Apama ( grc, Ἀπάμα, Apáma), sometimes known as Apama I or Apame I,
was a
Sogdia
Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...
n noblewoman and the wife of the first ruler of the
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
,
Seleucus I Nicator. They
married at Susa in 324 BC. According to
Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period.
''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
, Apama was the daughter of the
Sogdian baron
Spitamenes.
Apame was the only of the Susa wives to become queen as, unlike the other generals, Seleucus kept her after Alexander's death.
Apama had three children with her husband:
Antiochus I Soter who inherited the Seleucid throne,
Achaeus
Achaeus is a masculine given name. It may refer to:
People
* Achaeus of Eretria (born 484 BC), tragic poet
* Achaeus of Syracuse (4th century BC), tragic poet
* Achaeus (son of Seleucus I Nicator) (3rd century BC), Greek Macedonian nobleman
* Ac ...
, and a daughter also called Apama.
Circa 300-297 BC, Seleucus married
Stratonice, daughter of
Demetrius I of Macedon, Seleucus had a daughter by Stratonice, who was called
Phila
Phila may refer to a shortened name for the City of Philadelphia, U.S.
It may also refer to:
*Phila of Elimeia, sister of Derdas and wife of Philip II of Macedon
*Phila (daughter of Antipater), wife of Balacrus, Craterus and Demetrius Poliorcetes ...
.
[Chronicle of Johannes Malalas](_blank)
/ref> According to Malalas's chronicle, he married her after the death of Apama but, according to other sources, she was still alive, as the people of Miletus honored her with a statue that year.
According to Appian (57–8), her husband named three cities Apamea after her. Modern scholars consider them to be Apamea on the Orontes River, Apamea in the Euphrates and Apamea in Media.
Notes
4th-century BC women
4th-century BC Iranian people
Seleucid royal consorts
Sogdian people
{{MEast-hist-stub