Chios was one of the first Greek cities that from the 7th century B.C. overthrew the regime of monarchy and created a well-developed political system, according to which the peerage (a noble social class) had all the power. They had a lot of privileges and they were the head of all the political and religious authorities of the city, taking care of everything concerning the religion and interpreting the laws. There was still a king, however the mayor was in charge of the city, as well as the Parliament which was consisted of fifty men from each tribe. The mayor and the Parliament usually held a meeting once a month and their power was administrative and judiciary. That ruling is considered to be more democratic than the Parliament of four hundred people that Solon had legislated in Athens.