Sammuramat
811 - 808 BC
Queen of Assyria and the legendary wife of Nimrod
by Rit Nosotro First Published:: 2003( )
Sammuramat, or Semiramis, was the Queen of Assyria and the legendary wife of Nimrod. Of mythical proportions in her day, Sammuramat is almost forgotten in today’s history. She was famed for her beauty, and even more so for her military insight that won many battles and conquered many cities. Some believe her to have begun goddess worship, with herself as the original Ishtar, Aphrodite, Hera, etc. As legend and truth are hard to distinguish separately from that time period, what we do know about her may not even be accurate.
Legend has it that she was born in the desert and raised by doves. Although
we can’t be 100% positive, it is more than likely that this and other
legends, such as that she was born of the goddess Atargatis, that her army attacked
and killed the sun-god Er, or that she was born because a vengeful Astarte (Ishtar,
Ashtaroth, Aphrodite, Venus) caused the goddess Derceto (a mer-maid type goddess)
to fall in love with a Syrian boy named Caystrus, so that Derceto abandoned
the child to the doves in shame.
All of these things aside, historical fact mentions that the widow of King Shamshi-Adad
V reigned for three years on the throne of Babylon. Everything else is based
in Greek lore and historically unreliable, although much more interesting.
The way the Greeks have it, Semiramis was the wife of Biblical Nimrod of Assyria/ Sumeria, and was astoundingly beautiful. She always wore around her neck a silver charm in the shape of a very arrow-like dove, given to her by her first husband, and men were driven to madness by the sight of her beauty. She was discovered by shepherds after being raised by the doves, and the King’s advisor, Menos, passing through for inspections, noticed her charms and took her and married her. In some versions, they have twins, Hyapate and Hydaspe.
After Menos had one day sent for her on the battlefield, Semiramis displayed
her military genius by attacking the flank of the besieged city with mountaineers,
therefore winning the city for the king. King Ninus was so impressed that he
first coaxed and then coerced Menos to give Semiramis to him, after which he
commited suicide. With Ninus she had a son named Ninyas.
Ninus was much older and extremely jealous, and after many years under his roof,
Semiramis, the apple of his eye, asked permission to rule for just one day.
After Ninus agreed and Semiramis was crowned over him, she had him executed
and continued to rule forcefully and intelligently for the next 42 years.
In other versions, after Sammuramat had an illegitimate son whom she named Damu (Dammuzi, Tammuz, Adonis) and was enstranged from her husband Nimrod (Ninus), she was nonetheless given permission to oversee a religious festival of a cult that she herself had started. In the ceremony, a ram was traditionally torn to pieces at the bare hands of high (read: drugged-out) priesthood, however Sammuramat slyly switched Nimrod for the ram, and he was killed instead. She then crowned her infant son and reigned as his regent for 42 years.
During her reign she is credited with both numerous military conquests and the hanging gardens of Babylon. Her life ended when her son (either Ninyas or Damu, depending on the legend) came against her and killed her, taking over the throne. The mythology of Queen Semiramis is so intertwined with that of her husband, Alexander the Great, future and previous rulers of Babylon and other great people, that it is difficult to determine how much the Greeks made up for our enjoyment. Whatever the case, it is possible to discern that Semiramis/ Sammu-ramat was an Angel of Light, described in many legends as both exceedingly beautiful and exceedingly cruel. She was deified by the ancient Chaldeans, and led them down a path increasingly dark and corrupt. The Queen of Babylon did a good imitation of the Woman of Babylon, found it Revelation 17:5 (KJV) “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Sources:
www.earth-history.com/Babylon/bab-legend-semiramis.htm
www.Idolphin.org/semir.html
www.womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_semiramis.html
