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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 33709

Letter from Papnouthis to Dorotheos about workmen's expenses and the aruratio TM 33709OxyrhynchosIV

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 business letter from Papnouthis to his associate Dorotheos at Oxyrhynchus in the 4th century AD. Papnouthis urgently demands money for workmen's expenses and for Felix, complains of trouble with tax collectors, and says he is held in confinement over gold owed for the aruratio land tax.

In English machine translation

To my lord brother Dorotheos, Papnouthis. I have written to you many times about the expense money for the workmen and you have sent me nothing. For by God, every day I have a great deal of unpleasantness with the collectors on this account. Make haste today and send the expense money for these same workmen; you yourself know what the expectation is. If you find that the village headmen refused to give it, send me the village headmen and I will make them pay everything in full in the city. And make haste to send the money to Felix today, for in this you suffer no harm. Do not leave us in difficulty on this account. And about the expenses which I paid on behalf of the village headmen, make haste to take them from the collection and send them, or send the village headmen to the city. You too know the troubles of the city and the expenses. And I am locked up because of the gold for the aruratio, and up to today you have sent nothing. I pray for your health for many years.

The aruratio was a late Roman tax assessed on land by the aroura and here paid in gold. Papnouthis and Dorotheos are known from a group of related 4th-century Oxyrhynchus letters concerning tax collection.

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 Papnuthis to Dorotheus). 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.48.3397r

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

κυρίῳ μου ἀδελφῷ Δωροθέῳ Παπνοῦτις. πολλάκις σοι ἔγραψα περὶ τοῦ ἀναλώματος τῶν ἐργατῶν καὶ οὐδέν μοι ἀπέστειλας· μὰ τὸν γὰρ Θεὸν καθʼ ἑκάστην ποιῶ μεγάλην ἀηδίαν μετὰ τῶν ἀπαιτητῶν τούτου χάριν. σπούδασον ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἀπόστειλον τὸ ἀνάλωμα τῶν αὐτῶν ἐργατῶν· οἶδας καὶ σὺ τί ἐστ…