Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/439
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 to Islamic transition. This text written in a thin, cursive
script survives nearly complete, missing only the beginning and end perhaps in a few
lines. It is an account of military payments presumably associated with the local
garrison, in which widely different sums (in solidi) are associated
with named groups or individuals. Some are named, such as Reka(?) of Caesarea, who might
have been collecting revenue (Kraemer 1958, p. 111).
Text
Tracesἀ̣π̣ὸ̣ τ̣ῶν λιτρῶν νο(μίσματα) ϙα β‹ ιϛ´(ὑπὲρ) [ ̣] ̣
δουκ(ικῶν) ν̣ο̣(μίσματα) οθ S γ´(ὑπὲρ) ν̣( )ν̣( ) σχολε̣.[ρ]ου̣ [ 7-8 ] νο(μίσματα) μ
β‹[ ca. ? ] νο(μίσματα) [ ca. ? ] (5)(ὑπὲρ) στρα̣τε̣υ̣σ̣ι ̣ ̣( ) ϊϛ [ 7 ]
νο(μίσματα) λ̣π̣( ) ̣ ̣πρα( ) ϊβ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ἀπ̣ὸ̣ τῶν φι τῶν βι ̣ι̣κελευθ( )
νο(μίσματα) [ ̣]η ι̣ϛ̣´[ἀ]πὸ τῶν οβ νο(μισμάτων) τῶν δ̣[ο]θ̣(έντων) Ἰώνῃ τῷ
ἐνδοξ(οτάτῳ) νο(μίσματα) κη β‹δ(ιὰ) Ρε̣ ̣α̣β̣ο̣υ̣ ̣ ̣ι̣ο̣ς̣ [νο(μίσματα) ̣] (10)δ(ιὰ) Αβ̣θ̣αλλου Ζαυανου ν[ο](μίσματα) ϛ̣δ(ιὰ) τῶν πριόρων δοθ(έντα) τῷ ενκλινου
νο(μίσματα) ε β‹δ(ιὰ) Στεφάνου ὀπτιοπρίγκ(ιπος) νο(μίσματα) ϛδ(ιὰ) Βίκτορος
Ἀβρααμίου νο(μίσματα) ιζή(τει) δ(ιὰ) Ἰωάννου ἰατροῦ νο(μίσματα) γ β‹ (15)ζή(τει)
δ(ιὰ) Βίκτορος (καὶ) Αλοβεδου (καὶ) Στεφάνου νο(μίσματα) ϛδ(ιὰ) Ζή̣νωνος (καὶ)
Γομβερου (καὶ) Αλοβεδου νο(μίσματα) εδ(ιὰ) ̣ ̣καυτ(ο)υ τῶν δημ(οσίων) τῶν τριῶν
κάστρ(ων) νο(μίσματα) ηδ̣(ιὰ) Ρ̣εκα( ) ἐν Καισαρίᾳ ἅπερ
ἔλαβ̣(εν) εἰς λόγ(ον)τοποτηρ(ητοῦ) μ̣ην̣ο̣ ̣[ ̣ ̣]ε̣ς̣ νο(μίσματα) [ ca. ? ] (20)δ(ιὰ) [ ̣ ̣ ̣]ο[ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ (καὶ)] Στε̣[φάνου (καὶ) Ἀ]β̣ρααμ[ίου] νο(μίσματα) [ ca. ? ]-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --1
Textual Note
Ed. Kraemer 1958Corrigenda Note
Minor corr. (common errors and phonetic variants from app. crit.)Translation
Tracesfrom the pounds coins 91 ⅔ ⅟16on behalf of the … scouts
coins 79 ½ ⅓on behalf of the clerks(?) of … coins 40 ⅔ …[ ] coins [ ] (5)on
behalf of the 16 … coins 30[ ] 12 …from the 510 of the … coins 28(?) ⅟16from
the 72 coins given to the most illustrious John(?) coins 28 ⅔through Re[ ] coins [ ]
(10)through Abthallos son of Za‛wān coins 6through the staff officers, given to
the … coins 5 ⅔through Stephan, adjutant coins 6through Victor son of Abraham
coins 10through John, physician coins 3 ⅔ (15)through Victor, al-‛Ubaid, and
Stephan coins 6through Zenon, Gomberos, and al-‛Ubaid coins 5through … of public
taxes of the three camps coins 8through Reka[ ] in Caesarea the
amountwhich he took for the account of the district warden … coins [ ] (20)through
… Stephan and Abraham coins [ ]Lost text 2
Translation Note
Revised from Kraemer 1958Discussion Note
The Greek text notes several officials: πριόροι for priores (line 12); ὀπτιοπρίγκ(ιπος) for optioprincipalis(?); and τοποτηρ(ητής) for loci servator or locum tenens(?). See Kraemer 1958, p. 113.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: 36, p: 111-113.
- 2 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: 36, p: 111-113.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published April 28, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/439.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36.” 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 April 28, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/439.About this Entry
Entry Title: Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36
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, “Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Unknown, Military Account, P.Nessana 36”
Additional Credit:
- TEI record created by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium translated by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium transcribed by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonium identified by Joseph L. Rife