P.Mich.inv. 1718 / Recto

About this Item

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Record Details

Inventory Number

P.Mich.inv. 1718

Processing Number

1513

Section/Side

Recto

Image Side

Recto

Background and Physical Properties

Publ./Side

Recto + Verso is blank

Connections

-

Material

Pap

Size

32 x 26 cm

Items

3

Lines

1-30

Mounted

No

Negative

Yes

Conservation Status

This medium brown papyrus is regularly cut in the left side only and the top left corner is missing. A kollesis is found on the larger fragment, approximately 10 cm. from the left edge. Papyrus contains three separate fragment, one at the left edge, one large central fragment (28.5x26 cm.) and a small fragment at the right edge (4x10.6 cm.). The fibers do not appear to continue from the main fragment to the loose fragment at the right edge; only minor damages at the right edge of the main fragment, which suggests that it was glued on to the 0.5 cm. wide left edge papyrusstrip of the loose fragment.

Palaeographic Description

This papyrus appears to generate from a tomos synkollesimos, because the fragment at the right edge contains another column, of which only the beginning of each line has been preserved (2-3 letters), possibly written in the same hand as that of the text on the large fragment. On the main fragment most of the lines only lost one or two letters to the left. Upper edge is broken off, while the bottom one measures 1 cm. Spaces separate all the separate sections of the text, all written in the same hand apart from the signature. The first section (ll. 1-4) is closer written, taking the available space into account. The second section (ll. 5-11) uses all of the available space, whereas the writing in the following section (12-14) has the tendency either to leave some space at the line endings or to fill these by attaching prolonging horizontal strokes to the last letters in order to fill out the line. Diaeresis in ll. 14, 25 and 29.

Status

published

Library

Ann Arbor

Contents

Date

April 4, 328 A.D.

Origin

Herakleopolite Nome, province of Egypt

Provenance

Herakleopolite Nome, province of Egypt

Acquisition

November 1924

Language

Greek

Genre

documentary

Author

unknown

Type of Text/Title of Work

Official correspondance

Content

Copy of official correspondence involving Septimius Zenus, the prefect of Egypt as well as the logistes of the Herakleopolite nome. This correspondence is spurred by a petition to the prefect, which was dealt with by local officials.

Subject Headings

Tax collection--Egypt--Heracleopolite Nome.

Debt and debtor--Egypt--Heracleopolite Nome.

RestitutionzEgypt--Heracleopolite Nome.

Persons

NN, logistes of the Herakleopolite Nome;

NN, assistant of the ogistes of the Herakleopolite Nome;

Septimius Zenus, prefect of Egypt;

Aurelia Asklepias, plaintiff;

Aemilianus, veteran;

Philonikos;

Kronios, son of Menas;

Sarapion, son of Pebaus;

Origenes, son of Myrtillus;

Geographica

Herakleopolites;

Teis, village in the Oxyrhynchite nome

Translation

"[NN, logistesof the Heracleopolites)], [to NN (his assistant),] greetings. A copy of the petition [including the attached reply] to my lord Septimius Zenius, the most illustrious prefect of Egypt, is sent to You, in order for You to [bring before me] the persons [mentioned therein]. [I hope that You are well], my friend. Pharmouthi.

[To NN], the logistes of Heracleopolites, [from Aurelia Asklepias of] the village of Teis in the Oxyrhynchite Nome. I hereby send you a copy of the [petition] that I have adressed to my lord, the most illustrious prefect of Egypt, Septimius Zenus against the veteran Aemilianus, [holding the land plot of Philonikos, as well as against Kronios, the son of Menas,] and Sarapion, son of Pebaus, the former praktores of the same village Teis, concerning the [violent removal of a] jar (?) [with the weight of 4 minae] and a vessel with the weight of 4 minae. I also attach his answer adressed to Your Grace, and [ I make the petition and ask] that the aforementioned persons may be brought before an assistant and be forced to accept the tax payment and return our objects.

The following is a copy: [Septimius Zenus] to [the logistes] of the Herakleopolites, greetings. You will learn what events Sarapias has brought to the knowledge of my devotion when You [read] the attachment. If You establish that she is speaking the truth, please take care that her request is carried out in accordance with the laws. Be well. Latin. Leaf 96; Mesore 11.

To Septimius Zenius, the most illustrious prefect of Egypt, from the same aforementioned. Ten years ago, Lord Prefect, I was asked to pay my taxes by the tax-collectors, that is Kronios, son of Menas and Sarapion, son of Pebaus, of the same village, who collect the imperial taxes, and, as I was unable to pay right away, they illegally out of some plenitude of power forced their way into my house, forcefully taking possession of a jar fitted with copper all around with a weight of 4 minae and a and a vessel with the weight of 4 minae, although the total debt amounted to 2 talents. Soon after I was able to pay them and for that reason I approached them because I wanted to pay my debt in full and reclaim the objects which they had forcefully expropriated. They told me that they had pledged these objects over to a veteran by the name of Aemilianus [from the land plot] of Philonikos as security for that same tax debt. When I went to the aforementioned Aemilianus and offered him the money and when, because of his explanation that the tax collectors had sold the objects to him, the praktores went to him and showed that they had not sold the objects to him, he admitted in the presence of Horigenes, son of Myrtillos from the same village, that these objects were in his custody as a pledge. Therefore I ask Your Grace to make sure and to make arrangements to ensure that this same witness is brought before You [through the logistes (?)] and to let him force him to accept the two talents as the compulsory tax and to return these objects. When I achieve that, I shall owe You a large debt of gratitude. I, Aurelia Asklepias, have submitted this petition.

Under the consulship of Flavius Januarius and Vettius Justus, the most illustrious, on Pharmouthi 9.

(Hand 2): I, Aurelia Asklepias, have submitted the petition."

Papyri.info Link

https://papyri.info/apis/michigan.apis.1513

Information on Publications

Publications

Series and Volume	Editor	Year	Pg/Nr	Photo	SB	Preferred Citation	Corrections
Archiv 33	Koenen L-Sijpesteijn PJ	1987	55-62	SB XVIII, 13260	Koenen L-Sijpesteijn PJ, Archiv 33, 55-62, 1987 -- SB XVIII, 13260

Cataloging

Cataloger

TC

Year Begin

328

Year End

328

Technical Details

Collection

Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS UM)

Image Size

8357 x 5927

File Size

6 MB

Record

1513

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-1513/1718r.tif content_copy

Related Links

IIIF

Manifest

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/apis:1513:1718R.TIF content_copy