Actes de protection dans les documents de Bactriane

Abstract

This paper addresses the concept and mechanism of protection represented in Bactrian documents. Based on the analysis of these documents, it discusses two main procedures for obtaining protection practiced in late antique Bactria. The first was the presentation of petitions by an individual or a group of people to the local authorities with the aim of asking for protection for their lives, properties and honour. In this mechanism oral petitions, letters, and intermediaries played the main role. The second procedure for obtaining protection was to ask for “a contract of undertaking” which was issued by the court of law and witnessed and sealed by court officials. The contract of undertaking had specific legal clauses which guaranteed protection for the petitioners and their dependants. In both cases the petitions were issued by the authorities through a set of standard administrative procedures. The systems suggested in these documents show that a sophisticated system for redressing wrongs and providing protection was provided by governmental administrations that reached even the smallest villages in Bactria.