The monograph examines the socio-economic development of rural settlements in Egypt during the crisis and decline of the Roman Empire. The extensive documentary material of papyri traces the forms of land ownership and land use in Egypt and their evolution throughout the 4th century, the social structure and internal life of individual Egyptian villages (comas). Particular attention is paid to the community organization of the Egyptian village, which is compared with the communities of different regions of the ancient world. Studying Egypt, the author reveals a number of important trends characteristic of the development of other provinces of the Roman Empire.