Letter [V AD]
Letter to a superior complaining about a man who attacked the writer and other people
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 35093
Letter to a superior complaining of an attack during tax collection near Karanis TM 35093Arsinoites400 CE – 499 CE
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A fragmentary letter to a superior from the Arsinoite nome, 5th century AD, complaining about a man connected with Karanis who threatened the writer during the collection of small-change cash taxes and plotted against the eirenarch (local police official). The writer reports that officials are now afraid to act.
In English machine translation
From […]
Even before I write, your Admirableness will not be unaware that he was not requested by Karanis to settle the village, nor indeed […] to the Basileus (?). For indeed yesterday, when I was thrown […] with the head-collector (kephalaiotes) for the collection of cash in small change, having sought to collect it from this man, he snorted at me and wanted to attack me […] the eirenarch and the other liturgist; I was able to collect from this man for the sake of the [...] (?). That same man, having gathered his associates, set an ambush (?) for the eirenarch, intending to do away with him, so that, this happening, they would in future make neither apportionment nor any other response. And indeed today neither the eirenarch nor anyone else came to me because of what we suffered yesterday, but we simply sit thus, making no war.
The eirenarch was a local official responsible for keeping order; the kephalaiotes was a head of a group of tax collectors. Several words, including 'Basileus' and 'kydaditinos', are obscure in sense.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.col.8.242
παρὰ καὶ πρίν με γράψαι οὐκ ἀγνοήσει ἡ σὴ θαυμασιότης ὡς ὅτι οὐκ ᾐτήθη ἀπὸ Καρανίδος πρὸς τὸ οἰκίσαι αὐτὸν τὴν κώμην οὔτε μὴν …[…]…εσαι τῷ Βασιλεῖ. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἐχθὲς ῥιφθείς μοι η…[…]…[…] παρὰ τῷ κεφαλαιωτῇ πρὸς μεθοδίαν φανεροῦ κέρματος τοῦτον ζητήσας μεθοδεῦσαι περιερρόγχασέν…