 Following Emperor Aurelian's campaign in the east and the fall of Palmyra, Zabdas, among other notable Palmyrene officials including Cassius Longinus was executed in Emesa after being held on trial by the emperor.Aided by another general of the army, Septimius Zabbai, and Zenobia herself, Zabdas started an expedition against the Tanukhids in the spring of 270, during the reign of emperor Claudius II.Reasons cited for Palmyra's military campaign in Arabia are the weakness of Roman central authority over its eastern provinces and its corresponding inability to protect them, which harmed Palmyra's trade and probably convinced Zenobia that the only way to maintain stability in the East was to control the region directly.