Petition concerning ownership of land

Description

The chronological order of the three documents on this papyrus is the reverse of their actual order, the second and third being enclosures. The earliest is a petition to the praefect Flavius Philagrius from a woman called Theodora, whose father, a veteran, had shortly before his death purchased a piece of land in her name. Although the price had been paid to the seller, possession of the land had somehow passed to the seller's brother, Demetrianus, and since he refused to give it up, Theodora appealed for assistance. This was granted her by a letter from the praefect to an official of the Oxyrhynchite nome, forwarding the petition and giving instructions for the settlement of the dispute. A copy of this letter was forwarded to the official by Theodora, with an explanatory note, the document probably having been drawn up in his bureau.