The stance of the Roman empire towards Palmyrene authority in Egypt and the east in general is debated,[14] Aurelian's acceptance of Palmyrene rule in Egypt may be inferred from the Oxyrhynchus papyri, which are dated by the regnal years of the emperor and Vaballathus.[15][16] Although it was extremely unlikely that Aurelian would have accepted such power-sharing,[15] he was unable to act due to crises in the west.[14][15] It has been suggested that his apparent condoning of Zenobia's actions may have been a ruse to give the queen a false sense of security to buy time to prepare for war.[14][15]