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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 9586

Petition to the epistrategos against the village scribe of Bakchias TM 9586Philadelphia (Arsinoites)

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 →

Copy of a petition to the epistrategos Vedius Faustus from a public farmer of Philadelphia in the Arsinoite nome. He complains that Ptollas, village scribe of Bakchias, wrongly assigned him 7 1/2 arouras of public land, then had him and his wife arrested and detained to extract rents he did not owe.

In English machine translation

Copy. To Vedius Faustus, the most excellent epistrategos, from […] from the village of Philadelphia of the Herakleides division of the Arsinoite nome. I am a public farmer of a great many arouras of our village; but improperly Ptollas, village scribe of the village of Bakchias, for no reason […] assigned to me 7 1/2 arouras of public land. When I undertook to object concerning these, according to custom, as has been ordained, on the grounds that I had taken up unsown […] […], lord, the same Ptollas ordered the collectors of grain taxes of Psenarpsenesis […] to arrest both me and my wife and to shut us up for many days with the chief of police, demanding rents which I do not owe for land which I do not hold. Since, therefore, I have been detained by him until now, I ask, if it seems good to your fortune, to hear me […] so that I may make clear to you, lord, […] having been wronged […] accusing […] of Kollouthos and Eirenaios […] on the grounds that the arouras had been inundated […] and not being able […] useful for the harvest […] you ordered for this an officer (officialis) to the places […], who, having gone to the plots and […] of them a report on the condition of the same plots, which the same village scribe had not assigned, in which they now are, to which I said before, he handed me over in ignorance and they imposed 7 1/2 arouras, which […] the same Ptollas assigned to […] him […] therefore, being convicted of what he did […] [… lines lost …]

The epistrategos's name and the area of 7 1/2 arouras in line 4 are largely restored. The compulsory assignment of public land (epimerismos) to farmers was a common grievance.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Eingabe an den Epistrategen). 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.11.2063

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

ἀντίγραφον. Οὐηδίωι Φαύστωι τῶι κρατίστωι ἐπιστρατήγωι παρὰ …[…]ἀπὸ κώμης Φιλαδελφείας τῆς Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ. δημόσιος γεωργός εἰμι πλείστων ἀρουρῶν τῆς ἡμετέρας κώμης· ἀλλʼ οὐ δεόντως ὁ κώμης Βακχιάδος κωμογραμματεὺς Πτολλᾶς κατὰ μηδὲν πρᾶγμα[…] ἐπεμέρισέν…