Semiramis

In Greek legend, founder of Nineveh (Ninua) with her husband Ninus. The legends probably originated in the deeds of two vigorous queen-mothers: Sammuramat, who ruled Assyria for her son Adad-nirari III from 810 to 806 BC; and Naqi'a, wife of Sennacherib (d. 681 BC) and mother of Esarhaddon, who administered Babylonia. Semiramis was later identified with the chief Assyrian goddess Ishtar.

Reference to her life appears in works by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, and Roman historian Justinus.