P.Oxy. LI 3613: Ein Präfektenedikt mit «ehemaligen» Ratsherren von Alexandria

Abstract

A papyrus from Oxyrhynchus, dated to the year 279 AD, contains a prefect’s edict that compelled all «former» councilmen of Alexandria, who lived throughout Egypt and had served from 270/1 AD onwards, to contribute monies towards a building project in a bath complex in the capital. The councilmen, whom the text calls βεβουλευκότες, a characterization that has here been rendered as «former», had left the council of Alexandria as active members and many had taken to permanent living in the chora. The documentation of the decree makes it likely that the actual work on the baths required the requisition of specialized workers from the chora. This makes a high public interest in the project seem plausible.