Tashmetum

Tashmetum (, dtaš-me-tum, Tašmētum) was a Mesopotamian goddess. Her character is poorly understood, and she is best attested as the spouse of Nabu, though they only came to be associated with each other in the eighteenth century BCE. She was worshiped in Assyria as early as in the nineteenth century BCE, and reached Babylonia in the Old Babylonian period. Sources from the first millennium BCE indicate she was venerated alongside Nabu in cities such as Borsippa and Kalhu.

==Name== The theonym Tashmetum has Akkadian origin. It is derived from the root šemû, "to hear". The translations "hearing" and "reconciliation" have been suggested, though neither is certain, as the term is not attested as an abstract noun, only as a theonym and personal name. Zachary Rubin proposes translating it as "she hears" instead. Franscesco Pomponio suggested the alternate translation "intelligence", relying on the association between Tashmetum and Nabu, but no evidence for the term tašmētum ever being assigned such a meaning exists.