342 R. TAUBENSCHLAG
H . T h i e r f e l d e r , Ein Bauernstreik im ptolemäischen Ägypten (Wis· senschaftl. Ztschr. der Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig, 4 J h r g . 1954/55, Gesellschafts- u . sprachwissenschaftl. Reihe, H e f t 1—2, p . 217—221).
The a u t h o r gives an interesting i n t e r p r e t a t i o n (with G e r m a n t r a n s l a t i o n ) of t h e correspondence contained in P S I Y 502. H e shows t h a t t h e p e a s a n t s , u n a b l e t o f u l f i l t h e t e r m s of their leases, w e n t on strike a n d sought refuge in t h e t e m p l e of t h e village where t h e y f o u n d t h e possibility t o apply for t h e r i g h t of asylum.
A. E . R . B o a k , Village Liturgies in Fourth Century Karanis (Akten des VIII. intern. Kongresses f . Papyrologie. Mitteil, aus der Papyrussammlung der öst. Nationalbilbiothek [ P . E . i î . ] У . Folge, Wien 1956, 37—40).
Summarizing, t h e a u t h o r p o i n t s o u t , t h a t Isidoros, an average village f a r m e r , georgos, was called u p o n a t least eight times b e t -ween his 31st a n d his 50th y e a r t o u n d e r t a k e obligatory public offices a t K a r a n i s . His b u r d e n m u s t h a v e been p a r t i c u l a r l y h e a v y d u r i n g t h e six y e a r s 308—314 when he held t h e k o m a r c h y , a two-y e a r sitologia, t h e chaff collectorship a n d t h e t e s s e r a r i a t e . B u t , in spite of t h e f a c t t h a t he f o u n d t h e m b u r d e n s o m e a n d complained against t h e i n j u s t i c e of his assignments, he was n o t completely rui-n e d b y t h e m , a l t h o u g h t h e y m a y have proved v e r y costly. A t a rui-n y r a t e , he was n o t forced t o resort to f l i g h t , as were some of his less f o r t u n a t e fellow villagers. We m u s t s y m p a t h i z e sincerely w i t h his lot a n d t h a t of his fellow p e a s a n t s . A t t h e same t i m e we m u s t u n d e r -s t a n d t h e p r o b l e m of the praepo-siti a n d other g o v e r n m e n t official-s, responsible f o r t h e m a i n t e n a n c e of village g o v e r n m e n t , in t h e i r e f f o r t to f i n d eligible office holders in a c o m m u n i t y in which t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y t a x lists show t h a t t h e n u m b e r of r e s i d e n t landhol-ders h a d s h r u n k to less t h a n 150. Isidoros a n d K a r a n i s give, in microcosm, a p i c t u r e of t h e conditions prevailing t h r o u g h o u t t h e whole R o m a n E m p i r e in t h e early f o u r t h c e n t u r y , in t h e wake of t h e fiscal reforms of Diocletian. T h e small landholders were labou-r i n g u n d e labou-r t h e double b u labou-r d e n of h e a v y t a x a t i o n a n d compulsolabou-ry public services. I n view of t h e s t e a d y decline in p o p u l a t i o n , t h i s b u r d e n was b o u n d t o become more a n d more oppressive. W h e n t h e corruption a n d oppression already e v i d e n t on t h e p a r t of
offi-SURVEY OF LITERATURE 343
cials of all degrees were added to it, the burden became intolerable and led to the crushing out of the greater part of the small pro-prietors, the spread of abandoned lands, and a corresponding de-cline in the public revenues.
Z a k i A l y , Upon Sitologia in Roman Egypt and the Rôle of Sitologi in its Financial Administration (Akten des VIII. Intern. Kon-gresses f. Papyrologie = Mitteil, aus d. Papyrussammlung der
öst. Nationalbibliothek NS, V Folge [1956] 17—22).
In his essay the author reconstructs the rôle of sitologi in the financial administration of Egypt, apart from the general and bare task apportioned to them as granary keepers. On the whole, sito-logi seem to have been the real mainstay of the Roman rule in Egypt and it is thanks to their efforts that the Roman government of Egypt did carry out its corn policy as outlined by Rome. It exacted the maximum of the land's grain income from the tax payers. This attitude of the imperial government of Rome was shown very clearly by the direct evidence furnished in the Apokri-mata of Septimius Severus. When some Egyptian tax payers re-quested the emperor if they could make payments of their dues in money in lieu of grain, the emperor's answer was a point blank refusal. He ordained: 'We have forbidden that you pay money in-stead of grain ' This prohibition depicts very clearly the official attitude taken by Rome in connection with the Egyptian tax payers who tried to evade the payment of their dues in Kind in natura to sitologi and wished to have recourse to the system of adaeratio.
A. H. M. J o n e s , Capitatio and Iugatio (Journ. Rom. Stud. 47 [1957] 88—94).
In this article the author shows that there were certain areas of the Empire, including certainly Egypt and probably Africa and parts of the Gallic prefecture, where the combined system of capi-tatio and iugatio was not applied.
G. Z a l a t e o , Un nuovo significato della parola δοκιμασία (Aegyptus X X X V I I , fasc. 1 [1957] 32—40).
In this article the author gives a new signification of the word δοκιμασία which in his opinion means professional examination,
