One of the most revealing types of documentary evidence of the Arabization of the administration is theentagion, a payment order sent by the administration to a community or an individual. Entagia operated on several levels. The governor sent entagia (level 1) addressed to local authorities to dukes and pagarchs: these were written in Arabic and then Greek (at least before 720-730, when Arabic became exclusive), an obviously highly symbolic order. Dukes and pagarchs, after distributing the tax due among taxpayers, drew up entagia (level 2) or delegated this task to village authorities: they are written in Greek in Fayoum or in Coptic in Middle and Upper Egypt. The linguistic codes followed by the entagia thus reveal a clear linguistic stratification: the central government sends out orders in Arabic, accompanied by a Greek version so that they can be understood by all. The occupiers therefore took pragmatic account of the country's linguistic situation, without, however (from the 690s onwards), giving up the primarily symbolic presence of their language in the documents. Once these were relayed to the grassroots by the intermediate level, only Greek or Coptic were used.
These entagia corresponded to a new fiscal reality imposed by the Arabs, followed a form and layout that were in part innovative and also imposed by the Arabs (although they may have imported it), and placed Arabic in a superior position as the language of reference. At least, that's what the formal characteristics of these orders would have us believe.
