Neo-Assyrian Women's Roles

Research Question: This study will take a closer look at the roles Neo-Assyrian queens and her households were responsible for in the function of the palace and, in extension, the Empire. In contrast to the traditionally held belief that women held no power in Neo-Assyrian palace, tablets and inscriptions from the era support the idea of a more assertive queenship. An important figure in the study of Neo-Assyrian queenship is Naqia, the possible wife of Sennacherib, who is the best-documented woman from the Neo-Assyrian period, and she will be analyzed for her significant political role in the context of how much authority and significance queens had in the royal court. Thesis Statement: Often overlooked, women of the royal palace, specifically the queens, go
unnoticed because there is less information available about their lives in comparison to their male counterparts. By analyzing the works and inscriptions that have been uncovered, it is essential to develop a balanced perspective of the royal court to better comprehend how the Neo-Assyrian Empire truly functioned. The influential Neo-Assyrian queens, between the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 BC) and Assurbanipal (668-630 BC), showcased the importance of the queenship in maintaining the royal palace and the empire as seen through examples of their political involvement, unique representation in art, and influence of their households administrations.

This text provides a very in-depth overview of the excavations of the queens’ tombs in Nimrud.
It discusses the various items found in the dig and its correlation to the owner, in addition to, what purpose it fulfilled whether religious, practicality or otherwise. It also goes over the layout of the palace to provide important context of the locations each artefact grouping was found: “(1) the Northern Section (the administrative area), (2) the Central Section (royal protocol), and (3) the Southern Section (domestic wing, the royal harem, and royal burials)” (Hussein 2016, 4). The book also describes each discovery of the tombs in great detail, outlining in specific the condition of artefacts and the remains found in the coffins. Hussein’s work is incredibly important because it has been cited by several other texts, including Sherry Lou Macgregor, as a basis for building an understanding of burial rituals, and furthermore, how class and gender factored into tomb building. The tombs are also relevant because it shows that the queens of the time had substantial financial resources that are not only detectable in texts and inscriptions, but also in the treasures found in the queens’ graves at
Nimrud.

This book offers a detailed insight into different aspects of the lives of women in the public sphere, ranging from the women who held responsibilities in temples to the queens of the royal court. From the third section onwards, Macgregor covers the roles, lives, and responsibilities of Neo-Assyrian queens, while offering multiple examples of textual evidence, in the form of letters and inscriptions, to support the conclusions she draws about the queenship. The topics she writes about are relevant to my research question because it establishes a strong foundation on which to build my analysis using the insightful inquiries in the lives of women in Neo-Assyria. There is also a chapter that goes into great detail about the life of a particularly famous queen known as Naqia, or Zakutu in Akkadian, and her accomplishments in imperial politics as both queen and queen mother. She points out the importance of Naqia’s time as queen in understanding the Neo-Assyrian queenship: “[surviving records] which illustrate that there were times during the reign of her son Esarhaddon when she successfully assumed royal attributes and responsibilities” (Macgregor 2012, 102). I will refer to this book for my analysis on the queens’ roles in the political administration of the palace and the empire, in addition to, investing the significance of Queen Naqia in the way we perceive the queenship.

This article offers an excellent analysis of the Neo-Assyrian queenship and its development into an influential proponent of the empire, the royal family, and palace. Svärd writes in detail about the ways the queen and her household were essential to the running of the palace. For instance, she describes one of the practical and economic functions of the households: “One of the main enterprises…may have been textile production for the use of the royal palaces, but possibly also for trade” (Svärd 2015, 159). Svärd also delves into the importance of representation through art and physical depictions of the queens, of which there are only three: “The first one…[is the] Garden Scene relief, showing… the queen Libbāli-šarrat banqueting with Assurbanipal in the garden. The second one is a stele that was erected in the Assur stele yard…Finally, the third item is a bronze relief fragment depicting Naqīʾa following a king, presumably her son Esarhaddon” (Svärd 2015, 166). These portrayals of the queens show the relevance of their authority to that of the more traditional kingship, and Svärd’s examination of these works are essential to my analysis as evidence for the queens’ influence in the empire. The willingness to encapsulate the queen in stone or bronze can show that she was significant enough to be remembered. While we do not necessarily know if these three instances of immortalizing a queen in a manner usually seen with kings are traditional, it does solidify the point that queens were an essential part of the monarchy that cannot be overlooked.

The following texts from Svärd’s article will be most relevant for my project:
(a) “Lady Kabalaia…initiates a court case against the ‘palace manager of the Review Palace of Kalhu’” (Svärd 2012, 512). The document talks about the role the šakintu, as an extension of the queen, played in a court case in opposition to the palace manager in dealing with a runaway slave. This description is important because it indicates that “both actors must have been high in palace hierarchy, for a court ruling to be required in this matter” (Svärd 2012, 512). The women under the queen’s jurisdiction had enough influence to carry out palace administrative issues in a case hearing and eventually win at the end, forcing the palace manager “to hand her a woman and ten shekels of silver in the settlement” (Svärd 2012, 512). This text is a significant example of how much authority the queen’s household held in the palace.

(b) The šakintu acting as the head of the family and marrying off her daughter in 622 (Svärd 2012, 513). The marriage contract outlines an agreement between two families, which is favourable for the bride in the terms that are included. The text is of particular importance because it “illuminates how high-ranking women were able to exercise power that was not bound by the usual gender limitations and hierarchies” (Svärd 2012, 513). Therefore, this text is an excellent example of the importance of palace women in the seventh century.