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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 21830

Letter of a centurion asking exemption of his farmer from a liturgy TM 21830Oxyrhynchites316 - 318

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 →

A letter from the centurion Ammonios, holding the rank of princeps, to Heras, an official, asking him to release Ammonios's tenant farmer from a compulsory public service at the village of Dositheou (collecting tunics and cloaks) and to protect him from further nominations. It dates to AD 316-318 in the Oxyrhynchite nome.

In English machine translation

[recto] To my lord brother Heras, Ammonios, centurion, greetings. Ph[…], the man who is delivering my letter to you, happens to be my farmer. He says that he has been nominated to a liturgy of the village of Dositheou, that is, to the collection of tunics and cloaks, but that the collection has not yet been entrusted to him. Make haste then, brother, to rescue him from the liturgy, and moreover to treat him kindly, doing me a great favour in this; and furthermore in future not to allow the villagers to wrong him in other matters or to nominate him to other liturgies, but so that he may testify to me of the things granted to him by your good disposition. I pray for your health for many years, lord brother. [verso] To my lord brother Heras, Ammonios, princeps.

A liturgy was a compulsory public service imposed on local residents; here it was the levy of clothing (tunics and cloaks) for the state. Princeps denotes a senior officer rank, here held by the centurion.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter of a Centurio Princeps). 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 →

p.oxy.12.1424

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · 316 - 318 · Oxyrhynchites

[r] κυρίῳ μου ἀδελφῷ Ἡρᾷ Ἀμμώνιος ἑκατόνταρχος χαίρειν. Φ[…]…[…]ὁ ἀποδιδούς σοι τὰ παρʼ ἐμοῦ γράμματα γεωργός μου τυγχάνει. φησὶν προβεβλῆσθαι εἰς λειτουργίαν τῆς κώμης Δωσιθέου, τουτέστιν εἰς ἀπαίτησιν στιχαρίων καὶ παλλίων, μηδέπω δὲ ἐγκεχειρίσθαι τὴν ἀπαίτησιν. σπούδασον τοίνυ…