Download Twelve Tables

What makes for a successful civilization?
- Rule of Law: Twelve Tables In 509 BCE, over 2500 years ago, the citizens of Rome created a new government. They called it the
ROMAN REPUBLIC. Although many things changed, and much improved, women, children, and
slaves were still not citizens of Rome. They had no voice in government. Only adult free Roman
men were citizens. But, things did improve under the Republic. About 50 years after the Roman
Republic was formed, the leaders of the Republic wrote down many of the old laws, to make sure
everyone understood them. History refers to this group of laws as the “Twelve Tables" because the
written laws were organized into 12 sections.
These laws talked about property, crime, family, theft, marriage and inheritance. It does not really
matter what they said, although the laws did try to be fair. What matters is that these laws were
written down so that everyone could see them.
The Laws of the Twelve Tables
1. If you are called to go to court, you must go. If you don’t show up, you can be taken to court by
force.
2. If you need a witness to testify and he will not show up, you can go once every three days and
shout in front of his house.
3. Should a tree on a neighbor's farm be bend crooked by the wind and lean over your farm, you
may take legal action for removal of that tree.
4. A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from the
Tarpeian Rock.
5. No person shall hold meetings by night in the city.
6. A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed.
7. If a father sells his son three times, the son shall be free from his father.
8. A dead man shall not be buried or burned within the city.
9. Let them keep the road in order. If they have not paved it, a man may drive his team where he
likes.
10. The women shall not tear their faces nor wail on account of the funeral.
11. Marriages should not take place between plebeians and patricians. (As time went on, this law was
changed. When the tables were first written, this was the law.)
12. If a slave shall have committed theft or done damage with his master’s knowledge, the action for
damages is in the slave’s name.
What makes for a successful civilization?
- Rule of Law Part II - Code of Laws
Step One:
The Twelve Tables was a code of law meant to maintain order within a civilization. As leader of your
thriving empire, it is your task to design 10 laws and punishments that will help govern your
civilization and maintain order. These laws must be considered fair and civilized by all citizens of your
empire (unlike some of the ancient laws you have studied). With the help of you advisors and
esteemed citizens, it is now time for your government to create 10 laws and consequences to
maintain order successfully.
Create laws that address some of the following aspects of society:
Education, Free Speech, Crime (Violent/Non-violent), Marriage, Domestic Disputes, Fair Trials,
Taxes, Property, Protest, Social Gatherings, Military Service, Social Welfare, Crimes by Minors
For the opening of your document, you may choose to write your own preamble (like the U. S.
Constitution’s or The European Common Union’s) or use the following sentence:
It is written that all citizens of _____________ shall follow these laws:
Law I:
Consequence:
Law II:
Consequence:
Law III:
Consequence:
Law IV:
Consequence:
Law V:
Consequence
Law VI
Consequence:
Law VII:
Consequence:
Law VIII:
Consequence:
Law IX:
Consequence:
Law X:
Consequence:
Step Two:
In a fully developed paragraph, please address the following questions:
•
How do the laws of your civilization help create a fair society and ensure a successful
civilization? How do your laws compare to and contrast with the laws found within the Twelve
Tables of Rome?