Tribune of the Plebs
The alliance between Tullius and Coriolanus had its roots in the first great confrontation between Rome's patrician and plebeian classes. In 494 BC, under the weight of crushing debt, the entire body of the plebeians seceded from Rome and took to the Mons Sacer. The patrician envoys negotiated a settlement to the dispute, first by agreeing to debt relief, and then by creating the new and sacrosanct office of the Tribune of the Plebs, in order to protect the interests of the plebeians.