22. Zenobia

The middle of the third century saw unrest and upheaval across the board in the known world – long established empires dwindled into dust and the Roman Empire itself nearly suffered the same fate during a time aptly named the Crisis of the Third Century. Enter Zenobia: clever, opportunistic and proud, Zenobia capitalized on a Rome distracted by invasions from Germanic tribes and deadly infighting. She’ll end up accomplishing what no other woman was able to do before or after; Zenobia will rule one-third of the Roman Empire independent of any male lovers or consort . . . at least for a time. In this episode we also talk about birthdays, taxidermied emperors, fast and the furious [baby] camels and our go-to comfort activities.