Political debates in Ancient Persia happened twice: once while drunk and once while sober!

There's nothing like a good, old fashioned, drunk debate, especially in ancient Persia. As it turns out, the Persians loved to debate each other while drunk, and they did it often - and they didn't stop until both people have fully expressed themselves.

After debating drunk, leaders would often debate the same topic later, when both parties were sober to see if the outcome of the debate remained the same. If the outcome of the debate was the same as the drunk debate, then whatever they were debating about was considered a good enough idea to put into effect!

For example, if the Persians wanted to go to war, they would debate the pros and cons while drunk. If, at the end of the debate, they stated they should go to war, then they would have the same debate while sober - if the outcome was that they should go to war, then Persia would go to war!

If, after sober debating, they decided that Persia shouldn't go to war - they wouldn't go to war, and would blame their poor decision making on the alcohol they had drank!

(Source)