The Vase of Zenobia

The Vase of Zenobia
Origin	Septimia Zenobia
Type	Syrian Vase
Effects	Transmutes water to gold
Downsides	None Identified
Activation	Filling with water
Collected by	Warehouse 3
Section	N/A
Aisle	N/A
Date of Collection	272 C.E.
[Source]

Origin

Zenobia (c. 240 C.E.) was a Syrian Queen of the Palmyrene Empire, a splinter state of the Roman Empire which formed during the Crisis of the Third Century. Originally lead by her husband Odaenathus, she became regent of the empire when he was assassinated in 267.

Zenobia's rise to power was well supported; as ruler of a multicultural state, Zenobia's intelligence, multilingualism, and religious tolerance (as well as bravery and hunting skill) created a court that appealed to many groups within the empire. Palmyra became an academic city, which may have been part of Zenobia's plans to pull power from the internally collapsing Roman Empire.

Her expansion of the Palmyrene Empire and it's fortification, though clearly for the benefit of her people, were never explicitly against the interests of the Roman Empire, until 271. After the invasion and annexation of Egypt in the year prior prompted little resistance from Roman leadership, she assigned herself and her son imperial titles so as to claim equal footing with Rome.

In 272, the Roman Emperor Aurelian marched against her. Zenobia was able to evade capture three times, first from the city of Daphne and then the city of Esema, and finally Palmyra itself, before she was caught trying to cross the Euphrates River with her son. Her final fate is a mystery, though it is presumed she was paraded in golden chains during Aurelian's victory parade, and was either executed or married to a noble.

Effects

How the vase's abilities came to be is unknown, although it was stored in Zenobia's treasury in Esema, and was on her person when she was captured. Likely taken from the treasury as means to rebuild her empire in face of it's destruction, the vase has the ability to transmute water held within it into gold.

Collection

Warehouse records indicate Zenobia was using the vase to create a bridge of gold across the Euphrates when she was finally caught, and had nearly escaped if not for Aurelian's cavalry arriving in time. When presented with both Zenobia and the artifact, Aurelian reportedly used the latter to create the chains that bound her during his victory parade, before depositing it in the Warehouse.

This vase was destroyed by Agent Pete Lattimer during the events of Grand Designs.