Republics in Ancient India, c. 1500 B.C.–500 B.C. c7.220

c7.220

The qualities that made some Vikings leading men of their nation included strength, sense of justice, and ability to compose good poetry. It appears that the Vedic “councillors” had to a great extent these very qualities in common with the Vikings. The little commonwealth of Iceland manifested a “living unity and its *Althing* or General Court, established in the year 930 A.D. is today beyond comparison the oldest national assembly of the world.”¹ This assembly, as we have noticed already, was composed of 39 members. We cannot, however, determine the exact number of people who sat in the Vedic *sabhā* and carried out the administration of their political community, but their number would probably be counted in terms of hundreds, rather than of thousands.