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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 32646

Letter from Maximus to his mother Zenobia asking her to send his wife TM 32646OxyrhynchosIV - V

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 Christian private letter from Maximus to his mother Zenobia, sent with a traveller, exchanging greetings and urgently asking her, after repeated requests, to send his wife Salamaei to him, since his commanding officer, the praepositus, will not give anyone leave. It dates to the 4th or 5th century AD and comes from Oxyrhynchus.

In English machine translation

[recto] To my lady mother Zenobia, Maximus, greeting in the Lord God. Now too, as I prayed, it has happened that I found the man coming to you and can greet your incomparable disposition. Greet from me my wife Salamaei. My mother Rufina greets you. Greet from me my brothers by name. Once and twice and three times I informed you that you should send my wife, and you were unwilling. Now therefore do not neglect, night and day, to send me my wife. For it is my glory and […] that I should come to you. You yourselves have long known that my lord the praepositus releases no one. I beg you, write back to me about your health, so that, having put off (?) […] I may be cheerful (?) […]. I greet by name all who are fond of you. I pray for your health for many years. [verso] […] to Zenobia from Maximus […] greeting.

The praepositus was a military or administrative commander, so Maximus was probably a soldier unable to obtain leave. Rufina, called 'my mother', may be a mother-in-law or another relative, since the letter is addressed to his mother Zenobia.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter from Maximus). 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.34.2731

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · IV - V · Oxyrhynchos

[r] τῇ κυρίᾳ μου μητρὶ Ζηνοβίᾳ Μάξιμος ἐν κυρίῳ θεῷ χαίρειν. καὶ νῦν κατʼ εὐχὴν συμβέβηκεν εὐπορεῖν τοῦ προσερχομένου καὶ τὴν σὴν ἀμίμητον διάθεσιν προσειπεῖν. πρόσειπε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ τὴν σύμβιόν μου Σαλαμάει· ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς ἡ μήτηρ μου Ῥουφῖνα· πρόσειπε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου κατʼ…