Attention aux scribes ! Variantes, différences et raccourcissements délibérés dans les protocoles des papyrus du IIème - début du Ier siècle

Greek and Demotic royal protocols on papyri dated to the the 2nd and the beginning of the 1st century BC are an important, but delicate source for Ptolemaic history, that require a detailed analysis. They help to determine regional features, and are so useful when the origin of the papyri has been lost: the Demotic writing tꜣ fꜣy šp qn(y) for the title of the athlophoros, or the mention of the three eponymous priestesses for Cleopatra III (stephanephoros, phosphoros and hiereia), are typical of texts coming from the north of the Hermopolitan nome. They are also a help to identify chronological limits: hieros polos is attested in papyri from 132 to 104, while stephanephoros, phosphoros and hiereia for Cleopatra III from 115 to 105 at least. But they also show, on the one hand, the communication breakdowns between the central administration and local offices, and on the other hand, the liberties taken by Demotic scribes with royal protocols, especially in Djeme and Gebelein under Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X Alexander I. In general, Greek and Demotic royal protocols on papyri display a larger standardization under Ptolemy X Alexander I and Ptolemy IX Soter II sole reigns, pointing both to simplification and conciseness, which could be a compromise between official instructions and material needs of local scribes.