Royal intermarriage


Royal intermarriage is the practice of members of ruling dynasties marrying into other reigning families. It was more commonly done in the past as part of strategic diplomacy for national interest. Although sometimes enforced by legal requirement on persons of royal birth, more often it has been a matter of political policy or tradition in monarchies.
In Europe, the practice was most prevalent from the medieval era until the outbreak of World War I, but evidence of intermarriage between royal dynasties in other parts of the world can be found as far back as the Bronze Age. Monarchs were often in pursuit of national and international aggrandisement on behalf of themselves and their dynasties, thus bonds of kinship tended to promote or restrain aggression. Marriage between dynasties could serve to initiate, reinforce or guarantee peace between nations. Alternatively, kinship by marriage could secure an alliance between two dynasties which sought to reduce the sense of threat from or to initiate aggression against the realm of a third dynasty. It could also enhance the prospect of territorial acquisition for a dynasty by procuring legal claim to a foreign throne, or portions of its realm, through inheritance from an heiress whenever a monarch failed to leave an undisputed male heir.
In parts of Europe, royalty continued to regularly marry into the families of their greatest vassals as late as the 16th century. More recently, they have tended to marry internationally. In other parts of the world royal intermarriage was less prevalent and the number of instances varied over time, depending on the culture and foreign policy of the era.

By continent/country

While the contemporary Western ideal sees marriage as a unique bond between two people who are in love, families in which heredity is central to power or inheritance have often seen marriage in a different light. There are often political or other non-romantic functions that must be served and the relative wealth and power of the potential spouses may be considered. Marriage for political, economic, or diplomatic reasons, the marriage of state, was a pattern seen for centuries among European rulers.

Africa

At times, marriage between members of the same dynasty has been common in Central Africa.
In West Africa, the sons and daughters of Yoruba kings were traditionally given in marriage to their fellow royals as a matter of dynastic policy. Sometimes these marriages would involve members of other tribes. Erinwinde of Benin, for example, was taken as a wife by the Oba Ọranyan of Oyo during his time as governor of Benin. Their son Eweka went on to found the dynasty that rules the Kingdom of Benin.
Marriages between the Swazi, Zulu and Thembu royal houses of southern Africa are common. For example, the daughter of South African president and Thembu royal Nelson Mandela, Zenani Mandela, married Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, a brother of Mswati III, King of Eswatini. Elsewhere in the region, Princess Semane Khama of the Bamangwato tribe of Botswana married Kgosi Lebone Edward Molotlegi of the Bafokeng tribe of South Africa.
Other examples of historical, mythical and contemporary royal intermarriages throughout Africa include:
Several Egyptian pharaohs married the daughters of neighbouring kings to secure peace and form alliances. The Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty, the earliest known surviving peace treaty in the world, was sealed by a marriage between the pharaoh Ramesses II and a Hittite princess. Pharaoh Amasis II married a Greek princess named Ladice daughter of King Battus III of Cyrene.
Not to mention the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the last dynasty to rule all of Egypt before its incorporation into the Roman Republic, who were infamous for their inbreeding in the form of sibling marriages. This was to keep their bloodline pure, and to prevent external forces from potentially taking power through a connection to the royal line.
However, Pharaoh Amenhotep III alone is known to have married several foreign women: Gilukhepa, daughter of Shuttarna II of Mitanni, in the tenth year of his reign; Tadukhepa, daughter of his ally Tushratta of Mitanni, around Year 36 of his reign; a daughter of Kurigalzu I of Babylon; a daughter of Kadashman-Enlil I of Babylon; a daughter of Tarhundaradu of Arzawa; and a daughter of the ruler of Ammia.

Asia

Babylonia and Assyria

There are a few recorded cases of intermarriage between Assyrian and Babylonian royals. According to legend, the Babylonian Semiramis was married to the Assyrian general Onnes and then to the Assyrian king Ninus, the legendary founder of Nineveh according to the Ancient Greeks. She has been equated with the historical Shammuramat, wife of Shamshi-Adad V. In turn, Shammuramat has been claimed to be of Babylonian descent. In the early 9th century BC, the Babylonian king Nabu-shuma-ukin I exchanged daughters in marriage with the contemporary Assyrian monarch. The Assyrian princess Muballitat-Sherua, daughter of Ashur-uballit I, was given in marriage to the contemporary Babylonian monarch. She was the mother of the future Babylonian king Kara-hardash. Additionally, Kurigalzu II was either the son or grandson of Muballitat. Other consorts of Assyrian monarchs, such as Naqiʾa, Ešarra-ḫammat, Banitu might also have been of Babylonian origin.

Babylon and Elam

Babylonians and Elamites engaged many times in royal intermarriage, especially in the Kassite period. It is probable that Elamites and Kassites had close ties long before the first attested royal intermarriages between them. Babylonian Kassites and Elamites intensively intermarried for a period of about 120 years, from c. 1290 to 1170 BC. The royal intermarriages in this period were: Pahir-ishshan to eldest daughter of Kurigalzu II ; Untash-Napirisha to daughter of prince Burnaburiash ; Kidin-Hutran to daughter of prince -duniash ; Shutruk-Nakhunte to the eldest daughter of Melishihu. Also Napirisha-Untash and Hutelutush-Inshushinak are thought to have married Babylonian Kassite princesses. A man of Elamite origin, Mar-biti-apla-usur, the founder of the so-called Elamite dynasty, reigned in Babylon from around 980 to 975 BC, though the identity and origin of his consort are unknown. He might not have been himself from Elam but a Babylonian partially of Elamite origin.

Thailand

The Chakri dynasty of Thailand has included marriages between royal relatives, but marriages between dynasties and foreigners, including foreign royals, are rare. This is in part due to Section 11 of 1924 Palace Law of Succession which excludes members of the royal family from the line of succession if they marry a non-Thai national.
The late king Bhumibol Adulyadej was a first cousin once removed of his wife, Sirikit, the two being, respectively, a grandson and a great-granddaughter of Chulalongkorn. Chulalongkorn married a number of his half-sisters, including Savang Vadhana and Sunandha Kumariratana; all shared the same father, Mongkut. He also married Dara Rasmi, a princess of a vassal state.

Vietnam

The Lý dynasty which ruled Dai Viet married its princesses off to regional rivals to establish alliances with them. One of these marriages was between a Lý empress regnant and a member of fishermen-turned-warlords Trần clan from Nam Định, which enabled the Trần to then topple the Lý and established their own Trần dynasty.
A Lý princess also married into the Hồ clan faction, which later usurped power and established the Hồ dynasty after having a Tran princess marry their leader, Hồ Quý Ly.

Cambodia

The Cambodian King Chey Chettha II married the Vietnamese Nguyễn lord Princess Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Vạn, a daughter of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, in 1618. In return, the king granted the Vietnamese the right to establish settlements in Mô Xoài, in the region of Prey Nokor—which they colloquially referred to as Sài Gòn, and which later became Ho Chi Minh City.

India

In the Chola dynasty in southern India, Madhurantaki the daughter of Emperor Rajendra II married Kulottunga I the son of Eastern Chalukya ruler Rajaraja Narendra. This was to improve the relationship between the two royal houses and to straighten Chola influence in Vengai. Kulottunga and Madhurantaki were first cousins as Kulottunga's mother Amangai Devi was the sister of Rajendra II making them both the grandchildren of Emperor Rajendra I.

China

Marriage policy in imperial China differed from dynasty to dynasty. Several dynasties practiced Heqin, which involved marrying off princesses to other royal families.
The Xiongnu practiced marriage alliances with Han dynasty officers and officials who defected to their side. The older sister of the Chanyu was married to the Xiongnu general Zhao Xin, the Marquis of Xi who was serving the Han dynasty. The daughter of the Chanyu was married to the Han Chinese general Li Ling after he surrendered and defected. The Yenisei Kirghiz Khagans claimed descent from Li Ling. Another Han Chinese general who defected to the Xiongnu was Li Guangli who also married a daughter of the Chanyu.
The Xianbei Tuoba royal family of Northern Wei started to arrange for Han Chinese elites to marry daughters of the royal family in the 480s. Some Han Chinese exiled royalty fled from southern China and defected to the Xianbei. Several daughters of the Xianbei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei were married to Han Chinese elites, the Han Chinese Liu Song royal Liu Hui 劉輝, married Princess Lanling 蘭陵公主 of the Northern Wei, Princess Huayang 華陽公主 to Sima Fei 司馬朏, a descendant of Jin dynasty royalty, Princess Jinan 濟南公主 to Lu Daoqian 盧道虔, Princess Nanyang 南陽長公主 to Xiao Baoyin 蕭寶夤, a member of Southern Qi royalty. Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei's sister the Shouyang Princess was wedded to The Liang dynasty ruler Emperor Wu of Liang's son Xiao Zong 蕭綜.
When the Eastern Jin dynasty ended Northern Wei received the Jin prince Sima Chuzhi 司馬楚之 as a refugee. A Northern Wei Princess married Sima Chuzhi, giving birth to Sima Jinlong. Northern Liang King Juqu Mujian's daughter married Sima Jinlong.
The Rouran Khaganate arranged for one of their princesses, Khagan Yujiulü Anagui's daughter Princess Ruru 蠕蠕公主 to be married to the Han Chinese ruler Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei.
The Kingdom of Gaochang was made out of Han Chinese colonists and ruled by the Han Chinese Qu family which originated from Gansu. Jincheng commandery 金城, district of Yuzhong 榆中 was the home of the Qu Jia. The Qu family was linked by marriage alliances to the Turks, with a Turk being the grandmother of King Qu Boya.
Tang dynasty emperors exchanged and the rulers of the Uyghur Khaganate exchanged princesses in marriage to consolidate the special trade and military relationship that developed after the Khaganate supported the Chinese during the An Lushan Rebellion. The Uyghur Khaganate exchanged princesses in marriage with Tang dynasty China in 756 to seal the alliance against An Lushan. The Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur Khan had his daughter Uyghur Princess Pijia married to Chinese prince Li Chengcai of the Tang dynasty, Prince of Dunhuang, son of Li Shouli, Prince of Bin, while Chinese princess Ninguo of the Tang dynasty married Uyghur Khagan Bayanchur. At least three Tang imperial princesses are known to have married khagans between 758 and 821. These unions temporarily stopped in 788, partly because stability within China meant that they were politically unnecessary. However, threats from Tibet in the west, and a renewed need for Uyghur support, precipitated the marriage of Princess Taihe to Bilge Khagan.
The ethnically Chinese Cao family ruling Guiyi Circuit established marriage alliances with the Uighurs of the Ganzhou Kingdom, with both the Cao rulers marrying Uighur princesses and with Cao princesses marrying Uighur rulers. The Ganzhou Uighur Khagan's daughter was married to Cao Yijin in 916.
The Chinese Cao family ruling Guiyi Circuit established marriage alliances with the Saka Kingdom of Khotan, with both the Cao rulers marrying Khotanese princesses and with Cao princesses marrying Khotanese rulers. A Khotanese princess who was the daughter of the King of Khotan married Cao Yanlu.
The Khitan Liao dynasty arranged for women from the Khitan royal consort Xiao clan to marry members of the Han Chinese Han 韓 clan, which originated in Jizhou 冀州 before being abducted by the Khitan and becoming part of the Han Chinese elite of the Liao.
Han Chinese Geng family intermarried with the Khitan and the Han 韓 clan provided two of their women as wives to Geng Yanyi and the second one was the mother of Geng Zhixin. Empress Rende's sister, a member of the Xiao clan, was the mother of Han Chinese General Geng Yanyi.
Han Durang was the father of Queen dowager of State Chen, who was the wife of General Geng Yanyi and buried with him in his tomb in Zhaoyang in Liaoning. His wife was also known as "Madame Han". The Geng's tomb is located in Liaoning at Guyingzi in Chaoying.
Emperors of the proceeding Song dynasty tended to marry from within their own borders. Tang emperors, mainly took their wives from high-ranking bureaucratic families, but the Song dynasty did not consider rank important when it came to selecting their consorts. It has been estimated that only a quarter of Song consorts were from such families, with the rest being from lower status backgrounds. For example, Liu, consort of Emperor Zhenzong, had been a street performer and consort Miao, wife of Emperor Renzong was the daughter of his own wet nurse.
During the Qing dynasty, emperors chose their consorts primarily from one of the eight Banner families, administrative divisions that divide all native Manchu families. To maintain the ethnic purity of the ruling dynasty, after the Kangxi Period, emperors and princes were forbidden to marry non-Manchu and non-Mongol wives. Imperial daughters however were not covered by this ban, and as with their preceding dynasties, were often married to Mongol princes to gain political or military support, especially in the early years of the Qing dynasty; three of the nine daughters of Emperor Nurhaci and twelve of Emperor Hongtaiji's daughters were married to Mongol princes.
The Manchu imperial Aisin Gioro clan practiced marriage alliances with Han Chinese Ming generals and Mongol princes. Aisin Gioro women were married to Han Chinese generals who defected to the Manchu side during the Manchu conquest of China. The Manchu leader Nurhaci married one of his granddaughters to the Ming general Li Yongfang after he surrendered Fushun in Liaoning to the Manchu in 1618 and a mass marriage of Han Chinese officers and officials to Manchu women numbering 1,000 couples was arranged by Prince Yoto 岳托 and Hongtaiji in 1632 to promote harmony between the two ethnic groups. Aisin Gioro women were married to the sons of the Han Chinese generals Sun Sike 孫思克, Geng Jimao, Shang Kexi, and Wu Sangui.
Nurhaci's son Abatai's daughter was married to Li Yongfang. The offspring of Li received the "Third Class Viscount" title. Li Yongfang was the great-great-great-grandfather of Li Shiyao 李侍堯.
The "efu" 額駙 rank was given to husbands of Qing princesses. Geng Zhongming, a Han bannerman, was awarded the title of Prince Jingnan, and his son Geng Jinmao managed to have both his sons Geng Jingzhong and Geng Zhaozhong 耿昭忠 become court attendants under the Shunzhi Emperor and married Aisin Gioro women, with Prince Abatai's granddaughter marrying Geng Zhaozhong 耿昭忠 and Haoge's daughter marrying Geng Jingzhong. A daughter 和硕柔嘉公主 of the Manchu Aisin Gioro Prince Yolo 岳樂 was wedded to Geng Juzhong 耿聚忠 who was another son of Geng Jingmao.
The fourteenth daughter of Kangxi was wedded to Sun Chengen, the son of Sun Sike 孫思克, a Han bannerman.