Petition to Diotimos from Neoptolemos

Description

A petition presented by Neoptolemos on behalf of his father Stratippos, a vine-grower. He complains that Stratippos had been unfairly treated by Theokles the late oikonomos and Petosiris the royal scribe of the Aphroditopolite nome. For in assessing the taxes to be paid on vineyards they had been taking as a basis the average yield of the last three years, but in his father's case they had taken the last two years only, on the ground that his vineyard was lately planted. He therefore asks Diotimos to give him an order addressed to Hermolaos (the present oikonomos) and Petosiris, bidding them assess his father's vineyard like the others on the average yield of three years, beginning either from year 29 or year 30, as it had now been producing wine for four years. He also asks him to accept formally as payment of the tax the money, or part of the money, paid into the bank by the wine-sellers for the wine which they bought from the vineyard.