Editing Ninus (section)

==Historicity==
The decipherment of a vast quantity of cuneiform texts has allowed modern [[Assyriologists]] to piece together a more accurate history of [[Sumer]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkad]], [[Babylonia]], [[Assyria]], and [[Chaldea]] aa well as of the Levant, Anatolia and Ancient Iran. Ninus (like Nimrod) is not attested in any of the far older extensive king lists compiled by the Mesopotamians themselves, nor mentioned in any Mesopotamian literature, and is thus considered wholly fictional.

An Assyrian queen [[Shammuramat]] is known to be historical, and for five years from 811 BC ruled the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] as regent for her son [[Adad-nirari III]], and had been the wife of [[Shamshi-Adad V]], rather than having any conne tion to the fictional Ninus. The later Hellenic myths surrounding Semiramis are considered by some to be inspired by the novelty of a woman ruling what was the largest empire in history at that point.