Apama ( grc, Ἀπάμα, Apáma), sometimes known as Apama I or Apame I, was a Sogdian noblewoman and the wife of the first ruler of the Seleucid Empire,

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

. They married at Susa in 324 BC. According to Arrian, Apama was the daughter of the Sogdian baron

Spitamenes Spitamenes (Old Persian ''Spitamana''; Greek ''Σπιταμένης''; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlordHolt, Frank L. (1989), ''Alexander the Great and Bactria: the Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia'', Leiden, New York, Cope ...

. 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 Antiochus I Soter ( grc-gre, Ἀντίοχος Σωτήρ, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus the Saviour"; c. 324/32 June 261 BC) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned d ...

who inherited the Seleucid throne, Achaeus, and a daughter also called Apama. Circa 300-297 BC, Seleucus married Stratonice, daughter of

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynas ...

, Seleucus had a daughter by Stratonice, who was called Phila.Chronicle of Johannes Malalas
/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 Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

(57–8), her husband named three cities

Apamea Apamea or Apameia ( grc, Απάμεια) is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see. Places called Apamea in ...

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