Damaspia (from Old Persian *Jāmāspi- [1] or *ðāmāspyā-[2]) was an Achaemenid queen, wife of the king Artaxerxes I and mother of Xerxes II, his legitimate heir.
According to the Greek historian Ctesias of Cnidus, King Artaxerxes and his wife died the same day (424 BC, perhaps during a military expedition), and their corpses were carried to Persia. Xerxes succeeded his father, but was murdered not much later (423 BC) by his half-brother Sogdianus.
The epitome made by Photius of Ctesias' book is the only source that mentions Damaspia by name.[3] Documents from Babylon dating in Artaxerxes' reign, refer to certain estates as "the house of the woman of the palace". This anonymous woman could be Damaspia, or the queen motherAmestris.[4] In an episode from the biblical book of Nehemiah (2:6) Artaxerxes is mentioned as being in the company of a royal wife, who could be identified with Damaspia or a consort of lower rank.[5][6]
