الفهرس 
Loan of Money
CommentaryOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 24 |  |  |
| | | from | 24 | | |
Abstract
In this dissertation, I edit twelve previously unpublished
Greek documents, offering for each papyrus a transcription of the
Greek text, English translation and extensive commentary. The
texts span the late 2nd through the 6th century A.D., and thematic
similarities allow me to elaborate on certain topics related to late
Antique such as: grain transport, property, loans, deposit of money,
petitions, receipts, letters, orders, taxes, leases, and estate
management. The abstracts of twelve papyri are as follows:
1- Loan of Money: This papyrus is from Oxyrhynchus and dates
back to 27 march 160 A.D. (the twenty-second year of the reign of
the Emperor Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius).
The text is a loan in the form of the epistolary opening. The debtor
is a son of Agathos Daimon from Oxyrhynchus city. The creditor
called Castor, son of Clemens. The debtor declares that he received
together with his sons and his wife three thousand four hundred
silver drachmae, as a loan, registered in the record office, and that
they would return back the mentioned sum together with the
legitimate interest rate without diminution.
2- Contract of Deposit: This papyrus dates back to the second
half of II century A.D., it belongs to Philadelphia village. This
document is a παπαθήκη (a deposit of money). It is an
acknowledgment of deposit of money that has been contracted
between Puplius Valerius Vestinus a Roman citizen and a woman,
who acknowledges that she has received the deposit. The deposit is
2500 drachmae of silver. The relation between the Roman citizen,
the deposit owner, and the woman, deposit recipient, is obscure;
therefore I assume that Puplius Valerius Vestinus was a Roman
soldier and the woman was his illegal wife, and he ordered his
steward (affairs manager) Deius to deliver money to his wife, and
may be also to his children, for daily expenses, because Puplius
Valerius Vestinus himself was absent (ἀπόνηι in the lines 11-12).
The steward Deius tried to circumvent the law, because of the
illegal marriage; so he delivered the money to the wife as a deposit.3- A petition: This papyrus dates back to the early III century
A.D. and belongs to Theadelphia village. The text is a petition filed
by the children of Hercules against their father’s former wife
concerning a property of the house. The accused wife is a member
of the petitioner’s family. In this case the petition results from a
family dispute, where the parties could not sort out their differences
(matrimonial property) within the domestic context, and the
petitioners turn to the authorities to assert their rights.
4- Receipt for Delivery of Chaff: This papyrus dates back to
246-249 A.D. it belongs to Theadelphia village. The text is a
receipt for delivery of chaff; the receipt records the arrival of loads
(three hundred liters) of chaff. The papyrus refers to a person
described as κεθαλαιωηήρ, who was known in Egypt from the
Roman period to the Arab conquest. In his capacity as a foreman
(κεθαλαιωηήρ) he used to be credited with delivery to a bakery,
presumably military, of a specified quantity of wheat entrusted to
him by receiver (ἀποδέκηηρ) of grain.
5- Letter Concerning a Naubion: This papyrus dates back to the
third century A.D., it belongs to Oxyrhynchites. In the third century
A.D. the river-workmen (ποηαμῖηαι) were employed as a guild to
clean canals at a fixed rate for payments of a naubion (ναύβιον) see
P.Oxy. XII 1427 (III cent. A.D., an order to workmen on delta
embankments). The letter may have been sent by a tax- collector
(ππάκηωπ) or the guild of river-workers (ποηαμῖηαι) to higher
ranking official concerning canal cleaning.
6- A List of Names: This papyrus dates back to the third century
A.D., it belongs to Senao in the Oxyrhynchite nome.. The text is a
list of names. In the surviving text the names of five persons were
given (four men and a woman). The names weren’t given in
alphabetical order. The list probably was of the necessary in the
course of the lease / tax collection records. It may be one of the
numerous shorter or longer lists of possible which were compiled
and revised.
7- An order to the Dekaprotoi: This papyrus dates back to the
third century A.D., it belongs to Theogonis (Arsinoite nome). The
text is an order (ππόζηαγμα) to the δεκάππωηοι of the Heptanomia and Arsinoite nome. Since the papyrus was broken off at all sides,
the content of the order isn’t clear. Perhaps, the order indicated to
undertake public duties (λειηοςπγία see l. 10) of various kinds: they
are duties such as the supervision of the collection of taxes or
repairing of the dikes and canals in view of the approaching
inundation.8- A List of receipts: This papyrus dates back to the late third
century A.D., it belongs to Oxyrhynchites. The text is a list of
receipts. The receipts record the revenues (λήμμαηα); the receipts
were made by the administrator (ππονοηηήρ) of the estate (κηῆμα);
the revenues were paid in cash. There were collections from
people originating from different farmsteads (ἐποίκια), probably
the receipts have been collected for tax or rent
9- order for Purchases: This papyrus dates back to the early
forth century A.D., it belongs to Theadelphia village. The text is an
order for purchases (ἐνηολικόρ). It contains a range of needs that
could be used for medicinal purposes such as: pine cone
(ζηποβίλιον), frankincense (λίβανορ), the juice of the balsam
(ὀποβάλζαμον), thermouthis (Θεπμοῦθιρ) and mustard (ζίναπι).
The document has been concerned with measures like kotyle
(κοηύλη), meter (μέηπον), and choinix (σοῖνιξ)
10- A christian Private letter: This papyrus dates back to the
fourth century A.D., it belongs to Theadelphia village. The text is a
Christian private letter. After greetings and praying, the sender
wrote a letter to his friend or brother concerning a ship and money.
The name of both of the addressee (in dative case) and the sender,
which were written in the first line of the letter, but the addressee’s
name (Hermias) was mentioned on verso. The structure of the
letters began with κςπίῳ μος ἀδελθῷ (my lord brother), often
mentioned in private and official letters, as a man having power or
authority, master or lord. The sender used two of the sacred names
(Nomina Sacra).
11- Application for Lease: This papyrus dates back to 496 A.D.,
it belongs to the Oxyrhynchus city. The text records an application
for lease, and belongs to the class of documents known as ἐπιδοσή.
The ἐπιδοσή (undertaking) is a form of the ὑπόμνημα. The lease is set to start on Thoth 1 of the ‘coming year 173/142= 29 August
497; it must has been contracted some days before that date,
probably in Mesore or the intercalary days (25 July-28 August).
The leases which start in the first day of the month Thoth were
mostly leases of houses, workshops or any kind of buildings. The
subject of our text could be a workshop or a house.
12- Application Concerning a Machine: This papyrus dates
back to the sixth century A.D., it belongs to Theadelphia village,
the text is an application concerning a machine (μησανή), the
application declares that the recipient will preserve the machine
intact, free from damage, and will deliver it, after the completion of
the fifteen years period as he received it. This kind of machine is
mostly a waterwheel which belongs to an area of land or garden.
The details of the application have been lost.