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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 37298

Letter requesting a kollition for tax collection at Talkis TM 37298HermopolitesVI - VII

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 letter from an agent sent to collect dues at the village of Talkis in the Hermopolite nome, complaining that soldiers acting as collectors have hindered him and that he has only one helper. He asks his superior to send him one of the kollitiones (attendants) quickly, and reports sending jars by the letter-carrier.

In English machine translation

[recto] 643 Wanting to reach the village, having been dismissed by your Splendour, I was met by the soldiers who are also the collectors of the aforementioned village of Talkis, and from the first day on which I reached the village I have not been able to collect as I should, because I have no one, as I am writing to it (your Excellency), except only one. So may your Admirableness make every effort to send me quickly one of the kollitiones who also attend upon it, until we again learn their intention; and as I was instructed by the […] to prepare the guards of the mountain […], immediately on receiving the letters here, to send to me from the following […] so as to say nothing at all to them about […] to write to me […]. I have sent by the letter-carrier thirty jars and fifty and […] fifty with much toil […] jars. [verso] To my master […]

Kollition (kolletion) denotes a kind of attendant or guard serving an official; there is no exact English equivalent. The figure 643 at the top is the Christian isopsephism for 'God is help'.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Lettera di richiesta per l’invio di un κολλητίων). 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.laur.2.45

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · VI - VII · Hermopolites

[r] χμγ βουλόμενος καταλαβεῖν τὴν κώμην, ἀπολυθεὶς παρὰ τῆς σῆς λαμπρότητος, συνήντησάν μοι οἱ στρατιῶται οἳ καὶ ἀπαιτηταὶ τῆς προειρημένης κώμης Τάλκεως, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡμέρας ἐν ᾗ κατείληφα τὴν κώμην οὐκ ἐδυνήθην, ὡς χρή, ἀπαιτῆσαι, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐμὲ ἔχειν τινά, καθὼς γράφω αὐτ…