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Petition of priests of Busiris to the prefect about the poll tax TM 18648Busiris (Herakleopolites)5 - 4 v.Chr.

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 2 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

Petition from the priest Soterichos, acting for himself and three fellow priests of Isis, Sarapis, Harpsenesis and Asklepios at Busiris in the Herakleopolite nome, to the prefect of Egypt Gaius Turranius. They complain that, though exempt from the poll tax since the time of Queen Cleopatra, in Augustus' 26th year the royal scribe Hepiodoros had them assessed for four years' poll tax and dike tax.

In English machine translation

To Gaius Turranius from Soterichos son of Nouchis, priest, who has also been appointed by his fellow priests Haryotes and Harsiesis and Soterichos, priests of Isis and Sarapis and Harpsenesis and Asklepios, of the temples in Busiris of the Herakleopolite nome above Memphis. Most great prefect, from earlier times, even from the times of the queen, down to the 25th year of Caesar, god and son of a god, we four priests, being of priestly descent, performing the services of the temples and carrying out purifications and sacrifices on alternate days (?), have been left undisturbed with regard to the poll tax. But in the present 26th year of Caesar, when Hepiodoros, the royal scribe of the nome, entered us for collection of the poll tax, we were made to pay for four years, each of us […] 64 drachmas of silver and 108 drachmas of silver for the dike tax. Therefore we ask […]

The 'queen' is Cleopatra VII. The phrase 'two by two' (dyo para dyo) about sacrifices is of uncertain meaning; the petition breaks off at the request.

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 Statthalter betreffs der Kopfsteuer). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.

DDbDP-text Full record →

bgu.4.1198

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · 5 - 4 v.Chr. · Busiris (Herakleopolites)

Γαίωι Τυρρανίωι παρὰ Σωτηρίχου τοῦ Νούχιος ἱερέως προκεχειρισμένου δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συνιερέων Ἁρυώτου καὶ Ἁρσιήσιος καὶ Σωτηρίχου ἱερέων Ἴσιδος καὶ Σαράπιδος καὶ Ἁρψενήσιος καὶ Ἀσκληπιοῦ τῶν ἐν Βουσίρι τοῦ ὑπὲρ Μέμφιν Ἡρακλεοπολίτου. μέγιστε ἡγεμών, ἐπάνωθεν καὶ τῶν τῆς βασιλίσσης …