- [i] Related:: [[Princesses in the Bronze Age Levant]] - [b] [[royal court of the Achaemenid empire]] - ["] We don't have any record of Achaemenid wedding vows, but "Till death do they part" would be a fair summary in this case. Persian kings, and really kings in the ancient Near East in general, didn't end their marriages. Royal marriages were never just about love or even sex. Those could be part of the arrangement, but royal marriages always had political implications. - ["] In some cases, it was a simple as producing potential heirs. Every child of the king had some kind of stake in the throne. More importantly, royal marriages were a way to shore up political allegiances in the empire. A direct family relationship with the king was valuable political commodity that could be secured by a marriage either to the king himself or one of his family members. Once again, this makes the progeny of any royal union important. Sons and daughters alike could be married off to secure political ties. Terminating a royal marriage would muddy the waters, leaving room for rumors of infidelity, bastard children, or secret legitimate heirs.