Iaba, Banitu and Atalia

Iaba (also called Yaba), Banitu, and Atalia were queens of the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the primary consorts^[a] of the successive kings Tiglath-Pileser III (r. 745–727 BC), Shalmaneser V (r. 727–722 BC) and Sargon II (r. 722–705 BC), respectively.^[3][4] Little is known of the lives of the three queens; they were not known by name by modern historians prior to the 1989 discovery of a stone sarcophagus among the Queens' tombs at Nimrud which contained objects inscribed with the names of all three women.^[3] The stone sarcophagus, believed to originally have been the tomb of Iaba since her name is on the nearby funerary inscription, presents a problem of identification as it contains objects with the names of three queens, but contains only two skeletons. The conventional interpretation is that the skeletons are those of Iaba (since it was originally her tomb) and Atalia (since her objects have to be the latest in the tomb), but several alternate hypotheses have also been made, such as the idea that Iaba and Banitu could be the same person. Iaba and Banitu being the same person is however not supported by either historical or chronological evidence.^[5][6]

The names of the queens have aroused some interest since out of the three names, only Banitu appears to be an Akkadian (the language of ancient Assyria) name. Various etymological origins have been proposed for the other names; Iaba has variously been identified as a Levantine, Aramean, Arabic or Hebrew name, and Atalia has also variously been identified as Hebrew or Arabic. Since Iaba's funerary inscription includes a curse against anyone who disturbs her tomb, it is possible that she and Atalia were related (as such perhaps circumventing the curse).

The bones discovered in the Nimrud tombs have been the subject of paleopathological research since the 1990s, which has made it possible to gain some insight into the lives and health of the ancient queens. Iaba suffered from several health issues, including chronic sinusitis and perhaps neoplastic meningitis. Out of all the queens found in the tombs at Nimrud, Atalia had by far the most health issues. Atalia's bones suggest that the queen suffered from mild arthritis and the early stages of Scheuermann's disease. Her most painful condition was inflammations within her skull, a recurring and incurable affliction which caused immense head pain.

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