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Egyptian Texts:  7.12


BILINGUAL SALE OF LITURGIES


Text:   P. Berlin 5507 + P. Berlin 3098 + P. Leiden 413   [ TM 43627 ]
Date:   136 B.C.
Language:   Demotic
Translated by:   R.Mairs & C.J.Martin
Format:   see key to translations

Although these documents use the language of a sale, no payment is mentioned, and they were probably intended to be the formal record of a transfer of choachyte rights within the family, from Taesis to Sachperis, the wife of her uncle. The transaction, which took place in Djeme in the month of January 136 B.C., was recorded in three surviving documents - a demotic sale-document (A), a demotic quitclaim-document (B), and a Greek translation of the sale-document (C).

The translation is taken from R. Mairs & C. J. Martin, "A Bilingual 'Sale' of Liturgies from the Archive of the Theban Choachytes" ( academia.edu ).


Regnal-year 34, first month of winter, day 7, under Ptolemy, the Beneficent god, son of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the Manifest gods, and Queen Cleopatra his sister, and Queen Cleopatra, his wife, the Beneficent gods, and under the Priest of Alexander,  and the Saviour gods, the Brother-and-Sister gods, the Beneficent gods, the Father-loving gods, the Manifest  gods, the Mother-loving gods, the god Exalting-his-Father { Eupator }, the Beneficent gods; and [the Bearer]-of-the-Trophy-of-Victory {athlophoros} of Berenice, the Beneficent; and the Bearer-of-the-Golden-Basket {kanephoros} before Arsinoe, the Brother-loving; and the Priestess of Arsinoe, the Father-loving; and those who are established in Alexandria and Ptolemais, which is in the district of Thebes.

Said the woman Taesis, daughter of Psenamounis, her mother Taesis, she being 33 years old, of average height for a woman, honey-coloured complexion and ... to the woman Sachperis, daughter of Amenothes, her mother Thathas: "You have caused my heart to be satisfied with the money for the revenues and the tombs of the people, which have come to me in the name of the woman Taesis, daughter of Horos, my mother, together with Onnophris, son of Horos, my husband.

"Their inventory:

"Total of the tombs and their grave-shafts and those who rest in them; together with the blessed ones, their s.t-tombs and their people; together with the people who are above and their children; together with their revenues, their income, their services and their offerings; together with [everything] which comes from them; together with that which will be added to them from field, temple, town or any place; together with the remaining tombs and revenue that will come to me in their name. I gave them to you. They are yours. They are your tombs and their grave-shafts and those who rest in them; the blessed ones and their s.t-tombs, and those who rest along with them; together with every person who is above; and every person who has been taken to them; together with their revenues, their income, their services and their offerings; together with everything which comes from them; together with that which will be added to them from field, temple, town or any place which is above. I have received their value in money from your hand. It is complete without any remainder. My heart is satisfied [with it]. I do not have any claim on earth against you in their name. No person on earth, myself or my family, will have authority over them except you from today onwards. The one who will come to you on account of them in my name or in the name of any person on earth, I will cause him to be far from you; and I will cause them to be clear for you from any document, any title deed and any claim on earth at any time. They are yours, namely their documents and their title deeds in any place which they are in. Every document which was made concerning them, together with every document which was made for me concerning them, together with [every] document in respect of [which] I have title in their name, they belong to you, together with their rights. You are the one who has title in respect of them in their name. The oath or the giving of proof which will be placed upon you in the law-court in the name of the right of the document [which] is above, which I made for you, to cause me to make it, I will make it, without citing any title deed or anything on earth with you."

In the writing of Paes, [son of Pete]esis, who writes in the name of the endowed woman, daughter of the priest of Amun, Senchonsis, daughter of the divine-father Spoteus, the prophetess of Djeme.

In the writing of Memnon, son of Pyrrhos, who is the eyes for the document which is above.

{ Witnesses: see B }

[B]    Demotic P. Berlin 3098

Regnal-year 34, first month of winter, day 7, under King Ptolemy, the Beneficent god, son of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the Manifest gods, and Queen Cleopatra, his sister, and Queen Cleopatra, his wife,  the Beneficent gods,  and under the Priest of Alexander, and the Saviour gods, the Brother-and-Sister gods, the Beneficent gods, the Father-loving gods, the Manifest gods, the Mother-loving gods, the god Exalting-his-Father { Eupator }, the Beneficent gods; and the Bearer-of-the-Trophy-of-Victory {athlophoros} of Berenice, the Beneficent; and the Bearer-of-the-Golden-Basket {kanephoros} before Arsinoe , the Brother-loving; and the Priestess of Arsinoe, the Father-loving; and [those] who are established in Alexandria and Ptolemais, which is in the district of Thebes.

Said the woman Taesis, daughter of Psenamounis, her mother Taesis, about 53 years old, of average height for a woman, honey-coloured complexion and ..., to the woman Sachperis, daughter of Amenothes, her mother Thathas: "I am far from you in your revenues and your tombs of the people.

"Their inventory:
  { The list that follows is identical to the inventory in A.  }

"Total of your tombs and their grave-shafts and those who rest in them; and the blessed ones, and their s.t-tombs and their people; together with the people who are above and their children; together with the remaining tombs, blessed ones and revenue which will come to me in the name of the lady Taesis, daughter of Horos, my mother, together with Onnophris son of Horos, my husband; together with their revenues, their income, their services and their offerings; together with everything which comes from them; together with that which will be added to them from field, temple, town or any place; concerning which I made for you a document-of-sale in regnal-year 34, first month of winter, day 7, of Pharaoh , living forever. They are yours. They are your tombs and their grave-shafts and those who rest in them; together with the blessed ones and their s.t-tombs, and those who rest along with them; and the people and their children; together with their revenues and that which pertains to them which is above. I do not have any claim on earth against you in their name from today onwards. The one who will come to you on account of them, in my name or in the name of any person [on earth], I will cause him to be far from you. You are behind me through the right of the document-of-sale which I made for you concerning them in regnal-year 34, first month of winter, day 7, of Pharaoh , living forever, to carry out for you its rights, besides the document-of-being-far which is above, to complete two documents. I am to carry out for you their rights at every time, without any blow."

In the writing of Paes, son of Peteesis, who [writes] in the name of the endowed woman, daughter of the priest of Amun, Senchonsis, daughter of the divine-father Spotous, the prophetess of Djeme.

{ Witnesses for A and B: }


[C]    Greek P. Leiden 413

[Copy of an Egyptian document] translated [into Greek] as far as possible.

[Year 34, Tybi 7, the usual formulae follow : thus speaks] Taesis, daughter of Psen[amounis, her] mother Taesis, [being] 33 years old, of average [height , honey-coloured] complexion and . . ., to Sachperis, daughter of Amenothes, her mother [Thatha]s: "You have satisfied me [with the price of the income and of the] tombs of the people belonging [to me] in the [name of Taesis], daughter of Horos, my mother, and Onnophris, son of Horos, [my husband]. 

[They are]:

So that [yours are the] tombs and their [grave-shafts and] those in them, and drowned [and the] priestly [chambers and their . . .] and the income of these and the revenue [and the] services [and the. . .], the . . . and the things which will come from both the [fields] and the temples and [any] other person [I] may have in addition to the [names] of these. I have given them to you. [Yours are] both the tombs and their grave-shafts and those in them and the drowned [and the priestly chambers] and [those] in these and those mentioned above and those that have [come to them and their] income and the revenue and the services [and the . . .] and the things which will come from both the fields and the temples, and [you are the owner of everything] mentioned above, [and I have] received from you the [price] of these [in full] without any remainder. You have satisfied me. On no account [may I summons you regarding] these things. Neither I nor another person from my family will have ownership of them [from this very] day. And if someone should come against you regarding them in either my name [or that of another person, I will] prevent him and I will secure these things for you from the documents." Plus all the other [usual clauses] . . .

Written by Paes [son of Petee]si[s] . . . 


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