Among the disputes which the decemvirs failed to resolve was the relationship between the patricians, Rome's hereditary aristocracy, and the plebeians, or common citizens. Although it has been argued that some of the consuls prior to the Decemvirate may have been plebeians, the office was definitely closed to them in the second half of the fifth century BC. To prevent open hostility between the two orders, the office of military tribune with consular power, or "consular tribune", was established. In place of patrician consuls, the people could elect a number of military tribunes, who might be either patrician or plebeian.