Naqi'a

Naqiʾa or Naqia (Akkadian: , also known as Zakūtu (), was a wife of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (705–681 BC) and the mother of his son and successor Esarhaddon (681–669). Naqiʾa is the best documented woman in the history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and she reached an unprecedented level of prominence and public visibility; she was perhaps the most influential woman in Assyrian history. She is one of the few ancient Assyrian women to be depicted in artwork, to commission her own building projects, and to be granted laudatory epithets in letters by courtiers. She is also the only known ancient Assyrian figure other than kings to write and issue a treaty.

Naqiʾa must have been married to Sennacherib before he became king (705) since she gave birth to his son Esarhaddon 713. Whether she ever held the position of queen is debated; Assyrian kings had multiple wives but the evidence suggests that only one of them could be the queen at any one given time. Sennacherib is known to have had another queen, Tašmētu-šarrat. Naqiʾa might have become queen late in Sennacherib's reign. She is referred to as the "queen of Sennacherib" in documents from the reign of her son. In 684, Sennacherib, perhaps influenced by Naqiʾa, designated Esarhaddon as his crown prince despite having older sons.