Sasanika Papyrological Studies No. 2, March 2018 Jordan Center for Persian Studies University of California, Irvine www.sasanika.org
Three Pahlavi Papyri Revisited Dieter Weber March 2018 P. 45 Strasbourg, Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire, Pahl. 1. Photo Museum. 1
Transliteration Transcription 1 nʾmkˈ Y hwṭʾykˈ QDM 1 nāmag ī xʷadāyīg abar 2 lʾdynšnˈ Y TMH ʿL 2 rāyēnišn ī ānōh ō 3 YDʿYṬWN[sṭnˈ MH ](P)WN bʾp lwnˈ 3 dān[istan čē ]pad Bābilōn 4 krṭnˈ LṬMH ZK Y zydʾnˈ (Y) 4 kardan ēdar ān ī zyān (ī) 5 krṭˈ lʾd LʿYNˈ YḤWWNt 5 kard rāy pēš būd Translation [1] Your document on [2] organizing there for [3] knowing [what] to do for Bābilōn (i.e. Old Cairo.) [4] here because of the shortage that was [5] produced it was done before. Commentary First published by Weber (1992:150 151). Due to a better understanding of the palaeography of the papyri, the reading and interpretation of this document as presented in the original edition are obsolete in major parts now. Line 3: There is exactly that space for the assumed restoration which fits, by the way, the context very well. Sasanika Papyrological Studies 2
P. 81 P.Heid.Pahl. 21 Photo Heidelberg Transliteration Transcription 1 PWN YBLWNtny Y ʿL 1 pad burdan ī ō 2 TMH ʾYK šṭrʾlʾnywcʾn 2 anōh kū Šahr-Ālānyōzān 3 lʾsṭnˈ lʾd W ʾswṭnˈ lʾd 3 rāstan rāy ud āsūdan rāy 4 PWN mwdl Y zʾt-hwsl[w]b 4 pad muhr ī Zād-xusrō 5 W hwnʾcšn-hwslwb Y šṭrʾn 5 ud Hunāzišn-xusrō ī šahrān 6 ḤṬYMWNṭ 6 āwišt Translation [1] On behalf of the transport [2] there: Šahr-Ālānyōzān [3] on behalf of arrangement and disposal [4] with the seal(s) of Zād-xusrō [5] and Hunāzišn-xusrō of the country [6] sealed. Commentary First published by Weber (1991:231) and re-edited in Weber (1992:185 187). Line 3: The phrase rāstan rāy ud āsūdan rāy also in P.Pehl. 373, 12 and P.Pehl. 373a, 9, is an idiom in official or semi-official documents. The verb āsūdan belongs Sasanika Papyrological Studies 3
to āsāyišn which is an abstract formation or part. necess. attested in Berk. 37, 1. The phrase was still misunderstood in both Weber (1992:186) and Weber (2003:137 & 190f.); rāstan on the other hand is a problem as this verbal form does not exist any more in Pahlavi but only the past participle rāst as adjective true, straight, direct (CPD) though the verb is also indirectly attested through rāyišn [lʾdšnˈ] order, arrangement (CPD). Line 5: Hunāzišn-xusrō, cf. nāzišn [nʾcšnˈ N nāziš] 1. boasting; 2. kindness (CPD). The preference for names with Xusrō as last element is obviously due to the fact that Xusrō II must have been the reigning king. For the formal aspect cf. dzšn-gwšnsp ˈ = Dazišn-Gušnasp in Berk. 120, 12. Sasanika Papyrological Studies 4
P. 157 P. Berol. 8824 Hansen Nr. 55 Transliteration Transcription 1 LKW(M) MN drwdsṭyh 1 šmāh az drustīh 2 Y mylkbw(ṭˈ) PWN 2 ī Mēragbūd pad 3 lʾmšnˈ YḤWWNyṭ MH 3 rāmišn bawēd čē 4 hwṭˈ YKʿYMWNyṭˈ cygwn 4 xʷad ēstēd čiyōn 5 yzdʾn W LKWM ʾp ʾyṭˈ 5 yazdān ud šmāh abāyēd Translation [1] You with regard to the health [2] of Mēragbūd at [3] ease You should be because [4] he indeed feels as [5] is fitting the gods and You. Commentary First edited by Hansen (1938:No. 55), re-edited by Weber (2003:48 49), and repeated in Weber (2007:185), this document is a prime example for the type of a billet. Dr. Dieter Weber Weperstr. 17 D-37186 Moringen, Germany E-Mail: weberdieter7@t-online.de Sasanika Papyrological Studies 5
References CPD: A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary Hansen: Die mittelpersischen Papyri der Papyrussammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin Bibliography Hansen, Olaf. 1938. Die mittelpersischen Papyri der Papyrussammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (Abhandlungen der Preußichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Jahrgang 1937, Nr. 9). Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften. MacKenzie, David Neil. 1990. A concise Pahlavi dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Weber, Dieter. 1991. Ein bisher unbekannter Titel aus spätsassanidischer Zeit? In Roland E Emmerick & Dieter Weber (eds.), Corolla Iranica: Papers in honour of Prof. Dr. David Neil MacKenzie on the occasion of his 65th birthday on April 8th, 1991, 228 236. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. Weber, Dieter. 1992. Ostraca, Papyri und Pergamente (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, part Ⅲ, vol. Ⅳ Ⅴ). London: School of Oriental and African Studies. Weber, Dieter. 2003. Berliner Papyri, Pergamente und Leinenfragmente in mittelpersischer Sprache (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, part Ⅲ, vol. Ⅳ Ⅴ). London: School of Oriental and African Studies. Unter Mitarbeit von W. Brashear. Weber, Dieter. 2007. Remarks on the development of the Pahlavi script in Sasanian times. In Fereydun Vahman & Claus V. Pederson (eds.), Religious texts in Iranian languages: Symposium held in Copenhagen May 2002 (Historiske-filosofiske Meddelelser 98), 185 195. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Sasanika Papyrological Studies 6