Rylands Library Papyrus P52 - recto - part of the Rylands Papyri |
According to Petiese, his great-great-grandfather had been inspector of a large tract of Egyptian territory extending from Memphis in the North to Aswan in the South. Finding the temple of Amun at Teudjoi with its staff depleted, and struggling under a heavy burden of taxation, he arranged for its taxes to be remitted and restored it to its former prosperity, erecting a stela and two statues of himself there to commemorate his pious deed. As a reward, he was given the stipend of the prophet of Amun of Teudjoi and other benefices as well. Subsequently, he raised a second stela on which his various priestly offices were enumerated.
The stipends of Petiese's ancestor were inherited by his son and grandson. However, when the latter, Petiese's grandfather, was sent to accompany the king on a journey to Asia, his benefices were confiscated by the other priests and divided among them. After his death, his son, Petiese's father, refused to renounce his claim to the stipend of the prophet of Amun and was therefore forced to flee from Teudjoi with his family. In his absence, the priests demolished his house, defaced one of the stelae set up by his ancestor, and threw his statues into the river. Petiese, acting on behalf of his father, was able to obtain a small financial compensation from them; he rebuilt the house and moved the family back into it. At the time when his petition was drawn up, however, the priestly stipend that he claimed was still being denied him.
The third part of Petiese's complaint purports to give copies, in Hieratic, of the texts on the two stelae erected by his great-great- grandfather in the temple of Teudjoi. The fourth part comprises three hymns which condemn the wickedness of evildoers and extol the righteousness of the god Amun, who avenges the ones whom they have wronged. Plainly, Petiese's opponents are destined for divine retribution. Papyrus Rylands IX is important for the insights that it provides into Egyptian economic affairs, social and political history, temple administration, and legal procedure during the sixth and seventh centuries BCE. One has to exercise caution in using it as a source of evidence, since the text is written in a tendentious manner and some of the statements made in it are contradicted by contemporary documents. Nevertheless, employed with due care, it has much to offer. Regrettably, the outcome of Petiese's complaint is unknown. The papyrus in which it is preserved is the latest of the texts in the family archive to which it belongs. Thereafter, the affairs of Petiese and his relatives are a closed book.
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