The Legend of Semmiramis

Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible; G.G.
The Jerusalem Publishing House Ltd. Jerusalem

In ancient days when legend and myth were placed at the border of reality often
signifying an intangible truth, there is one story that stands alone hidden deep
in the archives of historical obscurity. It is seldom present in the popular literature
of the great epics of old like the Odyssey, Hercules, Helen of Troy and so forth;
nor has it ever received considerable recognition as one of the great classics
locked into the confines of an in-dept study for future literary expeditions.
Yet beneath it’s structure lies a mystery, or perhaps, more of an aberrant narrative
that intertwines with so many other epics of it’s time that one would become confused
as to interpret who this person really is.

This article is written to shed a light on the saga of the mysterious, but
fascinating queen Semiramis, the ancient effigy of the Assyrian empire. Famed
for her beauty, strength, wisdom, voluptuousness, and alluring power, she is said
to have built Babylon with its hanging gardens, erect many other cities, conquer
Egypt and much of Asia including Ethiopia, execute war against the Medes and Chaldeans;
which eventually lead to an unsuccessful attack on India where she nearly lost
her life. As G.J. Whyfe-Melville states in his novel of Sarchedon: A Legend of
the Great Queen, “She was beautiful no doubt, in the nameless beauty that wins,
no less than in the lofty beauty that compels. Her form was matchless in symmetry,
so that her every gesture, in the saddle or on the throne, was womanly, dignified,
and graceful, while each dress she wore, from royal robe and jeweled tiara to
steel breast-plate and golden headpiece, seemed that in which she looked her best.
With a man’s strength of body, she possessed more than a man’s power of mind and
force of will.

A shrewd observer would have detected in those bright eyes, despite their thick
lashes and loving glance, the genius that can command an army and found an empire;
in that delicate, exquisitely chiseled face, the lines that tell of tameless pride
and unbending resolution; in the full curves of that rosy mouth, in the clean-cut
jaw and prominence of the beautifully molded chin, a cold recklessness that could
harden on occasion to pitiless cruelty – stern, impracticable, immovable as fate.”
She built such an inuring reputation that queen Margaret of Denmark, Sweden, and
Norway (1353-1412 A.D.) And Catherine II the Great of Russia (1729-1796) were
both labeled as the Semiramis of the North.

The only complete significant documentation that I found intact about Semiramis
is recorded in the historical writings of Diodorus Siculus (Library of History),
a Greek historian about the same time as Julius Caesar. Although he is listed
in the category of an elute expert on ancient history, many scholars have come
to the conclusion that much of his writings, especially those of the narratives
of Semiramis, are plagiarized and based on historical legends colored with elaborations
of thought and disguised fantasies, and therefore cannot be recognized as existential
tangible truth or fact.

As the story unfolds, it begins with king Ninus (Greek: tentatively Ramman-Nirari)
of Assyria, who builds a great city in honor of his name, and the city becomes
Nineveh (Roman: Ninus) the capital of the Assyrian empire. He was a great warrior
who subdued the greater parts of Asia, becoming the first great king, and conqueror
of the ancient world of his time, and as Diodorus writes…there were none other
before him…that of which he knew of. If this be true then some scholars would
place him approximately about 2182 B.C., which would be in proximity to Nimrod
of the Bible, ruler of the land of Shinar as outlined in Gen.10:10-11. The etymology
of Nimrod is quite uncertain and the Bible does not go into further detail about
him apart from these few lines written in Genesis, except that he was the founder
of Nineveh along with a number of other well known ancient cities. The Hebrew
historian Flavius Josephus, in the Antiquities of the Jews, depicts Nimrod as
a tyrannical leader, demanding complete dominion and control over the people.

As Josephus writes: “He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was
through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage
which procured that happiness. He gradually changed the government into tyranny
– seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into
a constant dependence upon his power.” He likely rose to power by being a mighty
protector over the land with his fearless gift of hunting and killing predatory
wild animals that were a threat to human civilization, therefore receiving the
title “mighty hunter before the Lord (Gen. 10:9). In post-biblical traditions,
Nimrod, the inciter of “rebellion” who ruled Babel, was often identified as a
giant, or Nephilim (Gen. 6:4), equivalent to the Anakim of Dueteronomy (Duet.
2:21-20;9:2). He was the chief instigator of the tower of Babel. This was a revolt
which led to building a tower in the course of staging revenge against God, lest
He flood the world again.

The tower was a symbol of worship and protection and became well known by many
as the ziggurat of Etemenanki, in honor of the Babylonian supreme god Marduk;
a dominant central point of worship that spread out to many other nations that
were to come (thirty-four of these staged towers have now been located in twenty-seven
ancient cities of the Middle East – the greatest of them all was the one at Babylon).
If the name is originally Hebrew, which is highly improbable, then it would mean,
“to rebel”, and linked to the Akkadian Amarutuk he eventually evolved into the
god “Marduk”, which would then lead into the realm of ruler-worship.

However, it is probably Mesopotamian in origin and most frequently suggested
as equivalent to the word Ninurta, though this is not without philological difficulty
or opposition. Ninurta, read apparently Nimurta in dialectic Sumerian, is presumably
a polemic distortion of the origin of the name Nimrod, the famous hunter of Hebrew
mythology, which is incorporated in one of the oldest Hebrew documents. If the
form Ninurta is accepted, and assumed, it would refer strictly to a mythic god,
and point to the Babylonian deity, the war-god called “the Arrow, the mighty hero”
whose cult assumed widespread importance in Mesopotamia during the late second
millennium B.C. Nimrod would then border on the total concept of mythology. If
it refers to a historical person, the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1246-1206
B.C.) could be an accurate choice, since he was the first Assyrian monarch to
rule over Babylonia and have cultic centers in Babel, Caleh, and others known
cities of this time.

According to Speiser (1924-1946), a leading authority on biblical lands, cultures
and excavations of important Sumerian rites in Iraq, he notably felt Tukulti-Ninurta
I served as a prototype for the composite Greek hero Ninus, associated with Nineveh,
who became the character united with Semiramis of Diodorus Siculus’ Antiquities
of Asia; however, G.J. Whyfe-Melville in his book, Sarchedon: A Legend of the
Great Queen, makes note that Ninus is an ancestral linage of thirteen generation
down from the historical Nimrod. There also followed an interval of subjugation
to the Semitic-speaking Akkadians (2300-2150 B.C.), so named after the city of
Akkad whose greatest rulers, Sargon and especially his grandson Naram-Sin, may
have conceivably provided the model for Nimrod and Ashur in the Genesis story.
However, if the Cushite origin of Nimrod listed from Genesis is maintained, the
Egyptian monarch Amenophis III (1411-1375) would be suitable according to von
Rad. In the history of Sumerian literature he could also be ranked as Etana, king
of Kish (2800 B.C.) the “man who stabilized all the land” who also was resin to
deity, or the hero Gilgamish from the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamish. Regardless
of origin, Nimrod must have become a figure of legendary proportions in the ancient
Near East culture whose stories were extremely fluid.

He was adopted by, and adapted to so many titles, that many phases of ancient
cultures lived on even into medieval chronicles. He left such an influence that
the prophet Micah calls Assyria the “land of Nimrod” (Mic. 5:6). The main draw
back to this prodigy as the conquering hero of Assyria associated with Semiramis
and the surrounding regions is the lack of notoriety given to a queen, or spouse
who would assist her ruling husband during these early conquests; for it is noted
that all the conquering heroes of this ancient era were predominantly male-origin
only. In fact, the dominant rule applying to leadership is, “No woman may reign
over the sons of Ashur, we only owe allegiance to a king. It is our privilege
and our law.” There is definitely no mention of Semiramis in any Hebrew documents,
or Biblical texts. It must stand to reason that the placement of Semiramis must
surely come at a much later date…a time that would be more familiar to Diodorus
since his lack of Assyrian history is possibly to obscure for him to have full
knowledge of all the facts…And it must be understood that nearly all the ancient
accounts of Assyria and the surrounding area do not refer to the earlier primitive
cities and it’s culture, but to the later capital and residence of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Even Herodotus, another Greek writer, from his own personal observation describes
this account in the first book of his history. Semiramis, by many opinions, is
believed to be totally fictitious and never really did exist, however, there does
remain a three-side standing wall between the ancient old and new palace where
a detailed etching of a curious hunting-piece, in which Semiramis, on horseback
is throwing her javelin at a leopard, while her husband, Ninus is piercing a lion.
It is near this last palace that the famous Hanging Gardens were, and so commonly
celebrated by both the Greeks and Italians.

The legendary king Ninus, a name perhaps derived from the Assyrian nunu, meaning
“fish”, was the son of Belus, also known as Cronus (Belus, originated from the
Babylonian Bel, which evolved into the Canaanite Baal, and later identified with
the Greek god Cronus). Herodotus gives us another genealogy for king Ninus, which
makes him a descendant of Heracles (Hercules) through his grandfather Alceus who
was the son of Heracles and Omphale, but this would make Ninus several generations
to young for the historical time span noted by other Greek writers. In any case,
he was an impetuous ruler, the inventor of warfare, and the first to assembles
huge armies to succeed in his conquest for power. He took as his ally Ariaeus
king of Arabia, and with him conquered all Asia except for India. At the siege
of Bactria, he ran against resistance, however with the aid of one of his viziers
wife, he was able to subdue this region, and eventually marry this woman who later
became the Great Queen.

This legend that has branched out into many other cultures, and which has found
its ruling into different mythical disguises, now seems to be preserved under
the Syrian version by Diodorus Siculus who drew largely from Ctesias of Cnide.
He tells us that in Ascalon, a part of Syria, a certain goddess was said to live
in the lake near the town. This goddess, Derceto, sometimes also known as Atargatis,
had the upper portion of a woman but her lower parts were that of a fish (in other
versions she was simply a beautiful priestess-maiden…total woman). It was told
that Aphrodite (Assyrian: Ashtaroth), the goddess of love, who bore a grudge against
her, made her fall violently in love with a young Syrian called Caystrus by whom
she gave birth to a daughter. After the latter’s birth, Derceto in her shame and
guilt exposed her child, did away with the father and hid herself at the bottom
of the lake. By an act of miracles, the doves found the infant and brought up
the child, stealing the milk and, later, the cheese which she needed from nearby
shepherds.

The shepherds finally discovered the little babe, who was of great beauty,
hidden amongst the Acacia shrubs and brought her to their chief Simmas of the
royal herds, who now took her as his own to raise. He gave her the name Semiramis,
which means in Syrian, “the one who comes from the doves [Sumats].” As she grew
to the age of a nubility, one of the king’s advisors and general, Onnes, (other
titles use Menon) was ordered to inspect the flock’s when he noticed her surpassing
beauty. Captivated by her splendor, innocence, and charm, he took her back with
him to Nineveh and immediately married her. They had two children, supposedly
twins..Hyapate and Hydaspe. They seemed very happy and Semiramis, being very clever,
had given her husband such good advice that he succeeded in all his endeavors.

At about this same time King Ninus, who was ruler in Assyria, organized and
expedition against neighboring Bactria. Knowing that this would not be an easy
conquest he collected and army of considerable size. After an initial setback
he managed to overwhelm the country by the sheer number of his troops and only
the capital, Bactra, held out against him. Needing the aide of Onnes, he sent
for him, however Onnes, missing his beloved wife asked her to join him. As she
watched the battle and after careful study she made several remarks about the
way in which the siege was being conducted. Noticing that the attack was being
directed from the plain, while both attackers and defenders were ignoring the
citadel, she ask to take charge of a group of mountain soldiers, have them scale
the cliffs which defended the site and turn the flank of the enemy defenses. The
besieged soldiers were terrified and solemnly did surrender. Ninus was magnificently
engulfed with admiration for the courage and skill Semiramis displayed. From the
first moment that Ninus perused on her winsome face and her astonishing beauty,
he had found in her a charm his heart was powerless to resist and he was half
subdued already to immediately resolve to have her as his wife and queen. He offered
to give Onnes his own daughter Sosana in exchange for Semiramis but Onnes refused.
Ninus then threatened to destroy Onnes by gouging his eyes out, whereupon in fear,
despair and agony, he surrendered to his kings demand and unfortunately put an
end to his life by hanging himself. Ninus then succeeded in marrying Semiramis
without difficulty and they had a son they named Ninyas.

Ninus, a much older paramour and extremely subjugating would burn with an enormous
jealous rage if ever another man by chance happen to gaze upon her presence, lest
only a priestly eunuch – or see her face unveiled. “In Assyria all woman are beautiful;
but by the side of the Great Queen the fairest of them show like pearls against
a diamond. When she turns her eyes on you, it is like the golden luster of noonday;
and her smile is brighter and more glorious than sunset in the desert – sweeter,
softer, lovelier, than the evening breeze amongst the palms. To look on her face
unveiled is to be the Great Queen’s slave forever more!” “I will have him
flayed alive who gainsay it,” was his direct order. “I have ceased to love most
things now, from the roar of battle to the bubble of a wine-cup. But may I burn
like a log of cedar in the fire of Belus when I cease to love my queen.” A
reflection he muttered to his beautiful patrician at the time of his approaching
death. It is not known what had happen to the children she had by Onnes, but it
was for certain that she did succeed the throne as Queen.

Her reign endured approximately forty-two years, while others accounts assume
that this dominion was equally shared of which only the last five years – after
the death of king Ninus – Semiramis ruled alone as queen until her son Ninyas
collaborated the scepter and took the throne from her. According to another account
Semiramis may have become bitter and vengeful, tricked her husband by obtaining
permission to rule over Asia for five days just to avail herself the opportunity
to cast the king into a dungeon, or as is also related, to put him to death, and
thus attain the sovereign power for herself. As G.J. Whyfe-Melville states in
Sarchedon: A legend of the Great Queen, that she forever carried an amulet at
her breast (the shape of a dove in the form of an arrow) given to her by Onnes,
and perpetually cherished as to his memory. Others conclude that it was the Prince
Ninyas she had imprisoned shortly after the Kings death for masquerading as the
queen in public and causing social disorder and disgrace (for their resemblance
were strikingly similar). Whatever the case, her fame threw into the shadows that
of Ninus; and later ages loved to tell of her marvelous deeds and her heroic achievements.

She began her reign by building a splendid mausoleum in honor of Ninus at Nineveh
itself on the Euphrates plain as outlined in the edition of Pyramus and Thisbe
(Herodotus). She then went full force on a building campaign and decided to have
a large, immaculate city built for herself not far from Nineveh. This was the
new city Babylon. It was marked out on horseback on the river bank of the Euphrates,
and according to Diodorus, Semiramis employed about two million workman she accumulated
from all parts of her imperial realm to complete this task. The perimeter of the
walls alone were 66 kilometers long and the width were so wide that 6 harnessed
chariots could ride abreast along these walls. They were approximately 100 meters
high, though some historians stated that their height was greatly exaggerated
and were much less. The city was defended by 250 towers, and the Euphrates, which
ran through the middle of the city, was crossed by a bridge 900 meters long that
was lined with awesome quays for 30 kilometers.

At each end of the bridge was built a fortified castle, and the queen’s residence.
They were linked by a subterranean passage under the river, which was diverted
in order to carry this out. It was in the citadel of the western castle that the
queen had her famous hanging gardens built. However, according to the actual historical
account this garden was built on the request of a much later queen of Persian
origin, who asked her husband, the Chaldean ruler Nebuchadnezzar, for a representation
of the “paradises,” a duplication of the vast pleasure-gardens of her homeland
in Persia. Diodorus tells us that they were created by superimposing square terraces
one on top of the other, like the steps in and amphitheater. Each of these terraces
rested on vaulted freestone galleries, covered with a thick layer of lead, on
top of which was put rich soil. Inside these galleries, like a number of porticos
opening onto a terrace, the royal apartments had been laid out. A system of hydraulic
machines brought the water from the river to feed the gardens.

She later traveled further into the land of Asia and built a vast park opposite
Mount Bagistan, a number of ornate fountains at Ecbatana, and a reputation that
far surpassed any other female warrior for the period of this time. Semiramis
was said to have been responsible for many ancient cities on the banks of the
Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, and also for erecting many of the most unique
and wonderful monuments and sites in all of Asia. Several of these major extraordinary
works in the Middle East, were a bit extreme and astonishing for just one person,
which became current in later ages; and the authors being unknown, were ascribed
by popular tradition to credit these feats to this mysterious queen. Besides conquering
Media, she subdued Egypt and a great part of Ethiopia, then quite weary she regressed
home to Bactra, the site of her first exploit. While she was in Egypt she consulted
an oracle of Ammon – exploring foreknowledge of her future. Instead, the oracle
gave her the prediction about the time of her unusual departure. The oracle replied
that she would come to her end when her son Ninyas would conspire against her
and try to take her life.

When she returned back to Bactra she began making plans to invade India, and
for several years she made elaborate preparations, only to become the most grievous
mistake of her notorious but flamboyant reign. She raised a gigantic army and
succeeded in crossing the Indus, but her troops were soon put to flight and herself
suffered an injury that nearly cost her, her life. It was just too insidious of
this strategy to match horse and chariots in battle with the size of ferocious,
angry war-elephants. During the activity of battle she was severely wounded in
one arm by an arrow, and a javelin that pierced through her back from the mighty
king Stabrobates of India. She just scarcely managed to escape by crossing the
Indus river, drawing her sword and destroying the bridge she had ordered to assemble,
since her enemies would not dare pursue after her across the river.

It was not long after her recovery that her son Ninyas along with the eunuchs
of the palace plotted against her. Ninyas had always been a troublesome burden
for the queen, as in her confession she mentions that she had done so much for
him, and received nothing in return. “I was a good mother to him, as any sun-burned
peasant who brings her babe into the vineyard on her back; and will you believe,
he cared more for a rough word or a rude jest from the Great King than for my
fondest caress, my smile, my tears. When I have pleaded with him, even to his
own advantage, he has turned his back on me, and laughed outright. He loved the
meanest dancing-girl out of the market better than the mother to whom he owed
his life, his beauty, his favor with the Great King.” As the legend follows,
Semiramis reigned an approximate of 42 years then turned the sovereignty of her
rule over to her son Ninyas and clandestinely disappeared (at the age of 62 years).
Legends were told and flourished throughout the ages that she took flight towards
heaven in the form of a dove from which the fabulous nature of this narrative
is apparent. That Semiramis became affiliated with the Syrian goddess associated
with the name of Astarte of Ascalon, Anaitis of Persia, or Astoreth of Canaan,
which were handed down from the earlier renditions of the Semitic Ishtar of Babylon;
originating from the earlier profile of the goddess Innana of Sumer – to whom
the dove was sacred. Another story that began circulating in Armenia about the
“Khaldis-gods” was the mysterious Saris, an abbreviated form of the old Babylonian
Ishtar, for it is said that Saris masquerades as Semiramis in the early legends
of Indo-Armenia.

Moses of Khorene tells us how the Armenian king Ara was wooed by the Assyrian
queen Semiramis. Ara refused her offers and eventually Semiramis marched into
Armenia at the head of an army to force him to accept her. A fierce battle was
fought, in which Ara was slain, and the Assyrian queen flung herself on the corpse
in an agony of grief calling upon the gods to restore his life. And the story
went that the gods of Aralez did restore his life. This tale is very similar to
the Sumerian Gilgamish refusing Ishtar’s affections in the Epic of Gilgamish,
or the slaying, death and resurrection of Tammuz and the intervention of Ishtar
to rescue him from death in the Babylonian elegy. A story that originated out
of the early fertility rites, and lamentation worship of Innana and Damuzi from
the ancient Sumerian legend..

Although Semiramis may have similar characteristics to the ancient goddesses’
of these earlier cults, it is a known fact that her legend should be placed separate,
in reality, she is not a mythical goddess, since her story never mentions her
ranked as an icon of worship. Semiramis was attired with such magnificence which
enhanced her own unrivaled beauty that she seemed to front her splendor as more
than just mere human, but at the same time her reputation was portrayed more as
a powerful, Syrian semi-divine/human heroine…a female prototype of Hercules.
Unlike Hercules (Greek:Heracles) and Ninus, both fictitious characters originating
from the minds of Greek folklore…Semiramis, is the Greek name, originating from
a real canonized queen “Sammu-ramat”, who was the mother of the Assyrian king
Adad-Nirari III (reigned 810-783 B.C.) and wife of Shamshi-Adad V (823-811B.C.)
who was the son of Shalmaneser III (859-824 B.C.). Her stela (memorial stone shaft)
has been found at Ashur, while an inscription at Calah (Nimrud) shows her to have
been dominant there after the death of her husband, before the rule of her son.
Her regency was assumed roughly between 810-805 B.C., in the minority of her son
Adad-Nirari III.

This is proven by the inscription detailed in the Cambridge Ancient History,
part 3, The Assyrian Empire which says: “In 818 B.C., Shamshi-Adad began a war
with Marduk-Balatsu-Ikbi, king of Babylon, which lasted intermittently for eight
years. It is possible that the cause of dispute was the territory of Gannanate,
for the Assyrians followed the eastern bank of the Tigris to the neighborhood
of this city, taking Me-Turnat, Di’bina, Date-ebir, and Isduya by assault. The
inhabitants of the district took refuge in a fortress which withstood only a short
siege. Shamshi-Adad fell upon Dur-Papsukal, an island city which was defended
by Bau-Akh-Iddin. The capture of this city brought immense loot, but Marduk-Balatsu-Ikbi
had gathered considerable forces to face the invader, and had been joined by contingents
from Chaldaea, Elan and Namri, as well as by the Aramanean tribes on the east
bank of the Tigris. A battle was fought beneath the walls of Dur-Papsukal, and
resulted in the rout of the Babylonian forces with a loss of 5000 killed and 2000
prisoners. Of the campaigns conducted in 812 and 811 the notices in the Eponym
Canon ‘against Chaldaea’ and ‘against Babylon,’ supply the only record, but it
is to be presumed that Shamshi-Adad entered the enemy’s capital in the latter
year, for the ‘Synchronous History’ speaks of his offering sacrifices in Babylon,
Cuthah and Borsippa.

The extension, then, of the Assyrian borders continued during the thirteen
years of Shamshi-Adad’s V reign, to the east and southeast; it is clear that Adad-Nirari
III succeeded in 811 to an authority unimpaired by the civil strife which had
marked the last years of Shalmaneser IV (783-774 B.C.). The government of Assyria
from 811 to 808 was actually conducted by the queen-mother, Sammu-ramat. Inscription
show that she occupied an exceptional position in ancient history. On a stele
found in a corner of the wall of the city of Ashur, where stood two rows of slabs
recording the names of monarchs and royal officials, her name is recorded as the
wife of Shamshi-Adad V, the mother of Adad-Nirari III, the daughter-in-law of
Shalmaneser III. In the ruins of the temple of Ninurta at Kalakh, two statues
of the god Nabu (son of Babylonian god Marduk) were discovered in a mutilated
condition; but the inscriptions on them show that they were dedicated by the city-governor,
Bel-Tarsi-Iluma, with a petition for the preservation of the king Adad-Nirari,
the queen Sammu-ramat, and himself, and a later inscription of Adad-Nirari shows
that the first three years were not reckoned part of his reign. It is apparently
within reason to believe that the name Sammu-ramat is the archetype of Semiramis
the Greek legend, and is in fact, the exaggerated accounts of the achievements
of Semiramis and Ninus; there may be an echo of the times of the regency of Sammu-ramat
and of the reign of her son.

There is also an annexation to this story, and to address further detail to
these events the Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible; the Jerusalem
Publishing house Ltd. Gives us a fair definition of the histories of “Shalmaneser”.
It is the name of five kings who ruled Assyria, only two of whom seem to be connected
with the Hebrew Old Testament. Shalmaneser I, son of Adad-Nirari II, ruled from
1274-1245 B.C. Shalmaneser II, was the successor to Tiglath-Pileser II, ruled
1031-1020 B.C. Shalmaneser III, son of Ashurnasirpal, ruled 859-824 B.C. He continued
his father’s expansionist policies, extending Assyria’s frontiers from Urartu
to Persia, from Media to the Mediterranean coast including Asia Minor. He invaded
Babylon and secured her complete subjection. He consolidated Assyrian domination
over his conquests by establishing a sophisticated imperial structure, vassals,
annual tribute, autonomy, trade relations and alliances and military campaigns,
thus laying the foundations for the neo-Assyrian empire. He was the first Assyrian
king to come into contact with the kings of Israel, in 853 B.C. he fought at Karkar
on the Orontes River against a formidable anti-Assyrian coalition of 12 kings
headed by Ben-Hadad of Aram-Damascus. While the Bible does not mention this incident,
his “Monolith Inscription” testifies to the prominence of Ahab, the king of Israel,
who fielded the largest armored force of chariots – 2000, as well as 10,000 foot
soldiers. Although Shalmaneser claims a great victory, the fact that he avoided
Syria for several years afterwards, suggests that his victory was indecisive.

The “Black Obelisk” found in Nimrud records his military achievements against
the western kings, and depicts the payment of tribute by Jehu, king of Israel,
humbly prostrating himself before him – an incident also passed over in silence
in the Bible. Despite his boasts as “the mighty king, ruler of the universe”,
he died amid revolts which broke out throughout the empire, with which his brother
and successor had to contend. In this account the “brother” would have to be Shamshi-Adad
V, husband of Sammu-ramat, mother of Adad-Nirari III.

Shalmaneser IV, the son of Adad-Nirari III, ruled 783-774 B.C. then Shalmaneser
V, successor of Tiglath-Pileser III, ruled 727-722 B.C.; he laid siege for three
years against Samaria when Hoshea, king of Israel, backed by Egypt, rebelled against
Assyria. At the end of the siege, Samaria capitulated and Hoshea was taken prisoner
(2 Kgs. 17:1-6; 18:9-10). Apparently Shalmaneser V died or was murdered during
the siege and his successor Sargon completed the conquest of the city.

If there were any famous journeys or exploits of queen Sammu-ramat during her
short reign, it would seem possible that historians and scholars would amplify
her reputation more than what we know about her at this day and age. As to this
fact, there is not a shred of evidence as to her influential power, nor the extent
of her legacy that anyone, including Diodorus, could bring to light as factual;
let alone create an antiquity solid enough to expand upon the audacious narrative
of this episode of Semiramis. And if his writings of Semiramis are examined very
closely, it would seem that they match the conquering adventures of Alexander
the Great and King Nebuchadnezzar, combined with the exploits of Shalmaneser III,
Shamshi-Adad V and his wife, which in turn intertwine with the many mysteries
of the ancient fertility deities; and implementing the excitement and flamboyancy
of Greek rhetoric composition to form this Assyrian female counterpart. All this
in order to give the reader the intense drama of mystery, animation and glamor,
for it is a conclusive contingency that Sammu-ramat could have had a likeness
to the qualities of beauty, wit and charm in order to expound this Greek legend
into this effect. It is a puzzling question that an ancient historian of stature
and qualifications like Diodorus, would write a document that is built around
a rather fictitious and frugal character with very little, or in that matter,
of any authentic exploitable structure, unless there was something lost in the
fragmentation of Diodorus’ writings that we at present are not familiar with.

Is it possible that he was at the advent of creating a document, or rather
a novel with all the mortal characteristics that combine all the attributes of
composite human nature; that of beauty, innocence, romance, desire, and love,
along with alluring power, lust, manipulation, seduction, greed, betrayal, and
eventually a moral twist that leads to an adherent saddening end? In any case
Semiramis, the most beautiful chastely maiden that arose to become the all powerful,
nobelist monarch in the mysterious Land of Shinar is quite a compelling, courageous
saga that should be enjoyed by many. So how do we end this pris? In our imaginative
minds, Semiramis can be elevated as the perfect dream of beauty and admiration,
to an icon of ascendancy for trepidation and scorn. So how do we end this pris?
By just the beautiful name “Semiramis” alone, for it seems to have a sense of
irresistibility that carries with it the impaction of cryptic appearance, disguised
in beauty and desire, that unquestionably leads to the consequential repercussion
into devastation for tampering with forbidden fruit…. There are women whom it
is very dangerous to love, as in Eden there stood a tree that it was death to
taste. But the forbidden fruit was gathered nevertheless; and these beauties seem
to allure more than their share of victims, to win more than their natural meed
of triumph.”

End