The village of Theadelphia in the second century AD: the archives of Aphrodisios son of Philippos and of Ptolemaios son of Diodoros
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Arts Languages and Cultures
Abstract
This research proposal in the field of papyrology focuses on the social and administrative history of Roman Egypt.
Documents on papyrus are the most important source for investigating the ancient history of Roman empire and Egypt, as they return the testimony of a given social, political and cultural environment without filter. The study of Roman empire is vital to understand our society. Using the papyri of the Roman period as a source, papyrologists and historians have always studied the population and the administrative structure of the villages of the Fayum. However, when focusing on the Arsinoites nomos, a province of ancient Egypt which had a peculiar administrative status during the Roman period, the village of Theadelphia looks also vital and well attested; nonetheless, fewer studies have been produced so far.
Our knowledge about the village of Theadelphia in the Roman period can be further expanded, and my aim is to extend research to other underexplored archival documentation. I propose to focus on second century documents from the village in question, as these are more informative and more numerous, and constitute the main source for the village of Theadelphia in Roman period. In particular, I am convinced that the archives of Aphrodisios son of Philippos (AD 88 161) and Ptolemaios son of Diodoros (AD 138 162) enable us to fill gaps about this village and its elites.
My research project aims to produce an edition, with extensive philological and historical commentary, of all the documents belong to the archives of Aphrodisios and Ptolemaios.
This project has also other objectives:
1. To investigate the social aspect of second century Theadelphia, focusing on the status of privileged families.
2. To contribute to previous knowledge on taxation of Roman Egypt, especially on land taxes and taxes on maintenance of dams and canals.
3. To analyze the management of the marshes in relation to hunting and fishing.
All this documentation will be analyzed with two methods:
Papyrological: Main core of the work will be the study of texts, supported by comparison with similar documents on papyrus from other areas and contexts.
Historical: I will analyze the contents and interpretations of the texts. By providing each text with an extensive commentary, I will contribute to enhance our knowledge of Roman Theadelphia, and more broadly of Roman Egypt.
To complete this research, it will be necessary to use a broad array of sources, published and unpublished. Primarily, I will research documents belonging to the abovementioned archives, but I will obviously relay also on other sources, mainly dated to the same second century. I will work on original documents housed in the John Rylands Library, however I will also use digital images of papyri kept in various other institutions, including the British Library.
Documents on papyrus are the most important source for investigating the ancient history of Roman empire and Egypt, as they return the testimony of a given social, political and cultural environment without filter. The study of Roman empire is vital to understand our society. Using the papyri of the Roman period as a source, papyrologists and historians have always studied the population and the administrative structure of the villages of the Fayum. However, when focusing on the Arsinoites nomos, a province of ancient Egypt which had a peculiar administrative status during the Roman period, the village of Theadelphia looks also vital and well attested; nonetheless, fewer studies have been produced so far.
Our knowledge about the village of Theadelphia in the Roman period can be further expanded, and my aim is to extend research to other underexplored archival documentation. I propose to focus on second century documents from the village in question, as these are more informative and more numerous, and constitute the main source for the village of Theadelphia in Roman period. In particular, I am convinced that the archives of Aphrodisios son of Philippos (AD 88 161) and Ptolemaios son of Diodoros (AD 138 162) enable us to fill gaps about this village and its elites.
My research project aims to produce an edition, with extensive philological and historical commentary, of all the documents belong to the archives of Aphrodisios and Ptolemaios.
This project has also other objectives:
1. To investigate the social aspect of second century Theadelphia, focusing on the status of privileged families.
2. To contribute to previous knowledge on taxation of Roman Egypt, especially on land taxes and taxes on maintenance of dams and canals.
3. To analyze the management of the marshes in relation to hunting and fishing.
All this documentation will be analyzed with two methods:
Papyrological: Main core of the work will be the study of texts, supported by comparison with similar documents on papyrus from other areas and contexts.
Historical: I will analyze the contents and interpretations of the texts. By providing each text with an extensive commentary, I will contribute to enhance our knowledge of Roman Theadelphia, and more broadly of Roman Egypt.
To complete this research, it will be necessary to use a broad array of sources, published and unpublished. Primarily, I will research documents belonging to the abovementioned archives, but I will obviously relay also on other sources, mainly dated to the same second century. I will work on original documents housed in the John Rylands Library, however I will also use digital images of papyri kept in various other institutions, including the British Library.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Roberta Mazza (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Valentina Iannace (Student) |