Between AD 800 and AD 815, the first Scandinavians began to arrive. The island became an important staging post, connecting the Viking outposts of Dublin, northwest England and the Scottish Western Isles.
The Isle of Man eventually came under the rule of the Scandinavian Kings of Dublin, and it was the Vikings in AD 979 who established the self-governing parliament of the island known as Tynwald. The annual ceremonial meeting, usually occurring on 5th July, continues to be held at Tynwald Hill where new laws are announced. Tynwald is the oldest parliament in the world with an unbroken existence.