Mavia, (also transliterated Mawia, Mawai, or Mawaiy, and sometimes referred to as Mania) is an Arab warrior-queen who rules over a confederation of semi-nomadic Arabs, in southern Syria, in the latter half of the fourth century.
She leads her troops in a rebellion against Roman rule, riding at the head of her army into Phoenicia and Palestine.
After reaching the frontiers of Ancient Egypt and repeatedly defeating the Roman army, the Romans finally make a truce with her on conditions she stipulates.
The Romans later call upon her for assistance when being attacked by the Goths, to which she responds by sending a fleet of cavalry.
Considered to be "the most powerful woman in the late antique Arab world after Zenobia," much of what is known about Mavia comes from early, almost contemporaneous accounts, such as the writings of Rufinus, thought to be derived from a now lost account by Gelasius of Caeserea.
Later authors transformed her into a Christian of Roman stock, though she was evidently Arab, and perhaps initially pagan.
(Source: Bowersock, Glen Warren; Brown, Peter; Brown, Peter Robert Lamont; Grabar, Oleg (1999), Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World, Harvard University Press)
