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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 33256

Letter from Markianos to Alexandros asking for a loan of four solidi TM 33256unbekanntIV

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 private letter of the 4th century AD from Markianos to Alexandros, whom he calls brother, asking him to lend four gold coins (solidi) to the bearer Hathres, a soldier, and mentioning an appeal to a praepositus. He reproaches Alexandros for never visiting and sends greetings to family and military comrades.

In English machine translation

[recto] […] Markianos [to …], greetings. I have written through our Hathres [many things] to your kindness, so that you too may see fit to lend four gold solidi […] to him, and help him in everything as a fellow soldier (?). There I appealed to my lord the praepositus, so that if […] you have […] of his, to meet with you […] if you have not yet received it, so that with […] you too ought to hand over […]. For you know, even if I do not write it, that people always put off things that are not pleasant, postponing them day by day. So, having security, you ought to do everything […] being effective […] to Hathres the coins, and do not neglect him, as you yourself realize that in whatever you needed me I have never yet neglected you. I wonder how you have not yet seen fit to come to us even once. I greet your children and those of our brother […], and Asaeis his fellow-attacker (?) and Petiris his tent-mate, and all who love us and our own people. May good Providence keep you in health abundantly and always, my lord brother. [verso] To my lord brother Alexandros, Markianos.

A praepositus was a late Roman military or administrative commander. "Brother" may be a courtesy address rather than kinship.

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

bgu.3.984

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

[r] […] … Μαρκιανὸς χαίρειν. ἔγραψα διὰ τοῦ ἡμετέρου Ἁθρῆ πολλὰ τῇ χρηστότητί σου, ὅπως καταξιώσῃς καὶ σὺ δανεῖσαι τέσσαρες χρυσίνους […]υτω ἐπίκυνʼ αὐτῷ ἅπαντα καί που συστρατιώτῃ. ἐκεῖσε παρεκάλεσα τὸν κύριόν μου τὸν πραιπόσιτον, ἵνα ἐὰν […]αν αὐτοῦ ἔχῃς συνελθεῖν σοι ἀπε[…]τα …