Ancient Assyrians

thumb|Semiramis, a legendary figure based on the life of Shammuramat, depicted as an armed Amazons|Amazon in an eighteenth-century Italian illustration Semiramis (; Šammīrām, Šamiram, , Samīrāmīs) was the legendary Lydian-Babylonian wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who drew primarily from the works of Ctesias of Cnidus, describe her and her relationships to Onnes and King Ninus.

Shammuramat (Akkadian: Sammu-rāmat or Sammu-ramāt), also known as Sammuramat or Shamiram and Semiramis, was a powerful queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Beginning her career as the primary consort of the king Shamshi-Adad V (824–811 BC), Shammuramat reached an unusually prominent position in the reign of her son Adad-nirari III (811–783 BC). Though there is dispute in regard to Shammuramat's formal status and position, and if she should be considered a co-regent, it is clear that she was among the most powerful and influential women of the ancient Near East and the Iron Age in general; she is

thumb|Portrait from Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum (1553) by [[Guillaume Rouillé]] Ninus (), according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was the founder of Nineveh (also called Νίνου πόλις "city of Ninus" in Greek), ancient capital of Assyria. What figure or figures he may have been based on is uncertain; an identification with Shamshi-Adad I, Shamshi-Adad V, and/or a conflation of the two has been suggested.

right|thumb|Artemisia Gentileschi's painting Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1614–1620thumb|Judith with the Head of Holofernes by Cristofano Allori, 1613Holofernes (; ) was an invading Assyrian general in the Book of Judith, who was beheaded by Judith, who entered his camp and decapitated him while he was intoxicated.

Naqiʾa or Naqia (Akkadian: , also known as Zakūtu (), was a wife of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC) and the mother of his son and successor Esarhaddon (681–669). Naqiʾa is the best documented woman in the history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and she reached an unprecedented level of prominence and public visibility; she was perhaps the most influential woman in Assyrian history. She is one of the few ancient Assyrian women to be depicted in artwork, to commission her own building projects, and to be granted laudatory epithets in letters by courtiers. She is also the only known an

Puzur-Sin was an Assyrian king in the 18th century BC, during the Old Assyrian period.

Shamshi-ilu (Šamši-ilu) was an influential court dignitary and commander in chief (turtanu) of the Assyrian army who rose in high prominence.

Ahaha () was an ancient Assyrian investor and one of the earliest documented businesswomen in history. She is known for falling victim to financial fraud and pleading to her brother to retrieve stolen silver for her. It is unknown if her pleas were answered.

thumb|Stele with a depiction of an Assyrian crown prince, dated to Sennacherib's reign. Arda-Mulissu was Sennacherib's longest-serving crown prince but the stele could also depict the earlier [[Ashur-nadin-shumi or later Esarhaddon.]] Arda-Mulissu or Arda-Mulissi (, ), also known as Urdu-Mullissi, Urad-Mullissu and Arad-Ninlil and known in Hebrew writings as Adrammelech ( ʾAḏrammeleḵ), was an ancient Assyrian prince of the Sargonid dynasty, the son of Sennacherib, king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and the older brother of Sennacherib's successor Esarhaddon. Arda-Mulissu served as Sennacherib's

thumb|right|250px|Yahu-Bihdi being flayed alive, from an Assyrian engraving. Yahu-Bihdi (Akkadian: 𒅀𒌑𒁉𒀪𒁲 ia-ú-bi-ʾ-di, "Yahu created me"), also spelled Yahubidi and additionally recorded as Ilu-Bihdi (Akkadian: 𒀭𒁉𒀪𒁲 ìl-bi-ʾ-di, "El created me") was a governor of Hamath appointed by the Assyrian government. He declared himself king of Hamath in 720 BC and led a revolt which was promptly suppressed. Yahu-Bihdi himself was flayed alive. His revolt occurred roughly shortly after the conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Sargon II and roughly simultaneously with revolts in Babylon as well

Libbāli-šarrat (Akkadian: Libbāli-šarrat, meaning "the inner city [=Ishtar?] is queen") was a queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consort of Ashurbanipal (669–631 BC). Libbāli-šarrat married Ashurbanipal before he became king, probably in 672 BC, and may have lived beyond her husband's death, as documents from the reign of her probable son, Ashur-etil-ilani (631–627 BC) reference the "mother of the king". Libbāli-šarrat enjoys the distinction of being the only known individual from ancient Assyria who was not a king to be depicted holding court since she is depicted in one of Ashur

thumb|A statue from the Ur III period recovered from [[Assur, possibly depicting Zariqum]] Zariqum or Zarriqum was a Sumerian governor (šakkanakkum; ) of the city of Assur under the Third Dynasty of Ur, attested there between the 44th year of Shulgi () and the 5th year of Amar-Sin ().

According to Ctesias, Arbaces was one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria and founder of the Median Empire about 830 BC.

Mullissu-mukannishat-Ninua (Akkadian: Mullissu-mukannišat-Nīnua) was a queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consort of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC). She was probably also the mother of his son and successor Shalmaneser III (859–824 BC). Mullissu-mukannishat-Ninua is only known from her tomb, discovered in Nimrud in 1989. She was the daughter of the "great cupbearer" Ashur-nirka-da’’inni and as such probably belonged to the Assyrian aristocracy before she became queen.

Ešarra-ḫammat (, meaning "Ešarra is mistress") was a queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consort of Esarhaddon (681–669 BC). Ešarra-ḫammat had been married to Esarhaddon for over a decade by the time he became king, having married him 695 BC. Few sources from Ešarra-ḫammat's lifetime that mention her are known, and she is thus chiefly known from sources dating to after her death in February 672 BC, an event which deeply affected Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon had a great mausoleum constructed for her, unusual for burials of Assyrian queens, and had her death recorded in the Babylonian Chro

Ilī-padâ or Ili-iḫaddâ, the reading of the name (m)DINGIR.PA.DA being uncertain, was a member of a side-branch of the Assyrian royal family who served as grand vizier, or sukkallu rabi’u, of Assyria, and also as king, or šar, of the dependent state of Ḫanigalbat around 1200 BC. He was a contemporary of the Assyrian king Aššur-nīrāri III, c. 1203–1198 BC (short chronology).

thumb|Šērūʾa-ēṭirat's letter to her younger brother Ashurbanipal's wife [[Libbāli-šarrat, in which she reprimands her for not doing her homework]] Šērūʾa-ēṭirat ( or , meaning "Šerua is the one who saves"), called Saritrah (Demotic: x38pxx38pxx38pxx38pxx38pxx38pxx38pxx38px, ) in later Aramaic texts), was an ancient Assyrian princess of the Sargonid dynasty, the eldest daughter of Esarhaddon and the older sister of his son and successor Ashurbanipal. She is the only one of Esarhaddon's daughters to be known by name and inscriptions listing the royal children suggest that she outranked several o

ancient Mesopotamian women

ancient Assyrian queen

Tashmetu-sharrat (Akkadian: Tašmētu-šarrat or Tašmētum-šarrat, meaning "Tashmetum is queen") was a queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consort of Sennacherib (705–681 BC). Tashmetu-sharrat is mostly known from an inscription by Sennacherib which praises her great beauty and in which the king hopes to spend the rest of his life with her. It is not known which of Sennacherib's children were children of Tashmetu-sharrat; the king's successor Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) was the son of Naqi'a, another woman.