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
