Land and Taxes in Ptolemaic Egypt

This book provides the first edition with an extensive introduction and full commentary of a unique land survey written on papyrus in Greek which derives from that area of southern (Upper) Egypt known as the Apollonopolite (or Edfu) nome and is now preserved in Copenhagen. Dating from the late second century BC, this survey provides a new picture of both landholding and taxation in the area which differs significantly from that currently accepted. The introduction sets this new evidence in its contemporary context, drawing particular attention to what it reveals about the nature of the relations of the Ptolemaic royal administration with local grandees, Egyptian temples and the army. No student of Hellenistic Egypt can afford to ignore this text, which importantly extends our knowledge of Upper Egypt under the Ptolemaic kings and involves some modification to the prevailing picture of landholding in Hellenistic Egypt.

Thorolf Christensen is an assistant solicitor with Latham and Co. Solicitors in Loughborough and also a Notary Public. He has studied papyrology at the Universities of Copenhagen and Cambridge. Dorothy J. Thompson was Director of Studies in Classics at Girton College, Cambridge, and Newton Trust Affiliated Lecturer in Ancient History in the Faculty of Classics. Since she retired, Dorothy has been a Fellow of Girton College and a Bye-Fellow of Clare College and is still actively involved in lecturing and research. Her book Memphis under the Ptolemies (1988; 2nd edition 2012) was awarded the James H. Breasted Prize. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and Honorary President of the International Association of Papyrologists. Katelijn Vandorpe is full professor of Ancient History at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Her main field of research is Graeco-Roman Egypt, and her publications include text editions and studies on onomastics, institutions and socio-economic aspects of this multi-cultural society. She is (co-)author of three books on archival research. She is a member of the board of international journals and learned societies (International Association of Papyrologists, CBRAG: Centre belge de recherches archéologiques en Grèce, Association Égyptologique Reine Élisabeth). She is also a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.

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