Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 139

Last updated

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 139 (P. Oxy. 139 or P. Oxy. I 139) is the seventh (and last) in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a promise by the head watchman of the estate to Flavius Apion the younger to be honest and outlining the penalties the watchman agrees to should he fail. It is written in Greek and was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 26 October 612. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10049) in Cairo. [1]

Greek language language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Oxyrhynchus Village in Egypt

Oxyrhynchus is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered. For the past century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has been continually excavated, yielding an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Among the texts discovered at Oxyrhynchus are plays of Menander, fragments from the Gospel of Thomas, and fragments from Euclid's Elements. They also include a few vellum manuscripts, and more recent Arabic manuscripts on paper.

Papyrus Writing and painting implement

Papyrus is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge. Papyrus can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined together side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book.

Contents

Description

The document contains a contract between Aurelius Menas, head watchman, and Flavius Apion the younger. Menas agrees to pay 24 solidi should he be proved to have been a party to any theft of the agricultural estate under his charge. Grenfell and Hunt's published text of this document is supplemented with material from Papyrus 10090, also in the Egyptian Museum, which is a similar contract between Apion and two other parties, written on the previous day by the same scribe. The measurements of the fragment are 318 by 121 mm. [2]

Solidus (coin) gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire

The solidus, nomisma, or bezant was originally a relatively pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire. Under Constantine, who introduced it on a wide scale, it had a weight of about 4.5 grams. It was largely replaced in Western Europe by Pepin the Short's currency reform, which introduced the silver-based pound/shilling/penny system, under which the shilling functioned as a unit of account equivalent to 12 pence, eventually developing into the French sou. In Eastern Europe, the nomisma was gradually debased by the Byzantine emperors until it was abolished by Alexius I in 1092, who replaced it with the hyperpyron, which also came to be known as a "bezant". The Byzantine solidus also inspired the originally slightly less pure Arab dinar.

It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898. [2]

Arthur Surridge Hunt English papyrologist

Arthur Surridge Hunt, FBA was an English papyrologist.

Excerpt

I promise to your magnificence through your representatives, that if ever at any season or time I shall be found to have stolen the gear of the machinery of the oxen, or to have committed any theft whatsoever, or to have harbored thieves, I will forfeit to your magnificence for each attempt 24 gold solidi, actual payment of which is to be enforced at the risk of myself and my property. [2]

See also

Oxyrhynchus Papyri Manuscript fragments from 32BC–640AD found in an Egyptian rubbish dump

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 138 is the sixth in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a contract for the care of a stable, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written between 610 and 611. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10100) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 140 is a contract with a horse trainer, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 26 April 550. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10057) in Cairo.

Related Research Articles

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 57 is a letter relating to a peculation by a treasury official, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written between 195-196 CE. It is housed at Johns Hopkins University. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 66 consists of two letters concerning the erection of a statue to a praefect, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written on 4 July 357. Currently, it is housed in the Cambridge University Library in Cambridge. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 67 contains three letters about a dispute concerning property, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written on 28 March 338. Currently it is housed in the British Museum (754) in London. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 81 is a declaration on oath by a tax collector, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written between 244-245. Currently it is housed in the British Museum (757) in London. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1898.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 86 is a complaint of a pilot of a public boat, written in Greek. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The document was written on 28 March 338. Currently it is housed in the Cambridge University Library in Cambridge.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 130 is a letter asking for relief from a debt, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in the 6th century. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10072) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 132 is a memorandum concerning the division of a bequest, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in the late 6th or early 7th century. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10133) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 133 is the first in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a receipt for 200 artabae of seed corn. It is written in Greek and was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in 550. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10056) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 134 is the second in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a receipt from a stonemason given to Flavius. It is written in Greek and was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 9 June 569. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10053) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 135 is the third in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a deed of surety, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 21 March 579. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10018) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 136 is the fourth in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a contract between the heirs of Flavius and the overseer of a farm. It is written in Greek and was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 24 May 583. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10103) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 137 is the fifth in a series of Oxyrhynchus papyri (133–139) concerning the family affairs of Flavius Apion, his heirs, or his son. This one is a receipt for a water wheel axle, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 11 January 584. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10034) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 144 is a receipt, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 22 November 580. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10017) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 149 is a receipt, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 22 September 572. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10045) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 151 is a receipt, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written between 28 September and 27 October 612. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10094) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 153 is a receipt, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written on 20 May 618. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10044) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 154 is an account listing various payments, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in the late 6th century. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10102) in Cairo.

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 155 is a letter, written in Greek and discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a sheet. The document was written in the 6th century. Currently it is housed in the Egyptian Museum (10020) in Cairo.

References

  1. ↑ P. Oxy. 139 at the Oxyrhynchus Online
  2. 1 2 3 Grenfell, B. P.; Hunt, A. S. (1898). Oxyrhynchus Papyri I. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. pp. 222–3.

PD-icon.svg  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: B. P. Grenfell; A. S. Hunt (1898). Oxyrhynchus Papyri I. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. 

The public domain consists of all the creative works to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.