Though these inscriptions only record her name and her position as Sennacherib's queen, their mere existence is significant since very few people in Assyria held prominent enough status to do such a thing.
[6] Tashmetu-sharrat is known from texts found at both Nineveh, the capital under Sennacherib, and Assur, the religious and ceremonial center of the empire; it is probable that she owned residences in both cities.
A long and unique text inscribed near one of the entrances to a suite in the Southwest Palace of Nineveh, constructed by Sennacherib,[7] includes great and public praise by the king for the queen.
[8] In the text, Sennacherib writes that he built this suite for his queen and ḫīrtu narāmtīya ("beloved spouse") Tashmetu-sharrat, praises her great beauty, and expresses his wish to live with her in the palace in ṭūb šīri u ḫūd libbi ("physical and emotional bliss") forever.
[7] The suite given to Tashmetu-sharrat does not appear to have been a residential one, but rather perhaps a hall intended for state activity related to her holdings in the empire, banquets and receptions.
[4] Though Riekele Borger suggested that the inscription from the Southwest Palace indicates that Tashmetu-sharrat, because of her beauty, was very young, there is no reason why Sennacherib would not be able to praise her looks even if she was in her thirties or forties.