# Twelve Tables (-451)

URL: https://roman-history.com/timeline/-451-twelve-tables
Location: Rome
Categories: culture

The decemvirs produced a public legal code that later Romans regarded as a foundation of civil law.

## Why it matters
Written rules limited elite control over legal knowledge and shaped Roman jurisprudence.

Ruler at the time: [Roman Republic](https://roman-history.com/rulers/roman-republic)