Notes on the Aristocracy of Byzantine Fayum

Author(s): Nikolaos Gonis

Source: Zeitschrift fr Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 166 (2008), pp. 203-210
Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH
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 203

NOTES ON THE ARISTOCRACY OF BYZANTINE FAYUM

I. An elusive patricius and his heirs

SPP XX 216 = SB XVIII 13952 is anArsinoitedeed of suretydated to 591/2 (see BL VIII 471). Ifone
adopts thesuggestionsforlines5-7 recordedinBL IX 309, thispassagewould runthus:

Lt C?VI KOxI T-) 661vI OIoIc 1;o0] tilc Vlt?p(pqoi0c gvllUlwc

C;paCclra,xTitc ntUCxyapX]aCc
[CtCpccnflyti0om tcic 'ApctvoitlOv KXca

[LOF080CtOcokoXlt&Cv IOC t0oi ga?y]kO70np?t?CtWC1O KO'gtIOC

There are twoproblemshere. (CTpocxtylou,restoredexempligratia,will not concernus.) The re

storedctpwtXC~ may be parallelledbyCPR XIV 11.6 (578),while severalotherdocu
yAp~JcX]tc
ments attestthesequence ctpccfXlcp tc(yipXpo, but in all thesepotentialparallels thereferencesto the
officesare preceded by theepithetotoic?v6ovo4-cToIcor T4oev6oaC;o&r. There is no need to reckon
with a scribalomission, especially since thereis another,more serious difficulty:in documents ad
dressed topagarchs 'of the(cityof) theArsinoitesandTheodosiopolites', thereis nevera referenceto a
pagarch's father.The only restorationthatseems certainis iRc7ypX]cU.P.Eirene II 29, anArsinoite sale
progress;lines6-9 were editedas follows:
of jarson deliverydated to591-3, allows further

? 13 ]
'tip
[ ? 16 ]p'T&Ovv
E6oot(itw(V)
? 10 otb 'tc] ?pp(o-00.CgVigrnC

7+ 6 ]? Opl?OI O1Kt1Jt09
R1xPt ICA r01JT9c

The editor,aftera careful siftingof thepossibilities at hand, proposed thatthispassage could be

restoredin thefollowingfashion:

[4XxoC01@? 7 't4Ig]?yc7XORtpE?C'ti'tp
[KOgt&ntKOCIg&to'TEp]Cp Ct&OV
&V6o40o'ti't)(V)
'nC
[KXflpoVoUv ro050 'rilC]Vp(pVJOVC
ilVlgflC
[I ? 6 y/?vog?VOV rnq tt)trjTlC
li]OCtplKioV
The affinities with SB XVIII 13952 spring to the eye; one may read lines 5-7 of that text thus:1

[roIC ?V6O0OrCTtOICKXT\poVogoIc Toi] 'Ti-cVt2tp(pqo0)C gVi,9glC

[I ? 6 y/?vogpvocVO
x' t1puKI iCyOppX]Cc tc-rc 'ApcIvot&wV KOC
[O)?o8octo-onokt)V &tilO ? 7 Toi ytF?]
7oC tpEcRo1;01; KO,1OC

Who was thedeceased patricius?2The editoradduces twoargumentsagainst identifying himwith

Fl. Apion II, theOxyrhynchitemagnate who was theconsul of 539: first,Apion's heirs are always
styledint?ppuckracoI, is indicativeof lowerrank;second, theformu
whereas theepither?V6o4O'Tcwot
lation otric i6nEp(ooVc gvijgrjc is never found with Apion, who is called o ?V ?VKX?1 nc,Igvingfl or o
1gvngqc. The second argumentis not decisive, since this is thefirstreferenceto a late
-cilc?V)KX0VoC
ncrvsSt
1The restored n iEt - t
?v?ocjoxaxo?c in 1. 5 receives supportfrom ?v]oo^?xr|xoc in 1. 13. (This textwas re-editedby Sophie
Kovarik in her (unpublished)Vienna Diplomarbeit of 2005 (Das Archiv des Panuphios); Ms Kovarik informs me thather
suggestion for the restoration of 1. 6 was the same as mine.)
2 I had for some time
toyed with the idea the 'heirs' who occur in these two documents are to be identified with the
'heirs' attested in CPR XIX 14.4 xo?c ?v]?o?oxaxoic K?n,[povopoic (Q>XX. N. N. Kai N. N. xo?c ?v]?o?oxaxoic Kai [ ed. pr.),
but thediscovery of additional fragmentsof this text (now to be dated to 590) rendered this impossible. (I am gratefulto
Sophie Kovarik for a preview of her edition of the 'enlarged' papyrus.)

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204 N. Gonis

patricius in anArsinoite document,and we may allow forregionalpreferencesin thechoice of such

bOnppuictcoc was an epithetapplied toApion (inOxyrhynchitedocuments)bothbe
epithets;further,
foreand afterhis rise to thepatriciate.Regionalism, however,cannotaccount forthechoice of theepi
thetCov
E& 8voot&twcTC(v).3 For my part, I would add thatthereis no unequivocal connectionbetween
Apion II and the Fayyufm (P.Oxy. LXX 4686 introd.). All in all, we have a real crux (the same applies to
the name of the comes who acts as an intermediary).

II. The estate of Sophia, patricia

R. Remondon, Pap. Congr. XIII 369, was the firstto speak of thedossier of thepatricia Sophia4 a
grand lady 'beneficiantdu privilegede l'autopragie,et possedantdans le Sud de l'Arsinoftede quelque
10 000 aroures'.The reasoningbehind thisestimatewas not given,and onewould hardlyexpect to find
it in a posthumouspublicationof a congresspaper (withoutfootnotes).This is not theplace todiscuss
thefortunesofRemondon's Nachlass, which has remainedlargelyinaccessible, andwhich may have
provided the answer.Remondon's figurewas lately cited by Banaji in his discussion of the 'Top
Aristocracy'of theFayumwithoutfurther comment.5 But how didRemondon arriveat it?
The only document inSophia's dossierwhich offersusable data forquantificationpurposes is SPP
VIII 1091, inwhich we hear that Sophia was to pay 111 solidi 22 3/8 carats for the transport of the em
bole of the district of Theodosiopolis, an area cut out of the southern part of the old Arsinoite nome; the
destinationof thecargo isnot stated,butwas no doubtAlexandria.Oxyrhynchitedocumentsof thesixth
century attest rates of 16-18 carats per 100 artabas as freight charges for tax grain shipped to Alex
andria.6The lowerrate (theFayumwas closer toAlexandria thanOxyrhynchus)would indicatea cargo
of 16,787 artabas (the higher rate, 14,922 art.). So far as I can see, the only rate for the embole one
could find in a book of synthesisduringRemondon's lifetimeis thatofferedby P.Cair.Masp. I 67057
This would yield an acreage of 13,430 (or 11,937) aruras,which,
(c. 5551/2 [HGV]): c.1 1/4art./ar.7
though very approximate, is not too far off those 'quelque 10 000 aroures'.8
It is possible but not necessary thatthiswas Sophia's own landedpropertyor 'estate'.The texttells
us thatwhat she was to pay was her share, which amounted to 1/4 + 1/24 of the total (= c.29.17%). This
was her 'fiscalshare', and besides her own lands itcould have includedpropertiesoverwhich she had
fiscalcontrolbut no actual ownership;9compare thecase of theApions inOxyrhynchus,once thought
to 'own' 112,000 aruras, but most probably only responsible for them towards the fisc.10 The role of
whose
largeestates in thecollectionof taxes is evident in thepersonwho will put theorder intoeffect,

3 of a (deceased) with this epithet: Fl. Cometes, son of Ioannes, referred to as xov
Offspring patricius ?v?o?(oxaTO\))
\iov ?hzkyov xov Kvpiov KcoufiTou in PSI I 76.3-4 (cf. also P.Oxy. XVI 2020.24, 2040.8); this must have been the case also
with his sister, Fl. Christodote, who is styled iXkovcxpia.
4 For a listing, see J. Beaucamp,L? statut de la femme ? Byzance II (1992) a possible addition is BGU III 798; see
407;
J.-L. Fournet, J. Gascou, 'Liste des p?titions sur papyrus des Ve-VIIe si?cles', in J. Gascou, D. Feissel (eds.), La p?tition ?

Byzance (2004) 143.

5 J. in Late Antiquity: Labour and Aristocratie Dominance 141:
Banaji, Agrarian Change Gold, (2001) 'Sophia's
Arsinoite estate which R?mondon has estimated at some 10,000 arouras'.
6 See A. C. Economic Studies 159.
Johnson, L. C. West, Byzantine Egypt: (1949)
7 See ? see below, n. rate we
Johnson-West, op. cit. 236 (the same rate was used by Jones 10). This is not the only

fiscal d'Aphrodite (525/526) (2004) 215-17.

now have; see C. Zuckerman,Du village ? l'Empire:Autour du registre
8 that there were on
My calculations rely on the arbitrary basis twenty-four carats to the solidus (here reckoned the

Alexandrian standard); we obtain lower figures, but still over 10,000 aruras, ifwe reckon with a 22- or 23-carat solidus.

9 Cf. J. Gascou, 'Les grands domaines, la cit? et l'?tat en l'Egypte byzantine', 9 (1985) 47, though he stresses
T&MByz
a different la patrice Sophie s'acquitte de 1/4 et 1/24 des naula d'Arsino?, cela ne veut pas dire que ses
point: 'lorsque
domaines 1/4 et 1/24 de la fortune fonci?re recenc?e dans cette cit?' (but note that the city is Theodosiopolis,
repr?sentent
not Arsinoe).
10A. H. M. II (1964) on the basis of their contribution towards the embole in P.Oxy. I
Jones, Later Roman Empire 784,
127; on the interpretation of this text, see now T. M. Hickey, A Public "House" but Closed (diss. Chicago 2001) 73-4.

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 Notes on theAristocracyofByzantineFayum 205

functionis described as &OIKTiCqCand Xpuc1nto&Kric: an estate administrator and tax collector.We

witness thesame picture in theApion estate,with local stewardsfurther describedas taxcollectors;cf.
P.Oxy. 1 136.15 (583) XOwpav tob 2tpovoTqcoij
T1tOllfTtO&-KtO).
Sophia, or someone actingon herbehalf,countersignedtheorderand used theexpression ti'v Civil
KOVCCV got goip(cv), 'theshare thatbelongs tome'. However, it isquestionablewhetherthissharewas
entirelyhers.At thehead of theorder,Sophia does not appear on her own, butwith anotherlady; the
firsttwo lines,as readbyWessely, runCoqic cvv O(?)@ 7xpiK(i) O?0opavia cVVO(?)k 23 ]g( )11 1
&oIK(fl,t) XpEcVnO6(?Kc). nap'cX(ou) Kt. Theophania,however,cannothave been theaddresseeof
theorder; thiswas the8OtKT-t1rC andXpVcinto 6?Ktrc (hisname is lostat theend of 1. 1),who performs
thesame role in therelatedSPP VIII 1111 (see below). Thus I assume thather name is in thenomina
tive,not in thedative,which means thattheorder is issued by both Sophia and Theophania.12The
transactionhas every appearanceof belonging to thesphereof a munus patrimonii sharedby the two
noble ladies; that theywere sisters and operated an undivided estate that theyhad inheritedis a
possibility.
Theophania certainlyheld a titleof nobility;a titleor officewould have followedaftercdv O(?)[4.
This would not have been naxptKia, but one indicatinga dignityof lower rank.As Banaji has pointed
out, it is very temptingto identify herwith thectpw flkc&cca, wife of one Strategius,inCPR X 127
(584).13We may thusrestore 0copoaviactv 6(AI)[6c CTpatrXTCCc.
There ismore toSPP VIII 1091 thanwhat has been sketchedabove. This documenthas some strik
ingaffinitiestoSPP VIII 1111, anotherorder topay freightcharges for theembole (on this lattertext
see further below, sectionIII). Itwas issuedbyOFo66cIoc ctv E(?4) cTpacTr&(kcic),and is addressed
toT4vvc& (cf.BL IX 342) Xcsxntpo(T&Xr)ttOIK(rj)T(j)(Kac) Xpi)C1Vno&?Kt(o)) (1 -n).Besides thestruc
tureof theaddress,thenatureof theorder,and thereferenceto thesame oCkpiyitric(see below, p. 207)
thecountersignatures are very similar:theyarewrittenin 'majuscule' hands usually at home in literary
texts.14Most of the texts in Sophia's dossier are introducedby the formulationCo(plf ctv OF
iOCtpiKicx ZpXtto1UCA Kcxliti?p toi 8v66'ou touuio- (SPP VIII 1092-4, 1096-7). On thebasis of 'the
remarkablysimilar formats'of SPP VIII 1091 and 1111, Banaji suggested thatSophia's son was
Theodosios.15One further clue to this filiationis provided by the locationof theirestates: SPP VIII
1091 impliesthatSophia had a verysignificant presence in theTheodosiopolitenome;P.Lond. I 113.6c,
which attestsresidentsof thisnome conductingbusinesswith an employeeofTheodosios,may be taken
to suggestthatTheodosios owned propertythere. More importantis anothercoincidencebetweenSPP
VIII 1091 and 1111. In theformertext,as we saw, Sophia's (orSophia's and Theophania's) 'share' is
specifiedas 1/4+ 1/24of thetotal;in thelatter, Theodosios is topay 5 sol. 14 1/4car. out of 21 sol. 14
1/4 car.With very small rounding,thisworks out as 1/4+ 1/96 of thewhole, which is virtually
a
identicaltoSophia's share.The sonwould have inheritedhismother's estatewith the fiscal respon
sibilitiesattachedto it.In thiscase, one could ask, 'whathappened toTheophania?'. I have no answerto
this, but my main objective is to show towhat extent we can push our evidence.

11
Perhaps read Xa\[i(npox?x(?>);cf. SPP VIII 1111.1.
12The
absence of the connective Ka? may give difficulty; I am aware of only one potential parallel, SB XVI 12523.1 of
394 (see P.Oxy. LXVIII 4680.1 n.; the plurals in that text indicate that the order stems from more than one person). On the
other hand, some important considerations militate against taking Theophania as an addressee of this order. There is already
an addressee, who is also the obvious candidate for this role, and there is no reason why he would have to be joined by

Theophania. Further, itwould be very unusual to find the collocation cvv (teco plus title as part of an address outside the area
of private letters (dockets); it is usually part of the description of a person who ismentioned in the nominative.
13
Agrarian Change inLate Antiquity 142 (thoughnote thatBanaji relies onWessely's textand takesTheophania as
the addressee of the order).
14 some some seven
For time I thought they were in the same hand, but years after I first made the comparison, this
seems less likely.
15 in Late Antiquity 142 n. 52.
Agrarian Change

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206 N. Gonis

Last, when did thisall happen?The only fixeddate forSophia comes fromtheHeracleopolite P.Erl.
67 of 591, which attestsher oikos.Her Arsinoitedossier shouldbe contemporary.16 Thus one may pro
pose thatSPP VIII 1094 dates to28.viii.584 or 599 (epagom. 5, ind. 3); 1093 to4.ii.587 or 602 (Me
cheir 10, ind.5); 1096 to 18.x.588 or 603 (Phaophi 21, ind.7); 1091 to24.viii.590 or 605 (epagom. 1,
ind.9); 1092 to 12.iii.591 or 606 (Phamenoth12, ind.9);17 1095 to l.vii. 591/606-30.vi.592/607 (ind.
10). Naturally, it is perfectlypossible thatthetextsare tobe assigned toan earlier indictionalcycle. (No
date ispreservedinSPP VIII 1090 and 1097.)

III. The dossier of Fl. Theodosios

Fl. Theodosios,who appears in thediscussion above, is one of thevery fewEgyptianmagnateswho left
theirimprint on the literaryas well as thedocumentaryrecord.He was thepenultimategovernorof the
provinceofArcadia before theIslamic conquest.The lastperiodof his termof office,and of his lifetoo
(he fell in thebattleofHeliopolis in640), are vividlydescribed in thechronicleof JohnofNikiu. This
picture is complementedby thatemerging fromthepapyri: thatof an aristocraticlandowner in the
Fayum.18 He has occurredin thefollowingtexts:19

a. SPP VIII 1111, an order topaymoney for the transport of barley fortheembole,datedTybi 8,
indiction6 (on thistextsee above, sectionII). Theodosios is called cvv0(66) CtpCtqXk(tr'C).
b. SPP X 249, an undated listof paymentsof wheat for tax purposes (see below, section IV).
Theodosios, describedas o ctpxc(tr%kAcrc), isby farthegreatestcontributor.
c. P.Lond. I 113.6c (pp. 215-17) =M.Chr. 148, a sale of hay on delivery,dated Phaophi 5, indic
tion9 (there is no regnaldate clause). It is addressed -c4Xccgtnpo[ta]tq FIpovlltf Xcaptov%[jxp]ftp
oOucIOxcI 0o60cioN[ to]i5?V604(0or0-cto)ICtpwxikXio[o (11.3-6) by two residentsof a hamlet in the
Theodosiopolitenome. (On thistextsee further below, sectionVI).
d. P.Prag. I 64, a receiptdated 28May 636. It is addressed IX@(oco4p)O()o6ocIwCtCo)?VKX??c'rCTCW
CPCtp rC('r(t) I 6OUKi Kac UiTyoiCTOuXiC(ptOCxjVGcTic 'ApKa6owv Cnap(fccc) (11. 6-7) by an Arsinoite
guild.
e. BGU I 323, a deed of surety from the early years of Islamic rule,20 referring to 'Iouc-cov tov
yFc,Xko(RP?RCt&Cuoi) I&IOKqT'OV) &Eho6ociou)toii tiC ?v66V&ogvi gic (11.4-5). The identifica
OVCIOCC
tionof the lateTheodosios with thec-poniX&rfC is likely,insofaras no otherpersonof thisname and
is
rank known tohave been active in the
Arsinoite in theseventhcentury.
f. SPP III 262, a receiptforpayment(0i?p) odci(xc) Oo6oociou, assigned to thesixthcentury,but
thescriptpoints toa date in thesecondhalfof theseventhcentury.21

Of these texts, only P.Prag. 64 bears a precise date. On this basis, the indictional date of SPP VIII
1111 was once convertedto 3 January633,22while thedate of P.Lond. 113.6c was takentocorrespond

16 First alluded to by R?mondon, more BiOr 105.

ibid., and made explicit by Gascou, 39 (1982)
17 See
already Banaji, op. cit. 141: 'a ninth indiction which is probably 590/1 (otherwise 575/6)'.
18 For of Theodosios and references to other see J.-M. Carri?, 'Pr?sentation de la proso
earlier discussions literature,
de l'arm?e Pap.Congr. XX(1994) 436, and 'S?paration ou cumul? Pouvoir civil et
pographie romaino-byzantine d'Egypte',
autorit?militaire dans les provinces d'Egypte', AnTard 6 (1998) 117-19; cf. also Palme, CPR XXIV p. 204 n. 8. SPP III 262
and the texts mentioned below, n. 18, had not previously been associated with Theodosios.
19 There are also some dubious cases: Is the stratelates Theodosakios IIIB whose estate is attested in
(PLRE 1290)
BGU I 3.8-9 (605), o?c?ac 0?o?ocaK?o\) xov a different person from Theodosios? (A text
?v?o^olxaxoa) cxpaxrj?mov,
name as well as an hypocoristic
referring to someone with his baptism is Par.Suppl. Gr. 1291.1, ed. A. Benaissa, ZPE 166

(2008) 179-194: 'Icoavvric and 'IavvaKioc.) SPP VIII 1112.1 O^a(omco) xa> [might also be relevant.
0?ooocicp
20
See in the latest instance Palme, CPR XXIV p. 204 n. 12, with references to earlier literature.

211 am grateful to Sven Tost for sending me a scan of a microfilm reproduction (the papyrus is in the Louvre).
22 See CPR X
p. 156 n. 10 (= BL VIII450).

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 Notes on theAristocracyofByzantineFayum 207

to 3October 635, but a date in620 ismuchmore likely.23 SPP VIII 1111 too is earlierthanitsassigned
date.A fewyearsbefore thepublicationof P.Prag. I 64,Gascou, BiOr 39 (1982) 105, assignedTheodo
sios' dossier to theveryend of thesixthcentury,given thatZacharias, 6OCtplyirflc,who occurs inSPP
VIII 1111.2, recurs inSPP VIII 1091.3, which is part of thedossier of thepatricia Fl. Sophia (see
above). SPP VIII 1111 is thusnot likelytodate fromas lateas 633, but ratherfrom618 (or603).
Unlike otherArsinoitemagnates,Theodosios is not attestedas a pagarch,but thismay only be due
to thefactthattherelativeevidence fromthe630s is virtuallyinexistent. Unlike thosemagnates,Theo
dosios wielded authorityat provincial level, being the administrativeand military supremo in the
provinceofArcadia. He is thefirstlandownerfromtheprovinceofArcadia tobe attestedin a similar
capacity;24but thisis no great surprise,ifwe comparecertainduces of theThebaid in thesixthcentury,
most notablythepatriciusAthanasius75Itwas no doubtmore common thanthedocumentaryevidence
may allow us to thinkthatpowerfullocalmagnateswere investedwith civil andmilitaryauthority over
theprovincesfrom which theydrew their wealth and power.26
Theodosios' estatewas important enough to surviveas an independentfinancialunitafterhis death
(BGU I 323). Parallelswith theestatesof otherdeceased aristocratsare not lacking.From theArsinoite
area,we have two: thoseof Fl. Strategiospaneuphemos (SPP X 1; CPR XXIV 33) andFl. Menas (SPP
1112153, 344); bothwere formerly pagarchs.

IV. Some great landlords before the Conquest

SPP X 249 is a registerthatrecordsamongotherthingspaymentsofwheat, apparentlyfortaxpurposes,

by a numberof high-ranking Arsinoite landowners;therelevantpartreadsas follows (ii 8-12):

OKVp(lOC)OF060cIoc 6 CtpC(QrXrjknC)
(&pt6P3cI)/6 (4,000)
[6] KVp(Ioc) (&ptal oct) /icrn
hxtplCtKo0C (1,388)
O KlVp(tOc) KVptXXoc (&pt aO) >K (925)
oi Kkr9(povogOl) E{ctoXiou (&pt6cVax) /aov (1,850)
o (po) m piY
tI(VF?CO1) (8,163)
Banaji has offereda rigorousanalysis of 'the"mathematics"of fiscal allocations' in thisdocument,
which indicatesthatthesystemof fiscal shares,known fromotherpartsofEgypt,was also inplace in
seventh-century Fayum.27A further pointof interestis that,forBanaji, 'thefamiliesmentioned inSPP
X 249 ...were the lastgreat representatives
of theformer Byzantine aristocracy'. 'Am o n g the last
would be a more accuratedescription.The documentisprobablynot farremoved
greatrepresentatives'
in date from620,28and attestssome of theArsinoitemagnates of the time;but other leading figures,
suchas e.g. thectpxcrk&cfc and pagarchMenas, are notmentioned.

23 See a Room
my 'P.Bodl. I 141: An Arsinoite Church and to Rent in the Summer of an Elusive Year', ZPE 141

(2002) 167, reactingon thedating suggested inCPR X p. 154 (= BL VIII 173). (According toR. S. Bagnall, K. A. Worp,
'Dating theCoptic Legal Documents fromAphrodite', ZPE 148 (2004) 250, 'it does not seem that620 is excluded'; this
statement appears to consider a date in 635 as possible, but the evidence this is, inmy view,
against overwhelming.)
24 For the case of the praeses Apio Theodosius Iohannes in the later fifth century, see P.Oxy. LXVIII 4696.4 n.
25 See J.-L.
Fournet,Hell?nisme dans PEgypte du VIe si?cle (MIFAO 115: 1999) 330-32.
26 B. Palme refersme toNovella 149 of JustinII
(569), with S. Puliatti,Ricerche sulleNovelle di Giustino II (1984)
140-61: this law prescribed that the choice of provincial governors would be from among the bishops, great landowners and

city notables.
2^
Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity 155-6. Banaji acknowledges that 'the patricia Sophia's reference to her 'one
fourth share' [in SPP VIII 1091, discussed above, secttion II] could perhaps be an allusion to this system, as Gascou sug
gests' (155), but thereshouldhardlybe any doubt about this.
28
Banaji gives 633 as thedate of this text,afterBL IX 343, but BL wrongly assigns it thedating suggested forSPP
VIII1111 (on this text, see the discussion above).

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208 N. Gonis

Of thefourcontributors, twoarewell known,viz. Theodosios (see above, sectionIII) andKyrillos.

One (Fl.) Kyrillos is otherwiseknown as a ctpocuqkrXoc(Pros.Ars. 3161 + 3405;29CPR X pp. 153-4;
PLRE IIIA 373, Cyrillus 6); why he is not designatedas such inSPP X 249 is unclear,but it is hardly
likelythatwe are dealingwith a different person.30He has occurred in about a dozen other texts,most
ofwhich are fragmentary orders to pay.31Only threebear exact dates: P.Corn. inv. II 48 (596),32 SB
XIV 12198 (608), andBGU III 725 (618).33
The identity of Patrikios (Pros.Ars.4233) is a mystery;no otherArsinoite landlordof thisname is
known.34But it is conceivable thatwe are dealingwith a title,not a name: 'the lordpatricius'. Holders
of thisand otherdignitiescould have been referredtoby theirtitlesalone. The onlypatricius recorded
in seventh-century FayyufmisFl. Strategios 'Paneuphemos'.He is lastattestedalive in616, and proba
bly died not long thereafter.35 If the identification
holds,we gain an approximateterminus ante quem
forSPP X 249.
Eustochios is anothershadowyfigure.His heirsprobablyrecuras KXflpovog(oI)toi tIic ?V60 (oV)
ivitricEi-cToxioi ctp(crn)X(&toT) or ?V ?V66p) -j gvj(p) Ekcto&ioo in P.Muinch. III 134 and
135, twoorders topay of unknownprovenance,assigned to thesixth/seventh century.It is hardlylikely
thatthisEustochios was thecomes domesticorumof the late fifthcentury(PLRE II 437).36Could itbe
that SPP XX 140.3-4 (533) (DX(ooidp) Eivctoi t(o FycXok0Rp??CtOCtp IVit60 toi
O V604Vot6toD
K-opXkXov(ProsArs. 1814), atteststhefuturectpwcrqAkitc
[K6]gTroc at a youngage?37

V. An addendum to the dossier of Strategius 'Paneuphemos'

SPP X 293 is one of theLouvre papyri transcribed
byWessely in the1880s (hence itsversion as SB I
with a few changes inSPP X in 1910. Itwas assigned to the seventh/eighth
4873), and reprinted cen
tury,andwas readas follows:

29 See
Gascou, BiOr 39 (1982) 106.
30 He a separate
receives entry in Pros Ars. under no. 3156.
31 V 1786; see Gascou,
Kyrillos is probably the addressee of the petition P.Lond. ibid., on the basis of a 'communica
tion verbale de R?mondon'. Ed.
pr. assigned the papyrus to the fifth century, but the hand would admit a date in the early
seventh (I have inspected a microfilm; I also take the opportunity to note that in 1. 6, where ed. prints %op(ioi)), the papyrus
seems to have %ov, which suggests reading ??pn,v?p]lxo\) (or Kcopaplxoo)) Kapivcov). The name of Kyrillos is restored in
SPP VIII 1121.1 Kupi??]oc cvv 0(?co) cxpaxn?(a)x(r|c), but this is unwarranted,and throwsup a numberof difficulties(to
be discussed elsewhere).
321 am grateful to Traianos Gagos for showing me his edition in advance of publication in BASP 45 (2008).
33 n. was
According to Banaji, Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity 139 with 36, Kyrillos connected in some way with
the household of Strategios 'Paneuphemos', perhaps exercising the function ofstratelates for the latter's oikos, but this stems
froma slightmisunderstandingof SPP VIII 1072.1-2 O?(aomoc) K?piAAoc c[v]v 9(?co) cxpaxnA[?xr|c I?vo?^oi) oik(oi))
Cxpaxrjy?o-? [, in which he assumes that nothing was written after cxpaxrjA[?xr)c in 1. 1. The break will have taken away the
name and function of a person in the employ of the oikos of Strategios; see Palme, Chiron 27 (1997) 124. On the other hand,
a curious text is SPP VIII 1228.7 OA,(aomoc) (Kai) oi K^rjp(ov?poi) Palme, loc. cit. 122 with n. 77,
Cxpaxfiyioc K-?p?M-[o\);
places it in 608/9 and suggests that this Kyrillos could not have been the same person as the stratelates.
34 Pros.Ars. 4234 refers to a IlaxpiKioc attested in SPP X 259, but the context makes it clear that we are not dealing
with a name (11. 3-A, xov ?? Oxoa) f|pcov xov ?EoqvutaxKxo'? 17taxpiK?o\)).
35 On his dossier see B. 'Die domus
Palme, gloriosa des Flavius Strategios Paneuphemos', Chiron 27 (1997) 95-125;
new textspublished subsequentlyare P.Berol. 25628 (ed.APF 49 (2003) 54-6), CPR XXIV 25 and P.Oxy. LXVI 4535. See
also section V.
36 For further references, see F. Reiter, P.K?ln XI 460.2-3 n.
37 The Arsinoite settlement Eucxoxioi) may have been named after any of these persons. P.K?ln XI 460.2-3 Kxfi Oc (1.
-coc) E\)cxo%?(o'?) IK?p(ixoc) may refer to the comes domesticorum, but there is no need to assume that the text dates from his

lifetime; in addition, a link with the man attested in SPP XX 140 (who may well have been a comes) cannot be ruled out on

palaeographical grounds, given that the hand may well be assigned to the earlier sixth century.

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 Notes on theAristocracyofByzantineFayum 209

OC TO) KO(t(ETOC)'Io(vv&o) Io0K(ryTOU))

T%ctau
'AWrvoic
Enoi-K(tOV) 'Ecp()

This arrangement, an estatemanager, followedby toponyms,findsan

with a referenceto a totKqfltrC,
exact parallel inSPP X 138,which attestscomitesand administrators(&totKfryti,a XxptokAxptoc,and
a g146ttpoc) of a largeestateand theirspheresof competencesometimein theearly seventhcentury;
cf. e.g. ii 8-11 [Lov]K[t(?t0oc) (IXo]4EVou &totK((ryo) I 'AgtncXfouIXaX[(O]Olc I?i0tOK(tov)
Mova
xou. Bernhard Palme kindly checked a reproduction of the Louvre papyrus against SPP X 138, and
reportedthatthetwo textsarewrittenin thesame hand, thoughit is unclearwhethertheyare partof the
same document.38 We may thusconclude thatSPP X 293 relatesto thesame estateas SPP X 138.
Palme has suggestedthatthislatterestatewas thatof Strategios 'Paneuphemos',39 which is likely.
A different view has been expressedbyBanaji because of theheadingof SPP X 138, yv&oc(c)Ko4t(o)V)
t0o[ig]vyU0onpE(m?ccuTDou) [.4OThe epithet tyaXo7p?7?CtUtOC cannothave applied to thisStrategios,
but to someone of lower rank,tobe soughtamong the 'lesser aristocrats'in seventh-century Fayum.
The genitivewould have indicatedthatthevillages belonged to this?c7JXWXp?CTxtOCorwere under
his control 'byvirtueof a quasi-officialfunction'.This, however, is not a necessaryconclusion.The
heading is followedby a listof villages, and thenby one of theusual subheadings,toi5KOt(ctoc) (Dot
[Pdd]tt(ovocXxUp(ouX?xpio1u) co,followedby further
(o6pt5X43xtc) villages.This U7(XXop?2tCtUtOC will
have been anotherestateadministrator, perhaps themost important of thelot.41
We may turnto loannes,comes and OlKToCYC. There is noway of tellingwhetherhe is thesame as
thecomes Joannes,addresseeof the letterSB VI 9376, assigned to thesixth/seventh century.The latter
is a Xopto-A&ploc, thatis, an estateemployee.We couldwell thinkof one and thesame personwho at
different timeswas a XpPTO-AUptOC and a &OtKTCflfC,
but thename is toocommon toallow certainty.
I append twominor textualremarks, made on thebasis of a scan, kindly supplied by B. Palme.
There is no a opposite thebeginningof 1. 1: thisis eitherpartof a cross or theremainsfroma previous
column. In 1.4, thereisno sign thatErjp, a well-knownplace-name, is abbreviated.

VI. Fl. Gerontios, spectabilis comes

P.Lond. I 113.6b = M.Chr. 147 is a lease of two rooms inArsinoe, dated to 633. It is addressed (11.
8-10) FX(aouPco) FYpovtio TX n?ptPX3 cqp I 1OgTt D1 T0oi tCil
-C%tnpaC I tvi~trfcKo louOow
(PLRE IIIA 535, Fl. Gerontius6). In P.Lond. I 113.6c = M.Chr. 148, a sale of hay on delivery,datable
to620 (see above, sectionIII), we finda chartulariuscalled Gerontios (PLRE IIIA 534, Gerontius5).
The chartulariuswas an estateemployee; thiswas thecase withmost Arsinoitecomitestoo42Thus it is
conceivable thatFl. Gerontios, spectabilis comes, is identicalwith thechartularius,who had reacheda

38 Palme 'Es so aus,

writes (e-mail of 16.iv.2008): sieht in der Tat als w?rde [SPP X 293] vom selben Schreiber wie
SPP X 138 stammen. ...SPP X 293 (Paris,E 6846, App. 871a) d?rftejedoch nichtunmittelbaran SPP X 138 (P.Vindob. G
12138) anpassen. Von 138 fehlt ein gro?es St?ck des oberen Teiles, die Bruchkanten sind aber ausgefranst, so da? nirgends
ein direkter Anschlu? an die geraden Kanten von 293 m?glich scheint. Da bei der Kopie aus Paris keine Ma?angabe dabei
-
ist, l??t sich schwer entscheiden, ob die beiden St?cke wirklich zusammengeh?ren oder ob wir in 293 das Fragment einer

gleichartigen Seite wie 138 vor uns haben. Immerhin: der comes Ioannes kommt im erhaltenen Teil von 138 nicht vor. Und
da 293 vom oberen Blattrand stammt, scheint es nicht unm?glich, da? es zum oberen Teil von 138 geh?rte oder vielleicht

sogar die rechte obere Ecke des Blattes war, auch wenn es nicht unmittelbar anpa?t.'
39 See
Palme, Chiron 27 (1997) 109-13.
^
Agrarian Change inLate Antiquity 145-6.
41
This interpretation is not very different from that offered by Palme, loc. cit. 113 (not considered by Banaji). The pos

sibility exists that the ji?ya^o7ip?7i?C?aToc whose name is lost is an

avxiyEouxoc.
42
Of the comit?s recorded in Prosopographia Arsinoitica, the largest concentration is found in SPP X 138, on which
see above, section V.

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210 N. Gonis

higherrankthanthatof vir clarissimusby 633. The twopapyrireached theBritishMuseum at thesame

time,and both recordprivatetransactions;theycould derive fromtheprivatepapersofGerontios.

VII. Fl. Kalomenas, spectabilis comes

SB XVI 13016, anArsinoite lease of 638, is addressedOX(o-olA)) KckXo%rvO& rc4n[?pt3XPittp] (1.7)
(PLRE IIIA 267). In texts
of thisdate,when theappellationTO-)
1t?p4Xl7ttp is preceded by a name, it is
usually followed by the title Kog?7ci43 We may thus restore 'r n[?pt3XCittp which would just
ixc6tecrf],
fitin thebreak (it is also possible that ico'gv was abbreviated).Fl. Kalomenas will have been a comes
consistorii,an honorarytitlethatconferredon theholder therankof vir spectabilis (R?pi'XPkttoc).44
According to theeditors,theparties to thecontractare not attestedinProsopographiaArsinoitica.45
But Fl. Kalomenas isprobablya known figure,even ifno othertextgives his patronymic(Petros46). He
is likely tobe thesame person as theone referredto as tov OClT6OV nEpt3XuLt0ovKaXogqv[&v in SB I
4712.15 (ProsArs. 2809), anArsinoitedialysis of the 'Byzantineperiod'. The comesmentioned in the
addressof the letterSPP X 152, K%kogrjv&Kog( ) Gvcty(?ou)X( ) (Pros.Ars.2816), could be thissame
man; thepapyrus isArsinoite inorigin,and itsdate isnot farremovedfromthe timeof theIslamic con
quest.47But thisis only one possibility:a Kalomenas son ofKaisarios is attestedas kcipoTprtoc &tot
Kryc1nc inBGU III 752 (Pros.Ars.2813), a deed of suretyof theearly Islamic period.48It is theoretically
possible that Kalomenas went on tobecome a vice-dominusin theestate thatemployedhim.
Last, we may considerwhetherFl. Kalomenas is tobe recognisedin theaddresseeof SB VIII 9748
(Pros.Ars. 2824), a requisitionorder froman amircalled Ubayd (1. 1, Jtcnp' 9ugoiiQkJP3itC gp&tp6c
Kacko[lv6cv; cf. also 1.5), dating fromtheearly years of Islamic rule.A personwho receivedorders
fromanArab at thattimewill have held an important post in the local administration(notnecessarily
thatof thepagarch).No otherperson of senior statusnamedKalomenas has been attestedin theArsi
noitedocumentation of thatperiod.49

UniversityCollege London Nikolaos Gonis

43Cf.
P.Oxy. XVI 1970.8 (554), BGU I 303.5 (586), P.Oxy. LVIII 3948.7 (609), BGU II 401.6 (618), P.Lond. I 113.6b
= M.Chr. 147.8-9 (633), P.Heid. V 349.3-4 (VI/VII), SPP III 388.1 (VI/VII). The only apparent exception is SPP VIII
1111.2 Za%apioi) xov nzpifiiXEnxov) oc7r.p(i)y(?xo'u).
44 See LXIX 4756.7-8 n.
P.Oxy.
45ZPE 50
(1983) 131.
46 On some textual problems of this papyrus, including the reference to Kalomenas' father, see my 'Superlatives for the

Deceased', forthcoming as a 'Korr. Tyche' in Tyche 22 (2007).

4^ The various a list of Arsinoite and a list of 7eitt(xki(x payments
back of the letter carries scribblings, including %copia
(on this latterterm,seeZPE 143 (2003) 149).
4^ In 1. restore
5, taxuTtpox?xq)KaAJojinva oioncnxfj([ c.13 Ka^]our|v? ?io?Knxfied.pr.); cf. 1.7, ?]au7tpo[xa]xo\)
[xcp
and 1. 10, xfic [cric] ?l[au]7tp?xr|[xoc]. The address x + name is well attested in Arsinoite docu
8ioiKnx[o?>], taxujtpoxaxcp
ments of thisperiod; cf.M.Chr. 148.4 (620), P.Ross.-Georg. Ill 51.9 (631), SB I 4488.7 (635), 4666.5 (659), etc. (The sug
= BL zu erg?nzen', should be
gestion in Pros. Ars. p. 359 n. 375 VIII 33, 'Wahrscheinlich ist [A\)p(ri^ioc) KrA]our|vac ig
nored.)
49 in a protocol of Arsinoite II p.
Wessely read OA,(?omoc) KaXo\ir\v?[c provenance in the Louvre collection (see SPP

xl), but if the reading is correct, this will have been a person of much higher standing than the Arsinoite vir spectabilis.

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