This sale between Zmanres and Tanouphis, the parents of Totoēs, is fully documented, with a contract and cession in Demotic (A,B) and a tax receipt in Greek (C). Tanouphis was a woman of substance, and the tax receipt shows that this was a genuine purchase, not just an arrangement with her husband.
The Nubian god Arensnuphis is mentioned several times in the contract; the cult of this god in Djeme is discussed by E. Lanciers, "The Cult of Arensnuphis in Thebes in the Graeco-Roman Period" ( PDF ).
The translation is adapted from L. Uggetti, "Les archives bilingues de Totoès et de Tatéhathyris", vol. 2, pp. 62-75 ( PDF ).
[A] In the 28th year, in the month of Hathyr, on the 14th day, of the reign of king Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra his sister, the gods Euergetai, the children of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the gods Epiphaneis, with the priest of Alexander, the gods Soteres, the gods Adelphoi, the gods Euergetai, the gods Philopatores, the gods Epiphaneis, the gods Philometores, the god Eupator, the god Euergetai, with the athlophoros of Berenice Euergetis, with the kanephoros of Arsinoe Philadelphos, with the priestess of Arsinoe Philopator, according to those established in Alexandria, with the priest in the province of Thebes of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Soter (l.p.h.), with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philometor, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philadelphos, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) the god Euergetes, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philopator, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) the god Epiphanes Eucharistos, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) the god Eupator, with the priestess of queen (l.p.h.) Cleopatra (l.p.h.), with the priestess of Cleopatra (l.p.h.) the mother, the goddess Epiphanes, with the kanephoros of Arsinoe (l.p.h.) Philadelphos; thus declared the pastophoros of Amun of Djeme and god's servant of Hathor, Regent of the West, Zmanres son of Pagonis and Senesis, to the woman Tanouphis daughter of Psenminis and Senthoytis:
You have satisfied my heart with the money for my house, which is built and covered, with its courtyard, which is in the southern quarter of Djeme, inside the wall of Djeme, whose boundaries are: to the south, the place of worship of the chapel of Arensnuphis; to the north, the house of Herieus son of Oseptaïs, the choachyte, which is occupied by his children, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the east, the chapel of Arensnuphis, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the west, the house of Horos son of Pagonis, which is occupied by his children, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; that is all.
And for my half of the building plot that lies within the wall of Djeme, the other half of which belongs to Talous, daughter of Pagonis, and to Siepmous, her sister, completing the building plot in its entirety, which is ¼ of a cubit of land, of which my half is ⅛ of a cubit of land, totaling 12 and a half square cubits, or ⅛ of a cubit of land again. The boundaries of the building plot in its entirety are: to the south, the place of worship of the chapel of Arensnuphis; to the north, the house of Herieus, son of Oseptaïs, the choachyte, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the east, the house of Horos, son of Pagonis, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the west, the house of Talous, daughter of Pagonis, and Siepmous, her sister, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; that is all.
And for one day of service, half of which is ½, that is, one day of service again, from among my two days of service in the temple of Hathor, Regent of the West, which is on the Mound of Djeme, each coming month.
And for my twelve days of service, half of which is 6, that is, twelve days of service again, in the chapel of Arensnuphis each month that comes, which is inside the wall of Djeme, with their revenues and their usufructs, their religious services and their worship services, with everything received in their regard, with what will be added to them from the countryside, the temple, the city, the palace of the sovereign, and every place, with their shares of the five epagomenal days, with their shares of the association, the location on the wharf, and the peasant's house.
In total: the house with its boundaries, the building plot, one day of service in the Temple of Hathor each month, and the twelve additional days of service in the chapel of Arensnuphis each month, as listed above, in their entirety. I have given them to you this; they belong to you: your house with its courtyard, half of the building plot, one day of service in the Temple of Hathor, Regent of the West, each month, and your twelve days of service in the Chapel of Arensnuphis each month, along with all that is dependent upon them, as listed above.
I have received their full monetary value from you, without any deductions. My heart is satisfied. I have nothing against you concerning them. From this day forward, no one in the world, neither I nor my family, will be able to exercise any power over them except you. Whoever comes against you because of them in my name or in the name of anyone else, I will remove him from your presence. And I will erase them for you from every written document, every legal document, everything in the world at all times. All of them belong to you, their written documents and legal documents wherever they may be, every document made concerning them, along with every document made for me concerning them, and every document by which I assert my rights over them. All of them belong to you, along with their rights. You are the one who can assert your rights over them in their name. I will fulfil the oath or testimony that may be required of you in court concerning the rights of this present document, which I have made for you in order to commit myself to doing this - while you may not transfer this right to anyone in the world except the children you have borne to me and those you will bear to me - without disputing any legal document or anything else in the world with you.
Written by Paës son of Peteësis, who writes on behalf of the endowed woman, priest's daughter Senchonsis, daughter of the god's father Spotous, the female god's servant of Djeme.
[B] In the 28th year, in the month of Hathyr, on the 14th day, of the reign of king (l.p.h.) Ptolemy (l.p.h.) and queen Cleopatra (l.p.h.), his sister, the gods Euergetai, the children of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) and Cleopatra (l.p.h.), the gods Epiphaneis, with the priest of Alexander (l.p.h.), the gods Soteres, the gods Adelphoi, the gods Euergetai, the gods Philopatores, the gods Epiphaneis, the gods Philometores, the god Eupator, the god Euergetes, with the athlophoros of Berenice (l.p.h.) Euergetis, with the kanephoros of Arsinoe (l.p.h.) Philadelphos, with the priestess of Arsinoe (l.p.h.) Philopator, according to those established in Alexandria, with the priest in the province of Thebes of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Soter (l.p.h.), with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philometor, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philadelphos, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.), the god Euergetes, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.) Philopator, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.), the god Epiphanes Eucharistos, with the priest of Ptolemy (l.p.h.), the god Eupator, with the priestess of queen (l.p.h.) Cleopatra (l.p.h.), with the priestess of Cleopatra (l.p.h.) the mother, the goddess Epiphanes, with the kanephoros of Arsinoe (l.p.h.) Philadelphos; thus declared the pastophoros of Amun of Djeme and god's servant of Hathor, Regent of the West, Zmanres son of Pagonis and Senesis, to the woman Tanouphis daughter of Psenminis and Senthoytis:
I am far from you in regard to your house, which is built and covered, with its courtyard, which is in the southern quarter of Djeme, inside the wall of Djeme, whose boundaries are: to the south, the place of worship of the chapel of Arensnuphis; to the north, the house of Herieus son of Oseptaïs, the choachyte, which is occupied by his children, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the east, the chapel of Arensnuphis, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the west, the house of Horos son of Pagonis, which occupied by his children, the two separated by the load-bearing wall.
And in regard to your half of the building plot that lies within the wall of Djeme, the other half of which belongs to Talous, daughter of Pagonis, and to Siepmous, her sister, completing the building plot in its entirety, which is ¼ of a cubit of land, of which your half is ⅛ of a cubit of land, that is, 12 and a half square cubits, or ⅛ of a cubit of land again. The boundaries of the building plot in its entirety are: to the south, the place of worship of the chapel of Arensnuphis; to the north, the house of Herieus, son of Oseptaïs, the choachyte, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the east, the house of Horos, son of Pagonis, the two separated by the load-bearing wall; to the west, the house of the woman Talous, daughter of Pagonis and Siepmous, her sister, the two separated by the load-bearing wall.
And in regard to your day of service, half of which is ½, that is, 1 day of service again, from among my 2 days of service in the temple of Hathor, Regent of the West, which is on the Mound of Djeme, each coming month.
And in regard to your other 12 days of service, half of which is 6, that is, 12 days of service again, in the chapel of Arensnuphis, which is inside the wall of Djeme, each coming month, with their revenues and their usufructs, their religious services and their worship services, with all that is received in their regard, with what will be added to them from the countryside, the temple, the city, the palace of the sovereign, and every place, with their shares of the five epagomenal days, with their shares of the association, the site on the wharf, and the peasant's house.
In total: the house with its boundaries, your half of the building plot, one day of service in the Temple of Hathor each month, and your twelve days of service in the Chapel of Arensnuphis each month, as listed above, in their entirety, with respect to which I made a deed of sale for you in the 28th year, in the month of Hathyr, on the 14th day, of the reign of the eternally living sovereigns. They all belong to you: your house, which is built and roofed, with its courtyard, your half of the building plot, your day of service in the Temple of Hathor, Regent of the West, each month, and your twelve days of service in the Chapel of Arensnuphis each month, with all that is dependent upon it. I have nothing against you in this matter from this day forward. Whoever comes against you because of them, in my name or in the name of anyone else, I will remove him from your presence. You may, however, make a claim against me for the rights of the deed of sale I made for you concerning them in the 28th year, in the month of Hathyr, on the 14th day, of the reign of the eternally living sovereigns, in order to fulfil your rights in it, in addition to this present deed of transfer, completing these two documents. And I will fulfil your rights in them at any time - while you may not transfer them to anyone in the world, except the children you have borne for me and those you will bear for me - without any dispute.
Written by Paës son of Peteësis, who writes in the name of the endowed woman, priest's daughter of Amun Senchonsis, daughter of the god's father Spotous, the female god's servant of Djeme.
[C] In year 28, month of Choiak, day 9, paid into the bank managed by Hermophilos at Hermonthis, as transfer tax of 1⁄20, according to the payment slip of Apollonios and Ptolemaios, the tax farmers, which is signed at the bottom by Ammonios, the controller, and Tanouphis daughter of Psemminis, for a built house and its adjoining courtyard in the southern quarter of the Memnoneia and for a vacant lot inside the wall, measuring half of ¼ of a cubit of land, that is ⅛ of a cubit of land, the neighbours of which are mentioned above in the deed, and for 13 days of 'purification', which she purchased from Zmanres son of Phagonis for 2 talents, as tax at the usual rate, six hundred drachmas, which make 600. Hermophilos, banker.
{ On the back of the papyrus, there are the names of 16 witnesses. }
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