The Akkadian cuneiform term used to designate the queen in the Neo-Assyrian Empire was mí.é.gal,[1][2] munus.é.gal[3][4] or mí.kur,[5] which would be rendered in Assyrian as issi ekalli, literally meaning "Woman of the Palace".[lower-alpha 1] The term could also perhaps be abbeviated to sēgallu,[1][3][2][5] with the same meaning.[2][5] Modern historians recognize the Neo-Assyrian "Women of the Palace" as queens, though this diverges from the ancient Assyrian terminology.[1][5] The feminine version of the word for "king" (šarru) was šarratu, but this term was only applied to goddesses and queens of foreign nations who ruled in their own right.