Page:Next-of-kin Marriages in Old Iran.djvu/43

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NEXT-OF-KIN MARRIAGES.

the mouth of King Artaxerxes II. words which plainly denounce such practices as being inconsistent not only with the laws of the land, but with the commandment of Zoroastrianism (vide Agathias, Lib. II., C. 24). The Achæmenian monuments do not allude to such practices, nor have we any indigenous historical record of the Achæmenidæ or the Arsacidæ, upon which we could place any reliance for comparison.—Alas! for the dispersion and destruction of our ancient literature, which, had it been preserved, would not only have assisted us to know the exact history of the old Irânian civilization, but also to controvert with ease all such discreditable allegations.

Nevertheless, the question arises: Granted that the classical statements are to some extent doubtful; still are we not justified in believing that such marriages were customary or regarded as lawful during the rule of the Achæmenian kings, since the Greek reports refer to certain Persian monarchs or men of authority who contracted marriages with their nearest blood-relations? It is true, Herodo-

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