Petition to the praepositus pagi about crops destroyed by grazing cattle TM 11940Karanis (Arsinoites)31. Mai 324

To Dioskoros, praepositus of the 5th pagus, from Isidoros son of Ptolemaios, from the village of Karanis. I own more than 80 arouras, for which, though they are not sown, I have for a long time been paying the dues to the treasury, and on account of these I have been reduced to poverty. For with great difficulty, after so much toil and expense, I sowed out of these only 8 arouras with wheat and 2 arouras with grass seed. Now since, just as these were sprouting, Ammonas son of Kapeeis, Sambathion son of Syrion, Sotas son of Achillas and Ptollas son of Ariston let their cattle loose on the wheat land and they ate it down, I submitted a petition to you about this at that time. But later, when the crop had grown, borne fruit and come to ripeness, before it was harvested, the same men again, plotting against me and being very powerful in the locality, wishing me to abandon my own land, brought the same cattle onto the sown land and allowed it to be eaten down completely, so that nothing at all is to be found there. No less also Harpalos the shepherd let his flocks loose on the grass seed and on the hay that had been cut and was lying stored in the field, and they ate these up. And therefore, being unable to keep silent, since the higher authorities have often ordered that animals caught damaging other people's crops be sold off, part going to the treasury and the other part to the one who suffered the damage, and moreover that their herdsmen or owners incur risk, I submit this petition, asking that they be brought before you and that you proceed accordingly. Farewell. In the consulship to be announced for the 4th time, Pauni 6. I, Isidoros, have submitted it. I, Heron, wrote on his behalf as he is illiterate.