Pierre Le Moyne's La Gallerie des femmes fortes is a "collection" of twenty famous women from ancient, biblical and recent history. A chapter is devoted to each woman, containing a narrative of her life and a moral commentary on the virtues the woman exemplifies. The Gallerie is dedicated to Anne of Austria, who was queen regent of France at the time of its publication.

Zenobia was queen of the Roman colony of Palmyra, in present-day Syria, from 267/8 to 272 CE, after her husband was assassinated. As regent for her young son, she led a military conquest of Asia Minor and declared independence from Rome, although she was eventually defeated and taken captive.