History glossary
Twelve Tables
an early public statement of Roman law.
- Category
- Roman history
- Region
- Mediterranean
- Date range
- 753 BCE–476 CE
What it means
Traditionally compiled in the fifth century BCE, the Twelve Tables made law more visible without removing social inequality.
Stories using this term
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
Ancient Rome
From a settlement on the Tiber to a Mediterranean empire, follow Rome through kings, republic, conquest, civil war, everyday life and the transformation of the Roman world.
