Amestris a relative away from Darius was stated several times throughout the messages. She is married to a man titled Craterus however, was in the near future given up by your and just after the girl split up was remarried to help you Dionysius, a neighbor hood leader. It put around three college students and just after this lady husbands’ dying in 306 BC she acted since regent. She reigned as the queen for some time but was ultimately slain from the her sons. We do not has actually much factual statements about the marriage ceremonies. Really the only lead membership was Alexander’s relationships within Susa into the Iranian princess Stateira a girl of your own defeated king Darius III. As reported by the new Greek he said historians the wedding are achieved when you look at the Persian society. “This new bride to be joined the room and you will sat near the groom. The guy took the woman hands and you can kissed her or him. The 2 consumed on same loaf out-of money sliced within the two parts by a blade and consumed particular wines. Following the service the lady partner grabbed the new bride household”.

The newest deals was closed before numerous witnesses who were as well as titled on preparations

Latest source in Babylonia or any other areas under Achaemenid forgotten particular white with the courtroom region of the wedding alliances off ordinary people. We have zero proof the strategies discussed within these data could be same as those who work in Persia although not parallels stayed and you may all the information try discussing. Forty-five including relationships agreements are receive for the Babylonia. Brand new agreements will always between your partner and you will people in the fresh bride’s loved ones. It focus on the fresh husband’s hope to-be given the woman in-marriage and you can merchandise as made available to the bride-to-be and you may the lady relatives.

In case your husband chooses to take a second girlfriend they are to offer the first partner a specified sum of money, and you may she get come back to her home. The new ladies’ dowry can include belongings, home gadgets, precious jewelry, money and you will slaves. Regarding wife’s adultery brand new discipline often is demise.

Most other records for the Babylonia (along with Elam and you may Egypt) reveal that females had services, that they you will definitely promote or rent. Following loss of their partner, the fresh new widowed girlfriend inherited regarding lifeless in the event she performed n’t have college students. A female couldn’t play the role of an experience in the attracting up of deals, however, she you can expect to play the role of a hiring people and now have the lady very own close. When the there have been people out of several wives, the kids of one’s basic girlfriend handed down two-thirds additionally the other people 1 / 3 just. It is not clear what might function as situation if a good guy got more than a couple of wives. In the event the a woman passed away childless, the latest dowry is returned to our home off the woman father.

The family was monogamous however, significantly less than certain requirements husbands you will definitely marry other wives and you can was indeed enabled sexual activity that have slaves and house servants ( a familiar practice in the region)

There were attempts by Darius to codify the legal system but no standard set of laws is discovered. The conquered territories used their own legal system with little interference from the central administration. For example Jewish colonies in Elephantine in Egypt followed their own legal code. Husbands remained monogamous and all property and family matters were settled in the special courts of the Jews. Of all the territories under Achaemenid administration Egyptian women enjoyed more rights and privileges. A husband did not have the right to pawn her wife as security for debts. This practice existed in various forms in Babylonia and even Sassanian Persia. Wives retained their own property in marriage and after divorce. They also had the right to transfer their property to their children as inheritance and could initiate divorce. If the husband initiated divorce he had to apportion a part of the property to his wife. If the woman asked for a divorce she had to return the money she had received from her husband as bride price and could not lay claim upon property acquired jointly with the husband. Sons and daughters inherited equal portions. However fathers’ power over children was substantial and he could pawn them as security for debt.