ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explore the relationship between Alexandria and the chora as it is presented in the documentary papyri. They show how this relationship provides a context in which they may better understand a particular group of papyri known as the Acta Alexandrinorum which have been found in various locations throughout Egypt. The formal legal status of Alexandrian citizens within the population of Egypt as a whole they turn to survey. The survey suggests that owners of the Acta Alexandiinorum literature came from a wide social spectrum, encompassing urban and rural Egyptians like Socrates of Caranis, as well as Alexandrians who owned land and lived in the chora. The main perspective of the official text is surely neither Roman nor Alexandrian, but that of Egyptians of the chora, who potentially risked coming under its force. As a Greek poll, Alexandria possessed a hereditary body of citizens whose privileged status was jealously guarded against aspiring interlopers.
