Sale
Contract for the sale of a female ass
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 20909
Sale of a female donkey at the market of the Upper Kynopolite nome TM 20909Oxyrhynchus, Oxyrhynchite nome, Middle Egypt, province of Egypt288 A.D
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
Contract of sale in which Aurelius Kornelios, from the village of Peneutou in the Diospolite nome, sells a young mouse-coloured female donkey to Aurelius Apollonios of Oxyrhynchus for 10 talents of silver, paid in full at the market of the Upper Kynopolite nome. It is dated 12 July 311 and comes from Oxyrhynchus.
In English machine translation
Aurelius Kornelios son of Hatres, his mother being Thaesis, from the village of Peneutou of the Diospolite (nome), to Aurelius Apollonios son of Sarapion, from the illustrious city of the Oxyrhynchites, greetings.
I acknowledge that I have sold and delivered to you at the market of the Upper Kynopolite (nome) a female donkey, shedding its first teeth, mouse-coloured, for the price agreed between us of 10 talents of silver of the imperial coinage, talents 10, which I have received from you on the spot in full, the guarantee against every claim being the responsibility of me, the seller, for all time. The sale is valid, and having been asked the formal question I have acknowledged it.
In the consulship of our lord Maximianus Augustus for the 2nd time, Epeiph 18.
(2nd hand?) I, Aurelius Kornelios, have sold the donkey and received the price in full as stated above.
One catalogue gives AD 288, but the consular date (2nd consulship of Maximianus, i.e. Galerius) points to 311. 'Protobolos' describes an animal that has cut its first permanent teeth, roughly a young adult.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Sale of a Female Ass). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.corn.13
Αὐρήλιος Κορνήλιος Ἁτρῆτος μητρὸς Θαήσιος ἀπὸ κώμης Πενεύτου τῆς Διοσπόλεως Αὐρηλίῳ Ἀπολλωνίου Σαραπίωνος ἀπὸ τῆς λαμπρᾶς Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ πεπρακέναι καὶ παραδεδωκέναι σοι ἐπʼ ἀγορᾶς τοῦ Ἄνω Κυνοπολείτου ὄνον θήλειαν πρωτοβόλον μυόχρωμον, τιμῆς τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους …