Letter of the strategos to the royal scribe on relief for tax-farmers TM 20706Oxyrhynchosca. 24. Juli 66 - 16. Apr. 70

Papiskos, former kosmetes, strategos of the Oxyrhynchite nome, to Asklepiades, royal scribe of the same nome, greetings. At the sale of the tax contracts held by me and you in the presence of the customary persons, since those managing the enkyklion tax and the tax-farmers of the agoranomion were reluctant, on the grounds that they were suffering considerable losses and were in danger of fleeing, I wrote to his excellency the prefect about the matter as we had decided. Since he wrote back to me that, after examining the previous leases, I should as far as possible relieve the tax-farmers, so that those who are being coerced should not become fugitives, I previously gave you a copy of the letter so that you might know; and that, while you were away, since the contracts had not been taken up by the tax-farmers, nor indeed had others come forward for them, though they had often been put up for auction, I obtained written undertakings from those managing the enkyklion and the record office […]