HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Iaba (also called Yaba), Banitu, and Atalia were
queens of the Neo-Assyrian Empire The queen ( Assyrian: ''issi ekalli'' or ''sēgallu'', ) of the Neo-Assyrian Empire was the consort of the Neo-Assyrian king. Though the queens derived their power and influence through their association with their husband, they were not pawns wit ...
as the primary consorts of the successive kings Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC),
Shalmaneser V Shalmaneser V (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Salmānu is foremost"; Biblical Hebrew: ) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 727 BC to his deposition and death in 722 BC. Though Shalmaneser V's brief reign is poorly known from conte ...
(727–722 BC) and
Sargon II Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...
(722–705 BC), respectively. Little is known of the lives of the three queens; they were not known by name by modern historians prior to the 1989 discovery of a stone sarcophagus among the
Queens' tombs at Nimrud The Queens' Tombs at Nimrud are a set of four tombs discovered by Muzahim Hussein at the site of what was once the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. Once the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Nimrud (known also by its biblical name Calah and its a ...
which contained objects inscribed with the names of all three women. The stone sarcophagus, believed to originally have been the tomb of Iaba since her name is on the nearby funerary inscription, presents a problem of identification as it contains objects with the names of three queens, but contains only two skeletons. The conventional interpretation is that the skeletons are those of Iaba (since it was originally her tomb) and Atalia (since her objects have to be the latest in the tomb), but several alternate hypotheses have also been made, such as the idea that Iaba and Banitu could be the same person. Iaba and Banitu being the same person is however not supported by either historical or chronological evidence. The names of the queens have aroused some interest since out of the three names, only Banitu appears to be an Akkadian (the language of ancient Assyria) name. Various etymological origins have been proposed for the other names; Iaba has variously been identified as a
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
ine,
Aramean The Arameans, or Aramaeans (; ; , ), were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered ce ...
,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
or
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
name, and Atalia has also variously been identified as Hebrew or Arabic. Since Iaba's funerary inscription includes a curse against anyone who disturbs her tomb, it is possible that she and Atalia were related (as such perhaps circumventing the curse). The bones discovered in the Nimrud tombs have been the subject of paleopathological research since the 1990s, which has made it possible to gain some insight into the lives and health of the ancient queens. Iaba suffered from several health issues, including chronic
sinusitis Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include production of thick nasal mucus, nasal congestion, facial congestion, facial pain, facial pressure ...
and perhaps neoplastic meningitis. Out of all the queens found in the tombs at
Nimrud Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...
, Atalia had by far the most health issues. Atalia's bones suggest that the queen suffered from mild
arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
and the early stages of
Scheuermann's disease Scheuermann's disease is a skeletal disorder. It describes a condition where the vertebrae grow unevenly with respect to the sagittal plane; that is, the posterior angle is often greater than the anterior. This uneven growth results in the sig ...
. Her most painful condition was inflammations within her skull, a recurring and incurable affliction which caused immense head pain.


Names and backgrounds

The three names of the queens are unusually short and modest compared to the names of some of the other known Assyrian queens, such as
Shammuramat Shammuramat ( Akkadian: ''Sammu-rāmat'' or ''Sammu-ramāt''), also known as Sammuramat or Shamiram and Semiramis, was a powerful queen of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Beginning her career as the primary consort of the king Shamshi-Adad V (824–81 ...
and Libbali-sharrat. Iaba's name is inscribed in
cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
as f''ia-ba-a'', transliterated as ''Iabâ'' or ''Yabâ''. The name, clearly not of Akkadian origin, might be of either
West Semitic The West Semitic languages are a proposed major sub-grouping of Semitic languages. The term was first coined in 1883 by Fritz Hommel.Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
ine or
Aramean The Arameans, or Aramaeans (; ; , ), were a tribal Semitic people in the ancient Near East, first documented in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. Their homeland, often referred to as the land of Aram, originally covered ce ...
, or
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
origin, with possible roots including ''yph'' ("beautiful"), ''nby'' ("to name") and ''yhb'' ("to give"). Banitu's name is inscribed in cuneiform as f''ba-ni-ti'', transliterated as ''Banītu'', ''Banîtu'', ''Banêti'',' ''Banīti'' or ''Banitu''. Just like Iaba, Banitu might also mean "beautiful" (''banītu'' in Akkadian), but it might also be derived from the Akkadian ''bānītu'', which means "(divine) Creatress".
Simo Parpola Simo Kaarlo Antero Parpola (born 4 July 1943) is a Finnish Assyriologist specializing in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Professor emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki (retired fall 2009). Career Simo Parpola studied Assyriology, C ...
believes the name Banitu to be of
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
n origin, and as a consequence speculates that Queen Banitu might have been a Babylonian princess, brought to Assyria as a hostage after Tiglath-Pileser's conquest of Babylon in 729 BC. Atalia's name is inscribed in cuneiform as f''a-ta-li-a'' or f''a-tal-ia-a'', depending on the inscription, transliterated as ''Atalia'',' ''Ataliā'', ''Ataliya'' or ''Ataliyā''.' The name is clearly not of Akkadian origin. In 1998,
Stephanie Dalley Stephanie Mary Dalley FSA (''née'' Page; March 1943) is a British Assyriologist and scholar of the Ancient Near East. Prior to her retirement, she was a teaching Fellow at the Oriental Institute, Oxford. She is known for her publications of ...
proposed that both Iaba and Atalia were actually names of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
origin and speculated that they were both princesses of the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
, from the same royal family. Dalley based her argument on the name Atalia being similar, and perhaps etymologically identical, to the name
Athaliah Athaliah ( ''Gotholía''; ) was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel; she was queen consort of kingdom of Judah, Judah as the wife of Jehoram of Judah, King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and was later queen regnant c. 84 ...
(borne by a Judean queen who ruled about a century earlier), that the ending of the name (''i-a'' or ''ia-a'') could represent a
theophoric A theophoric name (from Greek: , ''theophoros'', literally "bearing or carrying a god") embeds the word equivalent of 'god' or a god's name in a person's name, reflecting something about the character of the person so named in relation to that de ...
element deriving from
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
, and that Atalia and Iaba might have been related. Dalley also argued that the inter-marriage of the Assyrian and Judean royal families could help explain why Sargon II's successor
Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...
(705–681 BC), who warred against
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...
of Judah, in his inscriptions refer to Hezekiah as "strong and mighty", highly unusual epithets for the Assyrians to bestow upon an enemy. Dalley's arguments have met with both support and opposition and the idea that the names were Hebrew has also been independently forwarded by Simo Parpola. In 2002, K. Lawson Younger pointed out that it was far from certain that ''i-a'' or ''ia-a'' actually corresponded to Yahweh since there are few analogues in other Neo-Assyrian names and inscriptions. The identification of Atalia as a Hebrew name was also doubted by
Nicholas Postgate Nicholas Postgate (1596 or 1597 – 7 August 1679) was an English Catholic priest who was executed for treason during the anti-Catholic persecution in England. He was put to death on 7 August 1679 on the Knavesmire in York, following false acc ...
in 2008, and in that year Ran Zadok alternatively suggested that Atalia was an Arabic name.


Content of Tomb II

The tomb containing the remains of the queens was uncovered during excavations at the Northwest Palace of
Ashurnasirpal II Ashur-nasir-pal II (transliteration: ''Aššur-nāṣir-apli'', meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir") was the third king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 883 to 859 BC. Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II. His son and s ...
(883–859 BC) in
Nimrud Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...
in the late 1980s, by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities. While excavating portions of the residential quarters of the Northwest Palace in 1988, an unevenness of the floor was noted and soon, the chamber of tombs below was discovered. The tombs were excavated and examined 1988–1990. Tomb II, which contains the finds relevant to Iaba, Banitu and Atalia, was discovered and excavated in 1989.' Although the tombs were immediately recognized as extraordinary on account of the great treasures contained within them, their discovery was soon overshadowed by the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
(1991), which meant that scientific study of the tombs thereafter was a slow process. Out of the over two dozen individuals found in the tombs many remain unidentified given that inscriptions do not provide identifications for all the bodies and tombs. The many individuals were spread out in four different chambers, buried in three bronze coffins, two clay coffins and three sarcophagi made of stone. The finds relevant to Iaba, Banitu and Atalia were discovered in and around the stone sarcophagus in the chamber designated Tomb II. Iaba, Banitu and Atalia were not known by name prior to the discovery of the tomb. The find of the tombs, which contained other remains and names as well, nearly doubled the number of Neo-Assyrian queens known by name.' On an alabaster tablet recording a funerary inscription, found in the alcove of the tomb's antechamber, Iaba's name is recorded and she is described as the queen, though the name of her husband is not mentioned. Iaba's name also appears on two golden bowls found in the sarcophagus, where she is explicitly called the "queen of Tiglath-Pileser". Apart from these bowls, five other inscribed objects were also found in the sarcophagus. Three (a rock crystal jar, bronze mirror and another golden bowl) are inscribed with "Atalia, queen of Sargon" and two (a bronze cosmetic container and a fourth golden bowl) are inscribed with "Banitu, queen of Shalmaneser". There are also numerous objects in the tomb that are not inscribed with any name, including bracelets, bowls and two golden crowns. In total Tomb II contained 26 kilograms (57 lbs) of gold objects.' Several of these are marked with a scorpion symbol, often used for royal women, rather than a specific name. The sarcophagus contained two female skeletons, one buried on top of the other. The lower skeleton has been designated Body II B and the upper skeleton has been designated Body II A. The skeletons were covered with burnt remains of linen garments. For security reasons, the bones and treasures of the tomb were placed in plastic bags and taken to the
Mosul Museum The Mosul Museum () is the second largest museum in Iraq after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad. It was heavily looted during the 2003 Iraq War. Founded in 1952, the museum consisted of a small hall until a new building was opened in 1972 ...
on the same day they were discovered.' There were several alabaster jars found in the tomb, one of which included brown and decomposed organic material. Analysis of this material has ruled it out being a heart, liver or kidney but it may be a dehydrated brain, of unclear origin.


Identification

The tomb, clearly originally belonging to Iaba since her name is on the funerary inscription, presents a problem of identification since it contains the inscriptions of three queens but only contains two skeletons. It is generally assumed that the bodies belong to two of the three queens. Several explanations for there only being two bodies, but accompanied by the names of three queens, have been proposed since the discovery of the tomb. Most scholars assume that the two bodies belong to Iaba, clearly the original occupant of the tomb, and Atalia, the latest name that appears on the inscribed objects. The items inscribed with Banitu's name could then have been buried with Atalia, who was buried alongside items from various other kings as well (such as the Babylonian kings
Kurigalzu II Kurigalzu II (c. 1332–1308 BC short chronology) was the 22nd king of the Kassite or 3rd dynasty that ruled over Babylon. In more than twelve inscriptions, Kurigalzu names Burna-Buriaš II as his father. Kurigalzu II was placed on the Kassite ...
and
Marduk-zakir-shumi I Marduk-zâkir-šumi (inscribed mdAMAR.UTU''-za-kir-''MU in a reconstruction of two kinglists,''Synchronistic Kinglist'' KAV 10 (VAT 11261) ii 9.''Synchronistic Kinglist'' KAV 182 (Ass. 13956dh) iii 12. 'Marduk pronounced the name',) was a king of ...
). It is even possible that Atalia, after her husband deposed Shalmaneser, took the objects with Banitu's name as trophies. A popular alternative hypothesis, first proposed by Stephanie Dalley in 2008, is that Iaba and Banitu were actually the same person, with Iaba being her name in Hebrew or Aramean and Banitu being her name in Akkadian. There are examples of royal women in Assyria changing their name or using two names, notably the later queen Naqi'a, who is also known as Zakutû. Dalley also argued that while Banitu's objects could be in the tomb as trophies taken by Atalia, it is unclear why Atalia then would not erase the old queen's name from them and inscribe her own. As explained previously, it is possible to translate both names to mean "beautiful", but that is far from the only possible translation. Shalmaneser V, in this scenario not the son of Iaba, would thus have married his father's widow to further strengthen his position as king. There are issues with the idea that Iaba and Banitu were the same person, one prominent issue being that the two names are never used interchangeably in the surviving material. In 2013, David Kertai opposed identifying Iaba and Banitu as the same person from a chronological standpoint. Microscopic investigations of the preservation of the skeletons have demonstrated that the two queens were buried at least 20 years (though possibly as much as 50 years) apart and that both died aged approximately 30–35. If Iaba and Banitu were the same person, she would have had to have died during or after Shalmaneser's reign. Atalia, as Sargon's queen cannot have died earlier than 722 BC but was probably dead before 707/706 BC since the royal court was in that year moved to the new city
Dur-Sharrukin Dur-Sharrukin (, "Fortress of Sargon"; , Syriac Language, Syriac: ܕܘܪ ܫܪܘ ܘܟܢ), present day Khorsabad, was the Assyrian capital in the time of Sargon II of Assyria. Khorsabad is a village in northern Iraq, 15 km northeast of Mosul. ...
and she is not attested in the reign of Sennacherib. Even if limiting the gap between the two burials to 20 years, Iaba and Banitu could then only be the same person if Atalia died very late in Sargon's reign. Saana Svärd defended Dalley's hypothesis in 2015 by suggesting that Ataliya was "deposed" as queen sometime before the end of Sargon's reign and actually died in the reign of Sennacherib, 20–50 years after the death of Iaba/Banitu, and was buried in the same tomb. In 2017, Keiko Yamada and Shigeo Yamada questioned this hypothesis by wondering if it was really likely that Sargon's queen would be buried together with the queen of Shalmaneser, whom Sargon had deposed and by pointing out that the hypothesis that Iaba and Banitu were the same person was based solely in one of several possible interpretations of the meanings of their names since no inscription otherwise designates them as the same and the two names do not appear together on any of the objects. Iaba's funerary inscription contains a curse against disturbing her tomb. In full, the inscription reads: Perhaps the fact that another body was buried in Iaba's tomb later on in direct violation of the inscription demonstrates that whoever was buried was somehow "immune" from this curse. This could be explained by the possibility that the two queens in Tomb II were closely related. Though it has thus in the past been suggested, first by Muayyad Said Damerji in 1999, that Iaba and Atalia were mother and daughter, it would not have been appropriate for Sargon to marry his sister, and there are no other known cases of incestuous marriages in ancient Assyria. Still, it is possible that they were close relatives in some other arrangement.


Paleopathology

The bones discovered in the Nimrud tombs have been the subject of paleopathological research since the 1990s. Across the seventeen different individuals found, common health issues include stiff joints, childhood illness, headaches, allergies and colds. Many of the individuals, though their dental hygiene was good relative to the average ancient Assyrian, suffered from dental problems. In ancient Assyria it was not possible to treat
periodontal abscess A periodontal abscess (also termed lateral abscess, or parietal abscess), is a localized collection of pus (i.e. an abscess) within the tissues of the periodontium. It is a type of dental abscess. A periodontal abscess occurs alongside a tooth, ...
es, fill
dental cavities Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...
or to scrape off
dental plaque Dental plaque is a biofilm of microorganisms (mostly bacteria, but also fungi) that grows on surfaces within the mouth. It is a sticky colorless deposit at first, but when it forms Calculus (dental), tartar, it is often brown or pale yellow. It is ...
.


Body II B (Iaba)

The lower body, typically identified as Iaba, having been buried decades earlier than the upper one is not indicated solely by it being placed furthest down, but also by the bones being in a more advanced stage of decomposition and that it appears to have been damaged when the upper body was placed in the sarcophagus. The bones of Iaba were upon their discovery far more brittle than those of Atalia, perhaps due to the later opening of the tomb or due to heat exposure. Iaba's bones reveal that she suffered from several health issues in her life. The interior of her skulls suggests that she had suffered from several minor
brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...
s, probably the result of neoplastic meningitis. Analysis of the jaw and teeth showed that Iaba also suffered from a severe inflammation of the gums and
dental abscess A dental abscess is a localized collection of pus associated with a tooth. The most common type of dental abscess is a periapical abscess, and the second most common is a periodontal abscess. In a periapical abscess, usually the origin is ...
es which resulted in the loss of two teeth. Although no dental plaque was detected on any of the surviving teeth, it was likely present. Iaba suffered from slight wear to some of her joints; slight signs of wear were found in the right elbow and right knee joints, with stronger signs of wear found in the left hip joint. The spine shows signs of the early stages of
osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...
and further signs of wear was also found in the joints of some of the vertebrae. Iaba also suffered from chronic
sinusitis Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is an inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include production of thick nasal mucus, nasal congestion, facial congestion, facial pain, facial pressure ...
.


Body II A (Atalia)

The upper skeleton in the sarcophagus, smaller than the lower one' and typically identified as Atalia, had by far the most health issues of any of the seventeen individuals buried in the tombs at Nimrud. Like the other queen, Atalia appears to have died aged approximately 30–35, and her body was after death for unknown reasons roasted or smoked for several hours (at a temperature in the range 150–250 °C; 302–482 °F) before being wrapped in a shroud. Compared to the other queens, Atalia's dental health was notably bad; her first
premolar The premolars, also called premolar Tooth (human), teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the Canine tooth, canine and Molar (tooth), molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per dental terminology#Quadrant, quadrant in ...
has a cavity and she suffered not only from dental plaque but also from an abscess and from inflammation in her gums. Problems were not limited to the teeth; both her
frontal sinus The frontal sinuses are one of the four pairs of paranasal sinuses that are situated behind the brow ridges. Sinuses are mucosa-lined airspaces within the bones of the face and skull. Each opens into the anterior part of the corresponding middle ...
es exhibit evidence of inflammation and though she was at most 35 years old at the time of death, several of Atalia's vertebrae, as well as her ankle joints, hips, shoulders and knees show signs of mild
arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
. Atalia's vertebrae show some features that may suggest that she was suffering from the early stages of
Scheuermann's disease Scheuermann's disease is a skeletal disorder. It describes a condition where the vertebrae grow unevenly with respect to the sagittal plane; that is, the posterior angle is often greater than the anterior. This uneven growth results in the sig ...
, which eventually produces a "hunchback". Perhaps this condition was brought on by
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
weakening Atalia's bone structure,
osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to more porous bone, and consequent increase in Bone fracture, fracture risk. It is the most common reason f ...
, or some unknown infection. Because Atalia's teeth exhibit linear enamel hypoplasia, it is evident that she at some point in her childhood suffered from a severe long-term illness. At some point she also pulled a leg muscle and at another point, she broke one of her toes. Atalia's perhaps most painful condition was revealed by the frontal, parietal and
occipital The occipital bone () is a cranial dermal bone and the main bone of the occiput (back and lower part of the skull). It is trapezoidal in shape and curved on itself like a shallow dish. The occipital bone lies over the occipital lobes of the cere ...
bones of her skull being thickened. The inner surfaces of these bones suggest that Atalia, due to her
meninges In anatomy, the meninges (; meninx ; ) are the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord. In mammals, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. Cerebrospinal fluid is located in the subarachnoid spac ...
reacting to the thickening, suffered from inflammation within the skull so severe that the swelling blood vessels changed the interior of the skull bones. This recurring and incurable condition would have caused immense pain. A number of stone amulets found in Tomb II contain spells meant to protect against head pain. Though no name is inscribed on these, they likely belonged to Atalia.


Fate of the bones

Around 2002, there were rumors that the bones of the two queens from Tomb II, and the other royal individuals in the tombs, were to be honored with a state funeral and reburied. Any such plans never came to fruition. In 2015, the bones were still stored at the Mosul Museum. That year, the ruins of the Northwest Palace were destroyed by the
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
and the Mosul Museum was also attacked, leaving the fate of the royal remains unclear. The gold from Tomb II is stored at the Baghdad Museum and unscathed.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Neo-Assyrian queens 8th-century BC people 8th-century BC women Neo-Assyrian Empire Ancient Assyrians Ancient Mesopotamian women Assyrian queens Sargon II Trios