Damaspia was a queen of Persia, wife of king Artaxerxes I, and mother of Xerxes II, his legitimate heir. She was probably Persian.

According to the Greek

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 historian Ctesias of Cnidus, king Artaxerxes and his wife died the same day (424 BC

424 BC

Year 424 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Crassus, Fidenas, Rutilus and Iullus...

, perhaps during a military expedition), and their corpses were carried to Persia. Xerxes succeeded his father, but was murdered not much later (423 BC

423 BC

Year 423 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Atratinus and Ambustus...

) by his half-brother Sogdianus.

The epitome

Epitome

An epitome is a summary or miniature form; an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment....

 made by Photius of Ctesias' book is the only source

Source text

A source text is a text from which information or ideas are derived. In translation, a source text is the original text that is to be translated into another language.-Description:...

 that mentions Damaspia by name. Documents from Babylon

Babylon

Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...

 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 Mother

Queen mother

Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...

 Amestris

Amestris

Amestris or Amastris was the wife of Xerxes I of Persia, mother of king Artaxerxes I of Persia. She was known to have been poorly regarded by ancient Greek historians....

.