Apamea (Sittacene)
Encyclopedia
Apamea or Apameia is an ancient Hellenistic city described by Pliny
(vi. 31) in Sittacene
, which was surrounded by the Tigris
. Its precise current location is not known.
It received the name of Apamea from the mother of Antiochus I Soter
, the first of the Seleucids; Strabo
asserts 261 BCE for its foundation. (Pliny adds: haec dividitur Archoo, as if a stream flowed through the town. D'Anville (L'Euphrate et le Tigre) supposes that Apamea was at the point where the Dijeil, now dry, branched off from the Tigris. D'Anville places the bifurcation near Samarrah, and there he puts Apamea. But Lynch (London Geog. Journal, vol. ix. p. 473) shows that the Dijeil branched off near Jibbarah, a little north of 34° North latitude. He supposes that the Dijeil once swept the end of the Median Wall
and flowed between it and Jibbarah. Somewhere, then, about this place Apamea may have been, for this point of the bifurcation of the Tigris is one degree of latitude north of Seleucia
, and if the course of the river is measured, it will probably be not far from the distance which Pliny gives (cxxv. M. P.).
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(vi. 31) in Sittacene
Sittacene
Sittacene was an ancient region of Babylonia and Assyria situated about the main city of Sittace. Pliny in his Natural History, Book 6, §§ 205-206, places Sittacene between Chalonitis, Persis and Mesene and also between Arbelitis and Palestine . Besides Sittace, Sabata, and Antiochia are...
, which was surrounded by the Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
. Its precise current location is not known.
It received the name of Apamea from the mother of Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He reigned from 281 BC - 261 BC....
, the first of the Seleucids; Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
asserts 261 BCE for its foundation. (Pliny adds: haec dividitur Archoo, as if a stream flowed through the town. D'Anville (L'Euphrate et le Tigre) supposes that Apamea was at the point where the Dijeil, now dry, branched off from the Tigris. D'Anville places the bifurcation near Samarrah, and there he puts Apamea. But Lynch (London Geog. Journal, vol. ix. p. 473) shows that the Dijeil branched off near Jibbarah, a little north of 34° North latitude. He supposes that the Dijeil once swept the end of the Median Wall
Median Wall
The Median Wall was a wall built to the north of the ancient city of Babylon at a point where the distance between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates decreases considerably. It was believed to have been constructed during the latter part of the reign of Nebuchadrezzar II and to have consisted of baked...
and flowed between it and Jibbarah. Somewhere, then, about this place Apamea may have been, for this point of the bifurcation of the Tigris is one degree of latitude north of Seleucia
Seleucia on the Tigris
Seleucia , also known as Seleucia on the Tigris, was one of the great cities of the world during Hellenistic and Roman times. It stood in Mesopotamia, on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the smaller town of Ctesiphon, in present day Babil Governorate, Iraq.-Seleucid empire:Seleucia,...
, and if the course of the river is measured, it will probably be not far from the distance which Pliny gives (cxxv. M. P.).