Resumen de P. Nessana 56: a Greek-Arabic contract from early Islamic Palestine and its context
This paper explores the content and context of a papyrus (no. 56)from Nessana (modern Nitzana) that contains a contract between a Christiancleric named Kyrin and a certain al-Aswad ibn ʿAdī. The document sets outthe conditions for the release of Kyrin’s son from al-Aswad for a payment ofmoney and guarantees the absolute freedom thereafter of both the son and thefather. The text is bilingual inasmuch as two languages are involved, Arabicand Greek, but the Arabic is only a summary of the Greek text, not a translationof it. It is presumably the presence of al-Aswad ibn ʿAdī that has required the inclusion of an Arabic précis and, though his name is not religiously specific,there is a strong likelihood that al-Aswad belonged to the ranks of the newconquerors and was probably a Muslim
