written in Official Aramaic

14 x 34cm

The letter opens with an account of previous correspondence in which Akhvamazda, the satrap of Bactria, instructed Bagavant, the governor of Khulmi, to build a wall and ditch around the town of Nikhshapaya. Bagavant, having arranged for the troops to do the work, reports back saying that the town was blighted by locusts and the locals were worried that the wall will cause the locusts to increase and ruin the crop which was ripe for reaping. Following this, Akhvamazda issues new instructions for the troops to smash (?) the locusts, reap the crop and, when the times comes, build the wall and ditch.

J. Naveh & S. Shaked, Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria (Fourth Century BCE), London 2012, no.A4, pp.92–9.