Sammu-ramāt's name is spelled MÍsa-am-mu-ra-mat in Assyrian sources. It was rendered as Σεμιραμις or Σεμυραμις by Diodorus Siculus, who claimed that the name meant "dove" in the "Syrian" language, which would indicate a derivation from the Akkadian word summatu, or even summu. Rabbinic sages understood her name as šmy rʿm, "thunder of heaven". The modern scholar M. Weinfeld suggested a Phoenician background. Jamie Novotny has pointed out that her name could have either a West-Semitic or Akkadian structural background, with the former archetype being DN-rāmu/rāmat and the latter DN-ramāt. In both cases, the first part of the name should be considered as theophoric. Should it be West-Semitic, this first element may have been šammu, should it be Neo-Assyrian sammu could be a variant of the deity dSamu.
Life
Shammuramat was a wife of KingShamshi-Adad V and after he died in 811 BC, she ruled the Neo-Assyrian Empire as its regent for five years until her son Adad-nirari IIIcame of age. She ruled at a time of political uncertainty, which is one of the possible explanations for why Assyrians may have accepted her rule. In the city of Ashur, she had an obelisk built and inscribed, which read:
Shammuramat's stela has been found at Assur, while an inscription at Nimrud indicates that she was dominant there after the death of her husband and before the rule of her son.
The legendary Semiramis is usually considered a purely mythical figure; however, there is evidence in Assyrian records suggesting that she may, in fact, be a Greek reflection of Shammuramat. This identification is disputed. Another possibility is that she is given that title after death to reflect similarities with an earlier Sumerian deity. It has been speculated that ruling successfully as a woman may have made the Assyrians regard her with particular reverence, and that the achievements of her reign were retold over the generations until she was turned into a mythical figure. Georges Roux speculated that the later Greek- and Iranian- flavoured myths surrounding Semiramis stem from successful campaigns she waged against these peoples, and the novelty of a woman ruling such an empire.
