The Twelve Tables, formulated in 450 BCE by the Decemviri, formed the foundational written legal code of which ancient society?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Roman Republic
- Step 1: Following the Struggle of the Orders between patricians and plebeians, ten commissioners (Decemvirs) drafted twelve bronze tablets inscribed with customary law.
- Step 2: Posted publicly in the Roman Forum, the Twelve Tables covered property ownership, judicial procedure, family rights, and contracts, establishing the principle that law must be written and public.
Answer
Roman Republic
Why not the others: 'Classical Athens' Athens relied on the codes of Draco and Solon, distinct from Roman civil law; 'Sumerian Civilization' Sumerians wrote the Code of Ur-Nammu and Lipit-Ishtar in cuneiform on clay; 'Achaemenid Persian Empire' Persian royal law operated through imperial decrees and satrapial courts under the Great King.
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