Petition of an elderly man concerning cultivation of royal land TM 33192Hermopolitesfrühes IV

Fragment of a petition from the Hermopolite nome, early 4th century AD, apparently addressed to a strategus and referring to the dux of the Thebaid. An elderly petitioner pleads his infirmity of old age and seems to ask that the aged be left unharassed and that village men take on cultivation of royal land and public burdens.

In English machine translation

The phrase 'ge hypologos' refers to land written off or exempted from the normal tax assessment, usually because it was unproductive. The mention of the dux of the Thebaid may refer to an earlier ruling cited by the petitioner.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Petition to a strategus). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.