Semiramis

Semiramis (/səˈmɪrəmɪs, sɪ-, sɛ-/;^[1] Syriac: ܫܲܡܝܼܪܵܡ Šammīrām, Armenian: Շամիրամ Šamiram, Greek: Σεμίραμις, Arabic: سميراميس Samīrāmīs) was the legendary^[2][3] Lydian-Babylonian^[4][5] wife of Onnes and of Ninus, who succeeded the latter on the throne of Assyria,^[6] according to Movses Khorenatsi.^[7] Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who drew primarily from the works of Ctesias of Cnidus,^[8][9] describe her and her relationships to Onnes and King Ninus.

Armenians and the Assyrians of Iraq, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey, and northwest Iran still use Shamiram as a given name for girls.^[10]

The real and historical Shammuramat, the original Akkadian form of the name, was the Assyrian wife of Shamshi-Adad V (ruled 824 BC–811 BC). She ruled the Neo-Assyrian Empire as its regent for five years, before her son Adad-nirari III came of age and took the reins of power.^[11] She ruled at a time of political uncertainty, which may partly explain why Assyrians may have accepted the rule of a woman when it was not allowed by their cultural tradition. She conquered much of the Middle East and the Levant and stabilized and strengthened the empire after a destructive civil war. It has been speculated that being a woman who ruled successfully may have made the Assyrians regard her with particular reverence and that her achievements may have been retold over the generations until she was gradually turned into a legendary figure.^[12]

The name of Semiramis came to be applied to various monuments in Western Asia and Anatolia whose origins had been forgotten or unknown,^[13] even the Behistun Inscription of Darius.^[14][15] Herodotus ascribes to her the artificial banks that confined the Euphrates.^[16] He knew her name because it was inscribed on a gate of Babylon.^[17] Various places in Mesopotamia, Media, Persia, the Levant, Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Caucasus received names recalling Semiramis.