Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.211

c7.211

Preference for the wealthy members of the republic is also evident in the Roman *comitia centuriata*,¹ and in a number of Greek oligarchies. In the Greek oligarchies based on wealth, this alone formed the “defining principle” of the constitution,² whereas it was only one of many factors in the Vedic *sabhā*-ruled tribal governments. The importance of landed property was emphasized in the early Greek constitutions. Solon’s system of taking the yearly return of corn and oil into account is also indicative of a property qualification.³ Some of the characteristics of the Greek oligarchy of the knights and of the hoplites are also noticeable in the Vedic *sabhā*.⁴ The *sabhā* also had some of the features of an aristocracy based on birth and land, and some of an aristocracy of conquest.⁵ The organization and the functions of the *sabhā* bring to mind the Icelandic republic where “all the free men were equal, while the power was in the hands of 39 local chieftains, called godars from their religious authority.”⁶ Halvdar Koht comments on the character and organization of the Vikings: