The 12 Tables

-According to legend, around 451 BC the Romans codified the 12 Tables of Law.
-40 years between the establishment of the Tribune office and the 12 Tables of Law, there was lots of internal tension.
   -The Romans had stuck together due to battles with neighbors (Veii to the north, Volscians and Aequians in the east), but the plebs began to suspect that the the patricians were exaggerating the threat of Rome's enemies in order to aboid addressing issues of corruption.
      -Of course, the patricians just accused the plebs of being unpatriotic and only looking for political gain among their peers.
   -473 BC - a law was proposed that stated that tribunes were to be elected by the tribal assembly, and not by the Comitae Centuriata.
   -462 BC- it was decided that the laws of Rome should be written down and posted for all Romans to see, but this was put off by about 10 years.
      -Political change was exacerbated by news that there had been much political change and reforms in Athens (due to the introduction of democracy).
   -454 BC- coinage is introduced as a means of currency in Rome.
   -451 BC- the Decemvirate was formed- 10 dudes (patricians) elected to write up the laws.
      -What was actually on the bronze tablets that made up the 12 Tables of Law has been lost to history.
      -However, after the Decemvirate finished writing the laws, they actually didn't want to disband or give up power!  
         -Eventually, of course, they went too far, which pissed off the army, causing them to abandon the city in protest, and the Decemvirate finally resigned their positions and got the army to return.
   -The plebs were still pissed off about the laws, however, because one law stated that the patricians and plebs couldn't marry,which cut off the plebs from attaining any real power.