apa (lit. ‘father’): Coptic term of respect for bishops and clergy.
Arians Umbrella term for a range of views associated with the teaching of the early fourth-century Egyptian clergyman Arius, condemned as heterodox at the Council of Nicaea (325), who taught that Christ the Son was in some sense inferior to the Father.
aroura (pl. arourai) Standard unit of area in Roman Egypt, equivalent to 0.68 acres or 0.275 hectares.
artaba a unit of dry measure (for, e.g., grain), used in Roman Egypt, equivalent to about 30 kg.
Augustus (pl. Augusti) Originally the name of the first Roman emperor (31 BC–AD 14), the term became a generic one for Roman emperors.
Coptic Late Roman version of the indigenous Egyptian language.
denarius (pl. denarii) Roman silver coin in common use in earlier centuries that fell into disuse in Late Antiquity.
Donatists Major breakaway group of Christians in fourth-century north Africa who regarded the mainstream church as tainted by compromise during the Diocletianic persecution.
drachma Greek silver coin (originally worth 6 obols) that remained in use in Roman Egypt.
epigraphic Relating to inscriptions.
freedman A former slave set free by the owner.
Monophysites Eastern Christians (especially in Egypt) opposed to the Council of Chalcedon (451) whose formulations they viewed as giving too much weight to Christ’s humanity at the expense of his divinity.
praetorian prefect In earlier centuries, the praetorian prefect commanded elite units of troops based in and around Rome (the Praetorian Guard), but in Late Antiquity the office designated the most senior position in the bureaucracy, with oversight of taxation and justice; there were usually a number of praetorian prefects at any one time, responsible for different regions of the empire.
presbyter (lit. ‘elder’) One of the terms used in New Testament times for those in positions of church leadership, it gradually came to be distinguished from and subordinate to that of ‘overseer’ (episkopos). Although the English term ‘priest’ derives etymologically from ‘presbyter’, the latter term has been retained in this volume to avoid confusion with pagan terminology.
solidus (pl. solidi) Standard gold coin introduced by Constantine; it was fixed at a rate of 72 solidi to a pound of gold.
Syriac A dialect of the Semitic language Aramaic widely used in late Roman Syria and Mesopotamia in both spoken and written form.