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The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Vol. 7, edited by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1910)
Documents of the Roman and Byzantine Periods:
Private contracts and wills: Nos. 1034-1043 (AD 143 - 578) [1][2]
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No. 1034. Draft of a Will. 10.8 x 13 cm. 2nd century AD. (p.175)
Commencement of a will in draft, giving the proposed provisions, but not
specifying names, which are either replaced by the word τις or simply omitted.
There are three heirs, a daughter, her foster-brother (σύντροφος), and a third
person, and the property devised, so far as the papyrus goes, consisted of houses.
Translation from Greek: (p.176)
"I leave as my heirs my daughter x and her foster-brother y and
z, z of the house and court in the quarter which I previously
mortgaged in security for the (dowry)
brought to him upon his wife (in accordance with) the contract of
marriage drawn up between them, and my daughter and her foster-brother
jointly in equal shares of the two houses owned by me... one in the. .
. quarter and the other in the quarter, ..."
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No. 1035. Lease of a Weaver's Implement 8.3 x 7.5 cm. AD 143. (p.176)
Fragment of a lease, for a period of five years, of a ζεῦγος
κτενιστικόν, an iron instrument of some kind used in wool-combing or
cloth-weaving, perhaps a pair of shears. The lessor was the son of a
veteran, C. Veturius Gemellus, who is no doubt to be identified with
the tiro of 1022. 11.
Translation from Greek: (p.177)
"Gaius Veturius Gemellus son of Gaius Veturius Gemellus, veteran, has
let to Epagathus, freedman of Ptolemaeus son of Ptolemaeus, of the city
of Oxyrhynchus, a Persian of the Epigone, for a period of five years
from the first day of the next month Phamenoth of the present sixth
year of Antoninus Caesar the lord, the combing-instrument belonging to
him, made of iron, in perfect condition, new and with an even edge, at
a monthly rent from the said month Phamenoth . . ."
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No. 1036. Lease of a House. 33.2 x 8.7 cm. AD. 273. (p.177)
A lease of a house for two years at a yearly rent of 400 drachmae
; cf. Nos. 502, 911, 912. For the date see P.Strassb. i. pp.32-34.
Translation from Greek: (pp.178-179)
"Titus Manlius Serenus and Titus Manlius Alexander, both sons of Titus
Manlius Heraclas, through one of them, namely Serenus, have let to
Aurelius Heracleus son of Sarapas son of Mo ..., his mother being
Stephanous, of the illustrious and most illustrious city of
Oxyrhynchus, for a term of two years from Thoth of the present 4th
year, from his property in the said city in the quarter of Pammenes’
Garden a house and yard and court and all the appurtenances with the
exception of one room beneath .. . and the plots on the east of the
house, at an annual rent of 400 drachmae. When the lease is guaranteed
the lessee shall pay the annual rent in half-yearly instalments of half
the sum, and shall use the aforesaid house without hindrance for the
term, after which he shall restore it free of filth and dirt of all
kinds together with such doors and keys as he has received, right of
execution lying against the lessee, as is just. The lease is valid, and
we have put the question to each other and consented to each other. The
4th year of the Emperor Caesar Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Gothicus
Maximus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus, Phaophi 13. (Signed) I, Aurelius
Heracleus, have leased the house and will pay the rent as aforesaid,
and in answer to the question have given my consent. I, Aurelius
Serenus, wrote for him, as he was ignorant of letters."
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No. 1037. Lease of an exhedra, 21.6 x 16.6 cm. A.D. 444. (p.179)
Lease of an exhedra or hall of a house for an indefinite period
at the rent of 24,000,000 denarii (cf. 1026. το, note), the lessor
being empowered to resume his property when he chose to do so.
Translation from Greek: (p.180)
"The year after the consulship of Flavius Maximus for the second time
and Flavius Paterius, the most illustrious, Mesore 18. To Aurelius
Philoxenus son of Doras, seller of phorbium, of the illustrious and
most illustrious city of Oxyrhynchus, from Aurelius Hierax son of
Anastatianus, of the said city, I undertake of my own free will to
lease from the first day of the next month Thoth of the present reign
and the 13 indiction, the hall belonging to you in the house called ...
which is in the said city of Oxyrhynchus in the quarter of the
Cobbler's Market, complete with all appurtenances, and I will pay you
for rent 2,400 myriads of silver yearly, and I will perforce pay the
rent with no delay, and whenever you wish I will hand over to you the
hall in a clean state. This lease, of which a clean copy is made, is
valid, and in answer to the question I have given my consent."
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No. 1038 Lease of part of a house. 30.5 x 10.3 cm AD 568 (p.180)
A lease of a ground floor room (Topos) in a house, at the annual rent
of 10 keratia, the lease to be determinable, as is common at this
period, at the pleasure of the owner. Other good examples of late
leases of house property are P.Brit.Mus. 113 ,6(a) {Topos), (b) (Topo
duo in a house),871 (Triklinos), and 1023, P.Flor 13 and 74, P.Strassb.
4.
Translation from Greek: (p.182)
"The 3rd year of the reign and consulship of our most godly and pious
sovereign Flavius Justinus, eternal Augustus and Imperator, Mesore 2,
1st indiction. To Flavia Euphemia, the honourable daughter of Musaeus
of honoured memory, landholder at this illustrious city of Oxyrhynchus,
through you, Flavius Anastasius, her noble agent, and you, Jeremias,
her admirable collector, Aurelius Stephanus, baker, son of Heraclammon
and Nonna, of the said city, greeting. I undertake of my own free will
to lease from the first day of the month Thoth of the coming D.V.
second indiction, from your honour’s property out of a house facing
south situated in this city in the quarter of St. Euphemia, a complete
room on the ground floor also facing south with all appurtenances and
the rights attaching to all the house, and I will pay annually as rent
for this ten carats of current coinage, total 10 carats current, which
rent I will pay every year in half-yearly instalments of half the sum,
and whenever you wish I will surrender my possession of the room just
as I received it. This lease, of which one copy has been made, is
valid, and in answer to the question I have given my consent."
Signature of Stephanus written for him by the scribe John, signature of
John, and title on the verso.
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No. 1039. Contract of Deposit. 33.2 x 10.6 cm. AD 210. (p.182)
Acknowledgement of a deposit (παραθήκη) of 600 drachmae repayable on
demand; cf. e.g. P.Tebt. 387, P.Brit.Mus. 943, B.G.U. 729. The name of
the emperor Geta has been deleted in the date formula, as in 54, 56 and
elsewhere.
Translation from Greek: (p.183)
"Apollonius son of Sarapion son of Sarapion, his mother being Sintheus,
of the city of Oxyrhynchus, to Theon son of C ... also called
Chaeremon, his mother being Apia, of the said city, greeting. I
acknowledge the receipt from you from hand to hand on deposit of 600
silver drachmae of the imperial coinage, which I will restore to you
whenever you choose without any delay or excuse, otherwise I will
forfeit them to you in accordance with the law of deposits, and you
shall have the right of execution upon me and upon all my property.
This deed of deposit, written by me, Apollonius, in duplicate is valid
whenever produced and whosoever produces it on your behalf."
Date.
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No. 1040. Loan of wheat. 31.3 x 20 cm. AD 225. (p.184)
An acknowledgement of a loan of four artabae of wheat, to be repaid
with an addition (διάφορον) of one-half. This addition is to be
regarded simply as interest for the accommodation, as in P. Flor. 54,
where government loans of seed are to be repaid μετὰ τῆς ἡμιολίας : cf.
1042. 28, where διάφορον practically means interest. In P. Tebt. 110
and P. Amh. 147 the ἡμιολίαι should probably be similarly explained
rather than as fines incurred in connexion with previous transactions.
The deed is written out in duplicate (δισσὰ γραφέντα 1. 31) on a single
sheet, in two columns, of which the second, being the better preserved,
is printed ; cf. 988.
Translation from Greek: (p.186)
"Aurelius Pekusis, son of Pausiris and Soéris, and his son Aurelius
Petenouphis whose mother is Sintheus, both of the city of Oxyrhynchus,
to Aurelius Theon son of Didymus, of the said city, greeting. We
acknowledge both equally that we have received and had measured out to
us from you of the crop of the past 4th year four artabae of wheat at
the interest of one-half, making a total, with the interest, of six
artabae of wheat, which we will repay to you on our mutual security in
the month of Pauni at the threshing-floor of the village of Teruthis,
in wheat that is new, pure, unadulterated, without earth or barley, and
sifted, as measured into the public granary, by your own receiving
measure by which the measurement has been made to us, the measuring to
be done by your agents. If I do not repay according to our written
agreement the aforesaid six artabae of wheat including the addition, I
will forfeit them to you with an increase of one-half and interest for
the overtime also of one-half, (and you shall have the right of
execution) upon us as mutual securities for the payment or upon
whichever of us you choose and upon all our property of every kind, as
in accordance with a legal decision. This bond, which is written in
duplicate, is valid as if publicly registered, and in answer to your
question whether this is rightly and fairly done we have given our
consent." Date, signature of Pekusis and Petenouphis written for them
by Aurelius Petronius, and title on the back.
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No. 1041. Guarantee for a loan. 27. x 15.7 cm. AD 381. (p.186)
In this deed Aurelius Plutarchus (?) takes upon himself the
responsibility for the repayment of a loan which had been made through
his intervention to a friend, Philonicus. The transaction was connected
in some way with another agreement in which Plutarchus was concerned,
but the reference to this (Il. 9-10) is rather obscure.
Translation from Greek: (pp.187-188)
"In the consulship of Flavius Eucherius and Syagrius the most
illustrious, Pauni 15. Aurelius Plutarchus, son of Psenamounis and
Ted[.]me, of the village of Phoboou in the 5th pagus of the
Oxyrhynchite nome, to Aurelius . . . us son of Heraclas, of the said
city, dyer, greeting. Whereas owing to my persuasion you have drawn up
an agreement with Philonicus son of Besammon, of the said city, for the
repayment of four thousand two hundred myriads of denarii of silver
which have been lent to him by you on account of extra payments in
accordance with the contracts of . . . made by me, in order that you
may have security from me until the repayment of this sum I acknowledge
that I owe and myself have the said four thousand two hundred myriads
of denarii of silver, total 42,000,000 denarii, on the condition that I
restore them to you on the day specified in the agreement made by you
with the said Philonicus, that is the first day of the month Mesore of
the present 14th =the 6th=the 2nd year and the current gth indiction,
and that I shall recover from him the agreement for this sum made by
you with him and shall hand it over to you for annulment; and you shall
have the right of execution upon me and all my property. This
agreement, of which one copy has been made, is valid, and in answer to
the question I have given my consent." Signature of Aurelius
Plutarchus.
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No. 1042. Loan of Money. 31 x 8.3 cm. AD 578 (p.188)
An agreement for a loan of one-third of a solidus, to be repayed on
demand with some addition as interest, but the rate is not defined.
Translation from Greek: (p.190)
"The 13th year of the reign of our most godly and pious sovereign and
greatest benefactor Flavius Justinus, eternal Augustus and Imperator,
the 11th year after the second consulship of his serenity, and the 3rd
year of Flavius Tiberius [1] also called Novus Constantinus, our most
fortunate Caesar, Pachon 15, 11th indiction. To Flavius Phib, the most
esteemed assistant in the praefect’s office in the province of Arcadia
[2], son of of illustrious memory, from the new city of Justinus,
Aurelius John, millstone-maker, son of Anoup and Kuranan, an inhabitant
of the said city, greeting. I acknowledge that I have received from
your magnificence [3] as a loan for my pressing needs one-third of a
gold solidus on the private standard of current coin, total 4 gold
solidus [4], private standard, and this I agree to produce to you
whenever you choose, together with the extra payment, without delay.
This deed, of which one copy has been made, is valid, and in answer to
the question I have given my consent." Signature of John written for
him by Serenus, the scribe who penned the contract, signature of
Serenus, and title on the back.
Notes:
1. Tiberius was appointed Caesar in AD 574; cf. Chron. Pasch. p.376 ....
2. On the province of Arcadia, which corresponded to the earlier
Heptanomia, cf. Gelzer, Leepzrger hist. Abhandi. xiii, pp. 8-9.
3. A blank space was left for the name, which was never filled in.
4. A solidus on the private standard was slightly inferior in value to
a solidus on the public or the Alexandrian standard ; cf. 154. 13,
note. 1043.
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No. 1043. Receipt for oil. 6.6 x 33.5 cm. AD 578. (p.190)
A receipt, dated by the eras of Oxyrhynchus, for three sextarii of oil. The writing is across the fibres of the papyrus.
Translation from Greek: (p.191)
"Received through Serenus, collector, by Macarius and Elias and Kamoul,
assistants attending on the honourable house [1], on account of expenses
from the 16th of the month Phamenoth to the 30th of the same month, 15
days, three sextarii of oil, total 3 sextarii of oil, and no more.
(Signed) Total three sextarii of oil and no more. The 254th = the 2231
year, Phamenoth 19, r1th indiction."
notes:
1. The honorable house (ἔνδοξος οἶκος) of the Apion family is probably
meant ; cf. P.Oxy. I. p. 206, and Nos.183 and 185, &c.
.
Footnotes:
1. [Editor's Note:] The original textual commentaries and notes provided by Grenfell and Hunt on
passages in Greek, and on some bibliographic references, have
frequently been abbreviated or omitted, if not essential to
understanding the content of the papyri documents. Any such omissions
are marked with "....", and any added words needed for clarity are
placed between brackets [ ]. These elisions are separate from those
used by Grenfell and Hunt in the translated text, which have not been
altered.
2. [Editor's Note:] References to all other papyri from the Oxyrhynchus
collections are given with their sequential number as "No. xx".
Abbreviations to other papyri collections and standard historical
references used by Grenfell and Hunt include the following:
Archiv.= Archiv fur Papyrusforschung.
B.G.U. = Aeg. Urkunden aus den K. Museum zu Berlin, Griechische Urkunden.
C.I.G. = Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum
C.I.L. = Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
Cod. Just.= Codex Justianus
Cod. Theod.= Codex Theodosianus
C.P.R. = Corpus Papyrorum Raineri, by C. Wessely.
Marcellinus =The late Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus.
P. Amh. = The Amherst Papyri (Greek), Vols. I-II, by B.P.Grenfell and A.S.Hunt.
P. Brit.Mus. = Greek papyri in the British Museum, vol.I-II by F.G. Kenyon.
P. Cairo = Catalog of the Greek Papyri in the Cairo Museum,by Grenfell & Hunt.
P. Fay. = Fayum Towns & Their Papyri by B.P.Grenfell, A.S.Hunt, & D.S.Hogarth
P. Flor. = Papiri Fiorentini, Vol. 1, by G. Vitelli.
P.
Grenf. = Greek Papyri, Ser. 1 by B.P. Grenfell, and Ser. II by Grenfell and Hunt
P. Hibeh = The Hibeh Papyri by B.P Grenfell and A.S. Hunt
P. Leipzig = Griechische Urkunden der Papyrussammlung zu Leipzig by I Mitteis.
P. Leyden = Papyri Graeci Musei Antiquarii Lugduni-Batavi, by C. Leemans.
P. Oxy. = The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, parts I-VI, by B.P. Grenfell and A.S. Hunt.
P. Strassb. = Griech. Papyrus der K.Univ.bibliotheck zu Strassburg by F.Preisigke.
P. Tebt. = The Tebtunis Papyri, by B.P. Grenfell, A.S. Hunt, et al.
Wilcken, Ost. = Griechische Ostraka, by U. Wilcken.
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