ZENOBIA AND LONGINUS. 359

sure which. The most iilustrious of the senate, the
people, and the army closed this grand procession,
which was gazed upon with joy and wonder by the
vast population of Rome.

So extended was the pompous parade that though
it began with the dawn of day, the ninth hour had
arrived when it ascended to the Capitol, and night:
had fallen when the emperor returned to his palace.
Then followed theatrical representations, games in
the circus, gladiatorial combats, wild-beast shows,
and naval engagements. Not for generations had
Rome seen such a festival. Of the rich spoils a
considerable portion were dedicated to the gods of
Rome, the temples glittered with golden offerings,
and the Temple of the Sun, a magnificent structure
erected by Aurelian, was enriched with more than
fifteen thousand pounds of gold.

To Zenobia the victor behaved with a generous
clemency such as the conquering emperors of Rome
rarely indulged in. He presented her with an ele-
gant villa at Tibur, or Tivola, about twenty miles
from the imperial city; and here, surrounded by
luxury, she who had played so imperial a réle in his-
tory sank into the humbler state of a Roman matron,
Her daughters married into noble families, and the
descendants of the once Queen of the East were still
known in Rome in the fifth century of the Christian
era.