Beta
You are viewing a draft
Not for citation.
  TEI/XML   RDF/XML  

George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/423

Context

Excavations in 1935-1937 by Princeton University at the site of Nessana, a Nabataean city in the Negev Desert on the Egyptian frontier, uncovered an important assemblage of literary and documentary texts on papyri. These texts are distinguished by their overall relatively good state of preservation, the variety of their forms and contents, and their testimony for life at Nessana and in the broader region during the Byzantine/Islamic transition. This text has been dated ca. 685 C.E. on the basis of the address to the administrator George, who was active during the last quarter of the 7th century (cf. P.Nessana 69; Kraemer 1958, pp. 199-200). It is a personal letter from one low-ranking George to the high-ranking George relaying an order to requisition two equipped camels for an expedition apparently of a military nature (στόλος) between Caesarea and Scythopolis. Kraemer (1958, pp. 209-210) raises the possibility that the military governor of the jund of Filastin or Urduun (in Gaza?) ordered the camels from the desert outpost for military activity in the north around the accession of ‘Abd al-Mālik.

Text

Front [+ τὰ γράμμ]ατά σου ἐδεξάμην περιέχοντα χάριντῆς ἀποκρίσεώς σου καὶ ἵνα εἰδῇ<ς> ὅτι ἡ ἀπόκρισις σοῦἀπόκρισις μοῦ ἐστιν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγράφη μοι ἵνα καμηλο-<λο>γεύσω. ἀλλὰ ζήτησον εὐτρέπισαι δύο καμήλια καὶ δ̣[ύο]ἐργάτας ὀφείλοντας βαστάξαι ἀπὸ Κησαρίας εἰ᾽ Σχυθ̣ό̣- (5)πολιν. καὶ ἵνα εἰδῇς ὅτι καλὰ καμήλια καὶ ἐργ̣ά̣τ̣αςθέλῃ ἔχοντας σάγματα καὶ μασθέλια. περὶ δὲ σ̣τ̣όλουοὐκ ἐζήτησεν δέξασθαι ἕως οὗ λάβῃ τὸ πρῶτον καὶἵνα δοῦναι τὰ δύο νομίσματα εξονεχοεισιν καὶ ἐὰν ειδεο̣ς̣ἔχεις τη ελθης̣ επικαταρ̣α̣τος ̣ ̣ ̣δ̣ε̣ κ̣α̣ὶ̣ εἰρή̣ν̣η σοι + (10) Back [+ τ]ῷ δεσπ(ότῃ) μου κυρ(ί)ῳ Γεωργίῳ διοικ(η)τ(ῇ) Νεστάνωνπα(ρὰ) Γεωργίω ἐλαχ(ίστου) +1

Textual Note

Ed. Kraemer 1958

Discussion Note

Lines 4-5: Papyrus reads καμιλο̣κευσο apparently for καμηλολογεύσω after syllabic compression and phonetic shift.

Corrigenda Note

Minor corrections (common errors and phonetic variants from app. crit.)

Translation

Front + I received your letter containing the favor of your payment. Know that your payment is my payment.Now look, I received word that I am to requisition camels. However, make sure that you have ready two camels and two laborers who are to perform compulsory service from Caesarea to Scythopolis. And bear in mind that he wants good camels and workers who have pack-saddles and straps.About the shipment, he did not ask to receive it until he received the first one, or to give two solidi … and peace (be) with you. + Back + To the Honorable George, administrator of Nessana, from George, least (of men) +

Translation Note

Rev. Kraemer 1958

Works Cited

  • 1 Casper John Kraemer, Jr., Excavations at Nessana 3: Non-Literary Papyri, vol. 3, 3 vols., Nessana: Results of the Excavation Undertaken by the Colt Archaeological Institute in 1937 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), entry: 74, p: 209-211.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
About This Text

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/423.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/423.

About this Entry

Entry Title: George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

  • Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
  • Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
  • David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “George, Letter Concerning Compulsory Public Service, P.Nessana 74”

Additional Credit:

  • TEI encoding by Joseph L. Rife
  • URNs and other metadata added by Joseph L. Rife
  • Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife
Show full citation information...