Priscus the Prefect
(0045) Text: ἐγγεγραμμένον καὶ ἀντιβεβλημένον ἀντίγραφον πιτακίου ἀπογραφῆς | προκειμένης ἐν τῇ ἐνθάδε βασιλικῇ, καὶ ἔστιν ὡς ὑποτέτακται. || ἐγγεγραμμένον καὶ ἀντιβεβλημένον ἀντίγραφον πιτακίου ἀπο- | γραφῆς προκειμένης ἐν τῇ ἐνθάδε βασιλικῇ, καὶ ἔστιν ὡς | ὑποτέτακται· ἐπὶ Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος θεοῦ Τραιανοῦ Παρθικοῦ | υἱοῦ θεοῦ Νέρουα υἱωνοῦ Τραιανοῦ Ἁδριανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ ἀρχιερέως με- | γίστου δημαρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τὸ δωδέκατον ὑπάτου τὸ τρίτον, ἐπὶ | ὑπάτων Μάρκου Γα(ου)ίου Γαλλικανοῦ καὶ Τίτου Ἀτειλίου Ῥούφου Τιτι- | ανοῦ πρὸ τεσσάρων νωνῶν Δεκεμβρίων, κατὰ δὲ τὸν τῆς νέας | ἐπαρχείας Ἀραβίας ἀριθμὸν ἔτους δευτέρου εἰκοστοῦ μηνὸς Ἀπελ- | λαίου ἑκκαιδεκάτῃ ἐν Ῥαββαθμωβοις πόλει. ἀποτιμήσεως | Ἀραβίας ἀγομένης ὑπὸ Τίτου Ἀνεινίου Σεξστίου Φλωρεντείνου | πρεσβευτοῦ Σεβαστοῦ ἀντιστρατήγου, Βαβθα Σίμωνος Μαωζηνὴ τῆς | Ζοαρηνῆς περιμέτρου Πέτρας, οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἰδίοις ἐν αὐτῇ Μαωζᾳ, | ἀπογράφομαι ἃ κέκτημαι, συνπαρόντος μοι ἐπιτρόπου Ἰουδάνου | Ἐλαζάρου κώμης Αἰνγαδδῶν περὶ Ἱερειχοῦντα τῆς Ἰουδαίας οἰ- | κοῦντος ἐν ἰδίοις ἐν αὐτῇ Μαωζᾳ· κῆπον φοινικῶνος ἐν ὁρίοις | Μαωζων λεγόμενον Αλγιφιαμμα σπόρου κρειθῆς σάτου ἑνὸς | κάβων τριῶν τελοῦντα φοίνικος συρου καὶ μείγματος σάτα δεκα- | πέντε πατητοῦ σάτα δέκα στεφανικοῦ μέλαν ἓν λεπτὰ τριάκον- | τα γείτονες ὁδὸς καὶ θάλασσα, κῆπον φοινικῶνος ἐν ὁρίοις Μα- | ωζων λεγόμενον Αλγιφιαμμα σπόρου κρειθῆς κάβου ἑνὸ(ς) τελοῦν- | τα τῶν γεινομένων καθʼ ἔτος καρπῶν μέρος ἥμισυ γείτονες | μοσχαντικὴ κυρίου Καίσαρος καὶ θάλασσα, κῆπον φοινικῶ- | νος ἐν ὁρίοις Μαωζων λεγόμενον Βαγαλγαλὰ σπόρου κρειθῆς | σάτων τριῶν τελοῦντα φοίνικος συρου καὶ νοαρου κόρον ἕνα | πατητοῦ κόρον ἕνα στεφανικοῦ μελαίνας τρεῖς λεπτὰ τρι- | άκοντα γείτονε[ς κλ]ηρονόμοι Θησαίου Σαβακα καὶ | Ἰαμιτ Μανθανθου, κῆπον φοινικῶνος ἐν ὁρίοις Μαωζων | λεγόμενον Βηθφααραια σπόρου κρειθῆς σάτων εἴκοσι τελοῦν- | τα φοίνικος συρ[ο]υ καὶ νοαρου κόρους τρεῖς πατητοῦ κόρου[ς] | δύο στεφανικοῦ μελαίνας ὀκτὼ λεπτὰ τεσσαράκοντα πέντε γεί- | τονες Θαμαρὴ Θαμοῦ καὶ ὁδός. ἑρμηνεία ὑπογραφῆς· Βαβ- | θα Σίμωνος ὄμνυμι τύχην κυρίου Καίσαρος καλῇ πίστει ἀπογε- | γράφθαι ὡς προγέγραπ[τα]ι Ἰουδάνης Ἐλαζάρου ἐπιτρόπευ[σ]α καὶ ἔγρα- | ψα ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς. | [hand 2] ἑρμηνεία ὑπογραφῆς τοῦ ἐπάρχου· Πρεῖσκος ἔπαρχος | ἱππέων ἐδεξάμην τῇ πρὸ μιᾶς νωνῶν Δεκεμβρίων ὑπατίας Γαλλι- | κ[αν]οῦ [καὶ Τιτιανο]ῦ. || בבתא עבדו בר מקימו שהד | מנתנתא בר אמרו שהד | עודאל בר אנריון שהד | יוחנא בר עבדעבדת מכתא שהד | מנדיו שהד [בר] שהרו.
Translation: Verified exact copy of a document of registration which is displayed in the basilica here, and it is as appended below. || Verified exact copy of a document of registration which is displayed in the basilica here, and it is as appended below. In the reign of Imperator Caesar divi Traiani Parthici filius divi Nervae nepos Traianus Hadrianus Augustus pontifex maximus tribuniciaea potestatis XII consul III, in the consulship of Marcus Gavius Gallicanus and Titus Atilius Rufus Titianus four days before the nones of December, and according to the compute of the new province of Arabia year 22nd, month Apellaios the sixteenth, in the city of Rabbath-Moab. As a census of Arabia is being conducted by Titus Aninius Sextius Florentinus, legatus Augusti pro praetor, I, Babatha daughter of Simon, of Maoza in the Zoarene district of the Petra administrative region, domiciled in my own private property in the said Maoza, register what I possess present with me as my guardian being Judanes son of Eleazar, of the village of Ein Gedi in the district of Jericho in Judaea, domiciled in his own private property in the said Maoza, viz. within the boundaries of Maoza a date orchard called Algiphiamma, the area of sowing one saton three kaboi of barley, paying as tax, in dates, Syrian and mixed fifteen sata, “splits” ten sata and for crown tax on “black” and thiry sixtieths, abutters a road and the Sea; within the boundaries of Maoza a date orchard called Algiphiamma, the area of sowing one kabos of barley, paying as tax a half share of the crops produced each year, abutters moschantic estate of our lord Caesar and the Sea; within the boundaries of Maoza a date orchard called Bagalgala, the area of sowing three sata of barley, paying as tax, in dates, Syrian and Noaran on koros, “splits” on koros, and for crown tax, three sela‘im and thirty sixtieths, abutters heirs of Thesais son of Sbakas and Iamit son of Manthanthes; within the boundaries of Maoza a date orchard called Bethphaaraia, the area of sowing twenty sata of barley, paying as tax, in dates, Syrian and Noaran three kaboi, “splits” two koroi, and for the crown tax eight sela‘im and forty-fix sixtieths, abutters Tamar daughter of Thamous and a road. I, Babatha daughter of Simon, swear by the genius of our lord Caesar that I have in good faith registered as has been written above. I, Judanes son of Eleazar, acted as guardian and wrote for her. [hand 2] Translation of this subscription of the prefect: I, Priscus, prefect of cavalry, received this on the day before the nones of December in the consulship of Gallicanus and Titianus. || [The following is Aramaic] ‘Abdu son of Muqimu, witness. Babatha. Manthanta son of Armu, witness. ‘Awd’el son of […], witness. Yohana son of ‘Abd‘obdat Makhoutha, witness. Sharu son of […], witness.
Commentary: Though this papyrus was not found in Palestine, Priscus the prefect was mentioned in a papyrus found in Nahal Hever (§44) and several Jewish civilians of the Judaean Desert are apparently interacting with a Roman officer.
Provenience: Rabba, Jordan (Rabbath Moab, Arabia) shortly after 4 Dec 127 CE
Bibliography: P.Yadin 16*; Naphtali Lewis, “A Jewish Landowner in Provincia Arabia,” Scripta Classica Israelica 8-9 (1985-88): 132-137; Benjamin Isaac, “Tax Collection in Roman Arabia: A New Interpretation of the Evidence from the Babatha Archive,” Mediterranean Historical Review 9 (1994): 256-266; J. N. Adams, Bilingualism and the Latin Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 266-267.