Eingabe an den praefectus Aegypti Q. Aemilianus Saturninus
Petition to the praefectus Aegypti Q. Aemilianus Saturninus. Souchospriests in Bakchias complain about beeing forced to work at the dikes
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 11878
Petition of priests of Souchos at Bakchias against forced canal work TM 11878Bakchias, Herakleidou meris, Arsinoite nome, province of Egypt8th November 198 A. D.
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
Three priests of the crocodile god Souchos at Bakchias petition the prefect of Egypt, Q. Aemilius Saturninus, complaining that, although they pay their customary eight-drachma tax, someone forced them into canal work and exacted 120 drachmas from them. They ask that the strategos be ordered to make the offenders repay the money; the prefect's reply refers them to the epistrategos.
In English machine translation
To Quintus Aemilius Saturninus, prefect of Egypt,
from Ammonios son of Horos and Orsenouphis son of Pa[…] and Peteuris son of Peteuris, from the village of Bakchias in the Herakleides division of the Arsinoite nome.
It is the custom for the priests of Souchos, the great god, to pay an eight-drachma tax for poll-tax. We pay it to the collectors of the village, from whom we also receive receipts. Nothing else […] the worship of the gods. But of those who love (?) […], most great prefect, […] old (?) in the village […] we wish […] of the canals […] he himself, entering the house […] ordering them to work on the canals […] but if not, […] 120 drachmas […] help […] to order by your sacred subscription the strategos of the nome to compel the aforementioned persons to restore the 120 drachmas which they wrongfully exacted from us by forcing work on us, until the matter is judged, so that through your fortune we may be able to persevere in our work, not being pressed into labour by anyone, while paying to the treasury the customary eight-drachma tax for poll-tax, so that we may have received benefaction. Farewell.
Ammonis and Orsenouphis and Peteuris have submitted it.
They came themselves […]
Year 7, Hathyr 12.
[Subscription:] If no one prevents it, petition the most excellent epistrategos. Deliver.
The middle of the petition is badly damaged, so the details of the abuse are uncertain. The 'eight-drachma' payment for poll-tax (epikephalion) seems to be a special rate for priests.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Eingabe an den praefectus Aegypti Q. Aemilius Saturninus). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.lund.4.1
Κυΐντωι Αἰμιλίωι Σατορνείνωι ἐπάρχωι Αἰγύπτου παρὰ Ἀμμωνίου Ὥρου καὶ Ὀρσενούφεως Πα…… καὶ Πετεύριος Πετεύριος ἀπὸ κώμης Βακχιάδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος· τὸ ἔθος ἐστὶ τῶν ἱερέων Σούχου θεοῦ μεγάλου ὀκτάδραχμον ὑπὲρ ἐπικεφαλίων τελεῖν. διαγράφομεν τοῖς πράκτορσι …