Ein Beispiel des ptolemäischen Pragmatismus. Zu den normwidrigen Kleroszuweisungen im ptolemäischen Ägypten

Abstract

This article considers all known sources that deal with the illegal allocation of kleroi to soldiers in Ptolemaic Egypt. Although as a rule these plots of land required amelioration before they could be cultivated, in the 2nd century BCE soldiers increasingly received kleroi of ςπόριμος γῆ, i.e. land that could be cultivated immediately and was intended for lease to the so-called royal farmers. In discussing and revising these sources, two basic attitudes of the Ptolemaic administration are noted: It tended to prefer ad hoc decisions to rigid, written countermeasures, and to grant the soldiers (especially katoikoi) the right to keep their illegal kleroi if they submitted petitions to the king. It is suggested that this should not necessarily be seen as an example of administrative weakness, but as a sign of pragmatism. Finally, in appendices two texts are revised and discussed that are important for this question but obscure in various places, P.Meyer 1 and P.Tebt. I 124.