Septimius Zabbai

Zabbai was a Palmyrene man who lived in the third century, and likely belonged to the upper-class of Palmyra. An obscure figure, he is mainly known from Queen Zenobia's Palmyrene name mentioned in Palmyrene inscriptions, sptymy'btzby, which translates to Septimia Daughter of Zabbai. Zenobia's Palmyrene name might hint at her family origins, and might tie with the medieval tradition recorded by medieval Persian scholar Al-Tabari that she was the daughter of an Arab sheikh. Zenobia however, might've not been Zabbai's daughter, but the inscription might rather mean that she belonged to a family whose ancestral head was Zabbai.

Septimius Zabbai

Zabbai was a Palmyrene man who lived in the third century, and likely belonged to the upper-class of Palmyra. An obscure figure, he is mainly known from Queen Zenobia's Palmyrene name mentioned in Palmyrene inscriptions, sptymy'btzby, which translates to Septimia Daughter of Zabbai. Zenobia's Palmyrene name might hint at her family origins, and might tie with the medieval tradition recorded by medieval Persian scholar Al-Tabari that she was the daughter of an Arab sheikh. Zenobia however, might've not been Zabbai's daughter, but the inscription might rather mean that she belonged to a family whose ancestral head was Zabbai.