Spitamenes of Sogdia

• Preferred Name: Spitamenes of Sogdia^{[1] [2]}
  
• Gender: M
  
• MilitaryService: Sogdian Warlord329 BC with note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitamenes
  
• Birth: BEF 210 in Sogdia, Central Asia at LATI: N0 LONG: E0
  
• FSID: LL7N-4SS
  
• Death: BEF 259 in Scythia, Central Asia at LATI: N4.25 LONG: E8.3333 with note: The Scythians, Massagetae and Spitamenes himself managed to escape from the battle and looted the baggage train along the way. Hearing of this Alexander vowed to personally lead the campaign against Spitamenes and pursue him into Scythian territory. When the Scythians got wind of Alexander himself leading the charge they promptly beheaded Spitamenes and sent it to Alexander in order to avoid his wrath.
  
• MilitaryService: He was defeated by Alexander's general CoenusDEC 327 BC in Battle Of Gabai
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Spitamenes (Old Persian Spitamana; Greek Σπιταμένης; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlord[1][2] and the leader of the uprising in Sogdiana and Bactria against Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, in 329 BC. He has been credited by modern historians as one of the most tenacious adversaries of Alexander.[3]
  
  Biography
  Spitamenes was an ally of Bessus.[4][5] In 329, Bessus stirred a revolt in the eastern satrapies, and the same year his allies began to be uncertain about supporting him.[6] Alexander went with his army to Drapsaca, outflanked Bessus and sent him fleeing. Bessus was then removed from power by Spitamenes, and Ptolemy was sent to catch him.[7][8][9][10]
  
  While Alexander was founding the new city of Alexandria Eschate on the Jaxartes river, news came that Spitamenes had roused Sogdiana against him and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in Markanda. Too occupied at that time to personally lead an army against Spitamenes, Alexander sent an army under the command of Pharnuches which was promptly annihilated with a loss of no less than 2000[5] infantry and 300 cavalry.[11]
  
  The uprising now posed a direct threat to his army, and Alexander moved personally to relieve Markanda, only to learn that Spitamenes had left Sogdiana and was attacking Bactria, from where he was repulsed with great difficulty by the satrap of Bactria, Artabazos II (328 BC).
  
  The decisive point came in December 328 BC when Spitamenes was defeated by Alexander's general Coenus at the Battle of Gabai. Spitamenes was killed by some treacherous nomadic tribes' leaders and they sent his head to Alexander, suing for peace.
  
  Spitamenes had a daughter, Apama, who was married to one of Alexander's most important generals and an eventual Diadochi, Seleucus I Nicator (February 324 BC). The couple had a son, Antiochus I Soter, a future ruler of the Seleucid Empire.[12][13] Several towns were named Apamea in her honour.
  
  More about the marriage of Seleuces ans Apatama is in this link. http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/seleuces.html

1. Apama , Queen of Bactria I, b. 345 BC in Sogdia, Central Asia     d. 280 BC in Babylon, Mesopotamia, Seleucid Empire

1. Title: Wikipedia - Spitamenes of Sogdia
   Author: Sources[edit] Heckel, Waldemar (2006). Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire. Blackwell Publishing. Heckel, Waldemar (2020). In the Path of Conquest: Resistance to Alexander the Great. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190076689.
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitamenes;
   Note: Spitamenes (Old Persian Spitamana; Greek Σπιταμένης; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlord[1][2] and the leader of the uprising in Sogdiana and Bactria against Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, in 329 BC. He has been credited by modern historians as one of the most tenacious adversaries of Alexander.[3] Biography Spitamenes was an ally of Bessus.[4][5] In 329, Bessus stirred a revolt in the eastern satrapies, and the same year his allies began to be uncertain about supporting him.[6] Alexander went with his army to Drapsaca, outflanked Bessus and sent him fleeing. Bessus was then removed from power by Spitamenes, and Ptolemy was sent to catch him.[7][8][9][10] While Alexander was founding the new city of Alexandria Eschate on the Jaxartes river, news came that Spitamenes had roused Sogdiana against him and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in Markanda. Too occupied at that time to personally lead an army against Spitamenes, Alexander sent an army under the command of Pharnuches which was promptly annihilated with a loss of no less than 2000[5] infantry and 300 cavalry.[11] The uprising now posed a direct threat to his army, and Alexander moved personally to relieve Markanda, only to learn that Spitamenes had left Sogdiana and was attacking Bactria, from where he was repulsed with great difficulty by the satrap of Bactria, Artabazos II (328 BC). The decisive point came in December 328 BC when Spitamenes was defeated by Alexander's general Coenus at the Battle of Gabai. Spitamenes was killed by some treacherous nomadic tribes' leaders and they sent his head to Alexander, suing for peace. Spitamenes had a daughter, Apama, who was married to one of Alexander's most important generals and an eventual Diadochi, Seleucus I Nicator (February 324 BC). The couple had a son, Antiochus I Soter, a future ruler of the Seleucid Empire.[12][13] Several towns were named Apamea in her honour.
   
2. Title: Battle of Gabbai
   Note: The Battle of Gabai was a minor battle within the larger Persian Campaign of Alexander III the Great. It occurred near the city of Gabai in Sogdia (Sogdiana) between the last vestiges and remnants of the Achaememid Empire led by Spitamenes and the invading Macedonians led by Coenus. The battle was relatively small and only consisted of about ten thousand men in total, and occurred in the late autumn or early winter of 328 BCE. The previous year in 329 BCE Alexander had rapidly invaded the Persian territory of Sogdiana. However, after conquering the territory he moved on which created a vacuum for a local leader named Spitamenes to take control and attack the soldiers Alexander had left stationed there to defend his interests. Spitamenes was joined by Sogdians as well as the Scythians and Massagetae from across the Oxus River. It is important to note that historians and archaeologists believe that the Oxus River may have been divereted, blocked or shifted path since the ancient times and used to flow east into the Caspian Sea instead of north into the Aral Sea. In response to the uprising Alexander returned in 328 BCE to establish several fortified garrisons to establish security for the area. The previous hit and run guerrilla tactics of Spitamenes would no longer work against Alexander's troops so they decided to change strategy and engage the Macedonian forces in a full on battle. The battle and the history is described and recorded by Arrian of Nicomedia. Forces The Battle The Macedonians lined up on the dry steppe facing west and the Sogdians and Massagatae faced them to the east. With the climate being that of dry, winter according to Arrian who suggested it did not snow until much later in the season (Arrian 4.21.10). Due to the previous battlefield experience of Spitamenes he was a master of guerilla and smaller warfare. According to Aristobolus previously Spitamenes had managed to ambush and defeat and entire column of around 2,300 Macedonian soldiers led by Pharnuces. The ensuing massacre was so brutal that only 300 of the soldiers managed to escape the bloodbath (Arrian 4.6.1). This meant that Spitamenes was effective with smaller scale ambush tactics and could be countered with a large scale army engagement which is exactly what the Macedonians were hoping for. Aftermath The outcome of the battle was decisively clear. The Macedonians had only lost about 40 soldiers under Coenus and managed to kill over 800 of the enemy. There was no way the guerrilla tactics of the Sogdians could match up to the phalanx strategy of the Macedonian army. Following this defeat the remaining Sogdians surrendered along with the Bactrians. The Scythians, Massagetae and Spitamenes himself managed to escape from the battle and looted the baggage train along the way. Hearing of this Alexander vowed to personally lead the campaign against Spitamenes and pursue him into Scythian territory. When the Scythians got wind of Alexander himself leading the charge they promptly beheaded Spitamenes and sent it to Alexander in order to avoid his wrath. While the Battle of Gabai did not involve Alexander personally leading the battle it is still nonetheless an important aspect to his larger Persian Campaign.