Letter of Eukylistros to Sarapion reporting a barbarian attack on the fort TM 144610DidymoiAnfang III

A letter on an ostracon from Eukylistros, called a monomachos, to the tesserarius Sarapion, reporting that he went straight from Koptos to the desert fort. He describes an attack by Iekoun and the 'Barbarians', who beat the men they found alone, forcing them to flee about a mile before returning, and says he sent a servant so the fort would not be abandoned.

In English machine translation

Monomachos literally means 'single fighter' or gladiator, but here seems to designate a category of soldier at the desert forts; a tesserarius was a junior officer who passed on the watchword. The word rendered 'beaten with clubs' (xylokroustous) is rare and its exact sense uncertain.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Deux lettre du monomachos Eukylistros). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.