tribunes elected each year. In 457, hoping to deprive the law's supporters of their impetus, the senate agreed to increase the number of tribunes to ten, provided that none of the tribunes from the preceding years should be re-elected. However, the new tribunes continued to press for the adoption of Terentillus' law, until in 454 the senate agreed to appoint three commissioners to study Greek laws and institutions, and on their return help to resolve the strife between the orders. On the return of the envoys, the senate and the tribunes agreed to the appointment of a committee of ten men, known as the decemviri, or decemvirs, to serve for one year in place of the annual magistrates, and codify Roman law. The tribunate itself was suspended during this time. But when a second college of decemvirs appointed for the year 450 illegally continued their office into the following year, and the abuses of their authority became clear to the people, the decemvirate was abolished and the tribunate restored, together with the annual magistrates. Among the laws codified by the decemvirs was one forbidding intermarriage between the patricians and the plebeians; the Twelve Tables of Roman law also codified that the consulate itself was closed to the plebeians. Worse still, in 448, two patricians were co-opted to fill vacant positions in the tribunate, although they proved to be of moderate views, and their year of office was peaceful. To prevent future attempts by the patricians to influence the selection of tribunes, Lucius Trebonius Asper promulgated a law forbidding the tribunes to co-opt their colleagues, and requiring their election to continue until all of the seats were filled. But relations between the orders deteriorated, until in 445, the tribunes, led by Gaius Canuleius, were able to push through a law permitting the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, and allowing one of the consuls to be a plebeian. Rather than permit the election of a plebeian consul, the senate resolved upon the election of military tribunes with consular power, who might be elected from either order. Initially this compromise satisfied the plebeians, but in practice only patricians were elected. The regular election of military tribunes in the place of consuls prevented any plebeians from assuming the highest offices of state until the year 400, when four of the six military tribunes were plebeians. Plebeian military tribunes served in 399, 396, 383, and