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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Egypt
ii.	Nome	Oxyrhynchites (U19)
iii.	Site	Oxyrhynchus

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	σιππασδες l. σιππᾶτες (P.Oxy. XXXI 2579 l. 9)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	sippates

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

309 - 334 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

i.

Name in other forms

P.Oxy. XLV 3262 l.1: possibly σιππ<ο>πιοω(ν) for σιπποποιῶν sippopoion (cf. P.Oxy. XXXVI 2799 l. 4, early fifth century AD).
P.Oxy. I 103 verso: στιπποτιμηταί stippotimetai (?): This title of the association (if that it what it is) is difficult to reconcile with those others here (MG).

ii.

Name elements

Professional:

sippates

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	P.Oxy. XXXI 2579 (4. Aug. AD 309?) P.Oxy. XLV 3261 (AD 324) P.Oxy. XLV 3262 (second half AD 328) P.Oxy. I 103 (13 Oct. AD 316)
	Note	Most of these texts belongs to the archive of Aurelius Leonides, a flax merchant and member (and eventually official) of the tow workers association.
	Online Resources	P.Oxy. XXXI 2579 = TM 16896 P.Oxy. XLV 3261 = TM 15924 P.Oxy. XLV 3262 = TM 15925 P.Oxy. I 103 = TM 45292
i.a.	Source type(s)	Papyrological source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	The documents are written in Greek. 2579: Tax receipt for ἐπικεφάλαιον epikephalaion 3261: Contract concerning recruits 3262: Receipt 103: Lease of land
i.c.	Physical format(s)	papyrus

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii.	Leadership	2579: μηνιάρχης meniarches, l. 11 3261: μηνιάρχαι meniarches, l. 4 3262: μηνιάρχης meniarches, l. 1
iii.	Members	3261: New members here are referred to as νεόλεκτοι, neolektoi (l. 7), "recruits".

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

ii.

Realty

The rental agreement in I 103 appears to have been made by Leonidas and another member of the guild: a certain Aurelius Dioskoros (who also appears in Leonidas' archive in P.Oxy. XLV 3255 and 3256). But whether or not this was used by the association or, in fact, for association business (particularly given Leonidas' own occupation) is unclear and hardly definitive.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

i.	Number	3261: At least six (given the four meniarchai)
ii.	Gender	Men
	Note	The recorded names are male names.
iii.	Age	Adults
vi.	Proper names and physical features	2579: Dioskoros, Pagenes, Herakleides 3261: Leonides, Theon, Matrinus(?), and Sarmates 3262: Leonides 103: Leonidas, Dioskoros

XI. INTERACTION

i.

Local interaction

2579: Suggests a relationship between the local administration and the association at least in respect to tax collection (possibly collective responsibility?).

3261: Relationship between the local administration and the association is demonstrated by the document itself.
Moreover, as noted by the editors, it is tempting to assume the association here assumed the liability of the members here for whatever they were responsible for.

3262: One wonders about the nature of the loan alluded to here in this receipt. Is it possible that the association took a loan for some reason? If so one would expect to find more evidence for this even in this fragmentary document. But if it is something to do with the association, it illustrates a relationship between the association, or a member of it, and another member of the public community. Why would Aurelius Leonides use his associative title here? Is this indicative of some status or some standing in the community?

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	The name of the association is not given in all of the documents, but σιππ[...] sipp[...] in 3262 probably refers to the tow workers based on the other documents in the archive; see P.Oxy. XLV 3262 n. 1, p. 143 for reconstruction of what Leonides possibly wrote and for the possible identification of a professional association, and cf. P.Oxy. XXXI 2579 in which a meniarch of an association of tow-workers pays a poll tax (here the ἐπικεφάλαιον πόλεως epikephalaion poleos) on behalf of two of its members. Given similarities to other Oxyrhynchite documents of the same time, the group was likely a koinon.
iii.	Bibliography	Venticinque, P. F. (2010). "Family Affairs: Guild Regulations and Family Relationships in Roman Egypt." GRBS 50: 273-294 (esp. p. 290). Youtie, H. C. (196) "Notes on papyri." TAPhA 91: 239-71.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Probable
	Note	In the absence of more evidence, caution should be advised in the identification of this group. Given the comparanda from Oxyrhynchus at the time and in the similarity of the officials' titles with other certain associations at the beginning of the fourth century AD it is probable that this is a private association.

CAPInv. 1737: sippates