Erbstreit Papyri

Vandorpe K., Vleeming S.P.

The Erbstreit papyri, nineteen papyri with twenty texts, now dispersed over five different collections, represent a bilingual dossier that was collected in Antiquity as a result of inheritance disputes. The disputes started after the death of the woman Tamenos, daughter of Panas alias Hermokrates, when members from several branches of her family claimed the plots of land she had bequeathed to her children. A series of lawsuits ensued which were dealt with by a wide range of officials, starting with the local Provost Nechoutes up to the Viceroy Boethos, to be settled eventually before the Greek high court from Ptolemais in Middle Egypt when in session in Thebes. The volume provides a substantial introduction outlining the respective stages in the juridical dealings as well as (re-)editions of and comments in detail on the Greek and demotic texts.