OPES – Oslo Papyri Electronic System

Background and Physical Properties

Material:

Papyrus

Connections:

–

Size:

8 x 23.5 cm

Lines:

30

Publication side:

Recto (Verso: blank)

Palaeographic description:

Three hands. Hand 1 (ll. 1-24) is a practiced cursive hand of the Early Byzantine period. Hand 2 (ll. 25-29) is a practiced semi-cursive hand showing no distorting ligatures but cursive rendering of some letters (e.g. alpha). Hand 3 (l. 30) is a practiced cursive hand.

State of preservation:

Remains of 30 lines from a document in one column. The right edge is preserved, leaving no margin. Most of the left part of the text is lost, following a straight vertical break in the papyrus sheet from top to bottom. The upper edge is damaged while most of the lower edge is preserved. The lower margin: 3.5 cm. There are several areas of green discoloration on both sides of the papyrus sheet. The connection between two smaller fragments, preserving more of the left part of ll. 11-14 and ll. 25-27, to the rest of the papyrus sheet has been strengthened by the placement during previous conservation efforts of pieces of adhesive on the verso.

Content

Date:

2 December 331 CE

Origin:

Oxyrhynchus (mod. Bahnasa), Egypt

Language:

Greek

Genre:

Documentary

Author:

Aurelios Pausirion son of Onnophris

Title / Type of text:

Loan of Money / Contract

Content:

Aurelius Pausirion son of Onnophris, of the city of Oxyrhynchus, borrowed 53 talents and 1000 drachmas from Aurelius NN son of Horion on 2 December 331 CE to be repaid by 1 January 332 CE. A term of maturation fixed at 30 days is assumed on the basis of similar documents (see e.g. P.Flor. 343 [= TM 23554]) indicating contemporary inflation and lack of circulating money.

Subjects:

Contract Loan Money Interest Stipulatio

Named people:

Aurelios Pausirion son of Onnophris Aurelios NN son of Horion

Named places:

Oxyrhynchos

English translation:

(1st hand) [In the consulship of Junius] B[assus and Flavius Ablabius, the most illustrious] praefecti, Kh[oiak 5 (= 2 December, 331 CE)] [To Aurelius NN] son of Horion, former gymnasiarch […], of the [illustrious and most illustrious] city of the [Oxyrh]ynchites, [through the intermediary of Aurelius NN] priest, [Aurelius Paus]irion, son of priest Onnophris [of the same] city, who is among the [senior?] priests [in the] same city, greetings. [I confirm] that I am in possession of fifty-three talents and one thousand drachmas, talents 53 drachmas 1000, of imperial silver coinage, received from you as a loan and [directly out of your estate] (i.e. in cash and not by banker’s order). This (amount) of necessity [I will pay you back] by the fifth day of the following month [Tybi (= 1 January)] of the current (regnal) year 26 (of Constantine) 16 (of Constantine II) 8 (of Constantius II), with no [delay whatsoever] nor excuses. Should [I fail to do so then I will pay you] interest […] on every talent for each month of the overtime (i.e. in addition to the ordinary interest of the loan), the exaction (of this debt) on me and on all my possessions being up to you. Having been made in two copies, the contract [is made valid wherever] it is produced and by whomever that should produce it on your behalf, and I have assented in answer to the formal question (stipulatio). (2nd hand) I, Aurelius Pausirion, have received [as a loan] fifty-three silver talents and [one thousand] drachmas, and I will pay it back as mentioned above, and I have assented in answer to the formal question. (3rd hand) [Aurelius NN] (?) I have signed.

Provenance:

Bahnasa, Egypt

Acquisition:

Purchased through the British Museum and the Universities of Michigan, Columbia and Princeton (lot I, 74, see Bell's report).

Acquisition year:

1928

Editions

• Eitrem, S. and Amundsen, L., P.Oslo II, 1931, pp. 101-102 (no. 41)

Further Literature

Catalogues

TM 21519

Discussions

• Spinosi, C. (1961). Dispositions juridiques relatives à la monnaie dans la législation et la pratique (principalement égyptiennes) des IIIe et IVe siècles après J.-C [2nd part]. Revue d’histoire Économique et Sociale, 39(2), 129–157. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24073401. On the exceptionally short loans accorded during the 4th century, see p. 139 n. 39.
• Chastagnol, A. (1968). Les préfets du prétoire de Constantin. Revue des études anciennes, 70(3), 321-352. https://doi.org/10.3406/rea.1968.3822. On the titulature of consuls Flavius Ablabius and Junius Bassus (ll. 1-2), see p. 337 n. 3 & p. 338 n. 4.
• Sijpesteijn, P. J., & Worp, K. A. (1978). Remarks on some papyri. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 29, 269–275. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20181577. Compares an expression in P. L. Bat. 11 13.15-17 (= P.Vindob. Sijp. 13 = TM 17172) with the phrase τοῦ ὑπερπεσόντος χρόνου (l. 16); see p. 273 n. 12.
• Chastagnol, A. (1981). L'inscription constantinienne d'Orcistus. Mélanges de l'école française de Rome, 93(1), 381-416. https://doi.org/10.3406/mefr.1981.1279. On the titulature of consul Flavius Ablabius (ll. 1-2), see p. 395 n. 11.
• Nielsen, B. E. (1990). An acknowledgement of a loan of wheat. The Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, 27(1/4), 95–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43786114. Suggests recontructing πανταχοῦ ἐπιφερόμενον (l. 22); see p. 100 note to ll. 17 and 35.
• Bagnall, R. S. & Worp, K. A. (2004). Chronological Systems of Byzantine Egypt (2nd ed.). Brill. Dating of the contract, see pp. 182, 250.
• Stolk, J. V. (2020). Lease contract between priests. In J. V. Stolk & G. A.J.C. van Loon (Eds.), Text Editions of (Abnormal) Hieratic, Demotic, Greek, Latin and Coptic Papyri and Ostraca (P. L. Bat. 37) (pp. 159-163). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004439009_021. On the identification of the lessor as ἱερεύς (l. 7), see p. 161 note to l. 5.
• Skarsouli, E. (2021). Unterer Teil einer Sechszeugenurkunde. In C. Armoni, T. Backhuys, S. Lippert, E. O.D. Love, E. Skarsouli, N. V. Navarrete, & R. Vecchiato (Eds.), Kölner Papyri, Band 17 (pp. 28-38). Brill. NB: mistakenly refers to P.Oslo II 41. In fact the reference applies to P. Oslo II 40 A and P. Oslo II 40 B.