah was old and barren, and could not conceive...
, descended from the son of Hagar
Hagar (Bible)
Hagar , according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an...
, Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
's concubine, and that they name their children after Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
, so as not to be regarded as sons of Hagar, and therefore as slaves. Of battle with "Mania, who commanded her own troops in person," Sozomen writes that it was considered "arduous" and "perilous", and that the general of the entire cavalry and infantry of the East had to be "rescued with difficulty" from battle against her and her troops by the general of the troops of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Phonecia.
Aftermath
Moses was appointed the first Arab bishop of the Arabs, and an incipient Arab church began to emerge in the Roman East, attracting many Tanukh from Mesapotamia. Mavia also managed to regain the Tanukh's allied status and the privileges they enjoyed prior to Julian's reign. At the war's conclusion, Mavia's daughter, Princess Chasidat, was married to a devout Nicene commander in Rome's army, Victor, to cement the alliance. It was thus that Mavia brought the Arabs a just peace; however, it did not last long.As part of the truce agreement, Mavia sent her forces to Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
to help the Roman fight the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
. Her forces proved less effective outside of their native territory and the Goths pushed the Romans back to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, even killing Valens, the emperor, in the process. Mavia's forces returned home, badly bruised and depleted in number. The new emperor, Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
, favored the Goths, giving them many positions within the Roman establishment, at the expense of the Arabs. After having demonstrated their loyalty to Rome, the Arabs felt increasingly betrayed and mounted another revolt in 383 CE. This revolt was quickly put down and the Tanukh-Roman alliance ended for good, as Rome courted another Arab tribe, the Salih.
It is not known whether Mavia commanded this second revolt or not as there is no mention of its leadership. It is known that she died in Anasartha
Anasartha
Anasartha was a large village enclosed within ramparts in western Syria. Malalas records that it was a kastron that was designated a polis by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I....
, east of Aleppo in the heart of the Tanukh tribal territory, where there is an inscription recording her death there in 425 CE.
Comparisons with Zenobia
More recent scholarship has approached Mavia within the context of the history of Arab warrior queens who preceded her, most prominent among them, ZenobiaZenobia
Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...
. For example, Irfan Shahid notes that the armies of both queens reached the same waterway dividing Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with Mavia even crossing the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
into Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. Noting the absence of any mention of Mavia in Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
' work who was familiar with the writings of Sozomen and Socrates, Shahid concludes this omission is deliberate since it did not accord with the Zosimus' thesis regarding the destructive effects of the Christianization and barbarization he associated with Constantine I
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
's reforms. Shahid writes that, "The contrast between the careers of the two Arab queens - the first belonging to the world of the third century, pagan and disloyal to Rome, the second belonging to the new world of the fourth century, Christian and loyal - would have been attributed only to the success of the Constantinian experiment."
Additional bibliography
- Salmonson, Jessica Amanda.(1991) The Encyclopedia of Amazons. Paragon House. Page 177. ISBN 1-55778-420-5