The Arabian milestones presented the Palmyrene king as a Roman governor and commander, referring to him as "vir clarissimus rex consul imperator dux Romanorum". The assumption of such titles was probably meant to legitimize Zenobia's control of the province, not yet a usurpation of the imperial title. Until now, Zenobia could say that she was acting as a representative of the emperor (who was securing the eastern lands of the empire) while the Roman monarch was preoccupied with struggles in Europe. Although Vaballathus' use of the titles amounted to a claim to the imperial throne, Zenobia could still justify them and maintain a mask of subordination to Rome; an ""imperator"" was a commander of troops, not the equal of an emperor (""imperator caesar"").