Apama (), sometimes known as Apama I or Apame I, was a

Sogdia Sogdia () 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 a province of the Achaemen ...

n noblewoman and the wife of the first ruler of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to fo ...

. They married at Susa in 324 BC. According to

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

, 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, Co ...

. 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 (, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus Soter, the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instabi ...

(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 Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

, by whom he had a daughter 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 (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

(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 Seleucus I Nicator {{MEast-hist-stub