Social: This is a very important part of the story of Amalickiah as king of the Lamanites. While Amalickiah did have an apparent claim to kingship which he had asserted in the land of the Nephites, it would not have been a claim likely to have elevated him to king of the Lamanites on the strength of that claim alone. While he was able to acquire his position by guile, he needed to cement that position by creating a legitimizing link to the ruling line of the city of Nephi.
This is a process that we see occurring in later times on the stone monuments of the Classic Maya. Two rulers in Tikal beginning in 511 appear to have derived their right to rule from their association with a woman who has been dubbed the Lady of Tikal (Martin and Grube, 2000, p. 38-39). It was a typical practice for victorious kings to take wives from defeated kingdoms to cement the new relationship (Martin and Grube, 2000, p. 77). Amalickiah is following what will become a very standard practice in Mesoamerica when he convinces the wife of the former king to become his wife. With this link to the prior legitimate reign he more firmly established his grip on the kingship in Nephi.