Petition to the Prefect
Petition to the prefect Maevius Honoratianus by Aurelius . . . son of Chairemon, protesting against being assigned to liturgies in uninterrupted succession
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 14340
Petition to the prefect against appointment to consecutive liturgies TM 14340Karanis (Arsinoites)July 2, 237 A.D.
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 4 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A petition to the prefect of Egypt Maevius Honoratianus from Aurelius […], son of Chairemon, of Karanis, protesting that village officials, against imperial rules forbidding consecutive liturgies, appointed him grain collector (sitologos) for the current year right after he had served for the previous year. He asks the prefect to hear his case and release him. Dated 2 July 237 AD, at Karanis.
In English machine translation
[recto]
To Maevius Honoratianus, prefect of Egypt,
from Aurelius […], son of Chairemon, from the village of Karanis of the Herakleides division of the Arsinoite nome. The divine and imperial constitutions expressly order that no one shall perform another liturgy in the following year, but that he shall be passed over and left to rest. Since, therefore, most illustrious prefect, the present officials of the village of Karanis, disregarding what is customary […] for the safety of the province and of us farmers […], have nominated me, who was sitopologos (grain collector) for the produce of the past 2nd year, for the guarding of the wheat in the granary of the village of Karanis, and now, against all the laws, I have been assigned to the aforesaid liturgy of sitologos for the produce of the current 3rd year, I have fled to your feet, begging your most illustrious fortune, if it seems good, to hear me against them, so that I may obtain your help, my lord, in order that, being thus released from this unlawful nomination, I may be able to fulfil blamelessly the burden of the liturgy previously entrusted to me and, remaining in my own place, may forever give thanks to your fortune. Farewell.
[…]
[…] Epeiph 8
[…] submitted (?) to you
[…] take care. Sheet 22 of roll 1.
[verso]
A liturgy was a compulsory public service imposed on property holders; the sitologos managed the village granary. The closing lines are the prefect's subscription, and the note 'sheet 22 of roll 1' shows this is a copy from an official roll of petitions.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Beschwerde gegen die Heranziehung zu einer Liturgie). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
Imperial Edict
Edict issued by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, repeating a former statement that it was forbidden to exact taxes from anyone other than the individual who was specifically liable
p.mich.9.529
[r] Μηουίῳ Ὁνωρατιανῷ ἐπάρχῳ Αἰγύπτου παρὰ Αὐρηλίου …… Χαιρήμωνος ἀπὸ κώμης Καρανίδος τῆς Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ. αἱ θεῖαι καὶ βασιλικαὶ διατάξεις διαρρήδην κελεύουσιν μὴ κατὰ τὸ ἑξῆς ἔτος ἑτέραν λειτουργίαν τινὰ ἐκτελεῖν ἀλλὰ παραλείπεσθαι ἀναπαυόμενον. ἐπεὶ οὖ…