6 VI 2024: Arietta Papaconstantinou (Aix-Marseille Université), Identifying the governor’s secretaries in eighth-century Fustat: another look at the Aphrodito archive

The Greek letters of the governor Qurra b. Sharīk have been studied repeatedly since their publication, mainly for their content – all the more so as they were translated by the editor early on. They contain essential information on the governance of Egypt under the Marwanids, on taxation and extraordinary levies, and on the relations between the central administration and the local elites in the country’s administrative districts. Until recently however, there was little interest for the formal aspects of these letters, and what they tell us about the way the governor’s office worked and the people who composed it. This talk will present an analysis of some aspects of these letters and offer some suggestions on these questions.

Notaries for Greek, Arabic and Latin in Sicily; Liber ad honorem Augusti, Pietro da Eboli, c. 1197; MS Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 120.II, f. 101r^o.