The Story of Sinuhe
Also known as: The Tale of Sinuhe, The Life of Sinuhe, Sanehat, The Story of Sanehat
A court official, Sinuhe, flees Egypt amid dynastic turmoil, prospers in Retjenu, and eventually returns when summoned by Senusret I, receiving royal pardon and burial honors. The tale explores exile, loyalty, and the restoration of rightful order.
Description
Composed in refined Middle Egyptian, this first-person narrative follows Sinuhe, an official who panics at news surrounding Amenemhat I’s death and escapes east into Retjenu (the Levant). There he wins patronage from the local ruler Amunenshi, defeats a challenger in single combat, marries, and amasses wealth. Yet nostalgia for Egypt and the king’s favor haunt him. A summons from Senusret I grants safe return; Sinuhe’s confession and the king’s magnanimity culminate in restored status and preparations for an elite burial. The work blends adventure with royal ideology, presenting the pharaoh’s mercy and the centripetal pull of Egypt as moral and cosmic necessities.
Historiography
The tale survives in multiple Middle Kingdom manuscripts, most notably Papyrus Berlin 3022 (12th Dynasty), supplemented by the Ramesseum papyri and numerous New Kingdom school copies on ostraca. Its polished style suggests courtly composition and subsequent canonization in scribal curricula. Modern editions by R.B. Parkinson and translations by Miriam Lichtheim anchor current scholarship. Debates center on historical kernels versus literary ideology, with consensus recognizing it as a masterpiece of Middle Kingdom literature.
Date Notes
Earliest substantial witnesses include Papyrus Berlin 3022 (12th Dynasty), which preserves c.311 lines but lacks the opening; the beginning is attested on Ramesseum papyri (P. Berlin 10499) and later copies on ostraca.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Sinuhe
- Senusret I
- Amenemhat I
- Amunenshi
Myths
- Exile and Prosperity in Retjenu
- Single Combat and Sinuhe’s Victory
- Homecoming and Royal Pardon
Facts
- Written in Middle Egyptian and cast as a first-person fictive autobiography.
- Papyrus Berlin 3022 preserves approximately 311 lines but lacks the beginning.
- The missing opening is supplied by Ramesseum papyri associated with Berlin 10499.
- Set in the aftermath of Amenemhat I’s death and under Senusret I’s rule.
- Geographical setting centers on Retjenu (Levant), reflecting Egyptian–Asiatic contact.
- A signature episode is Sinuhe’s duel with a local champion.
- The narrative exemplifies royal ideology: exile resolved by pharaonic mercy.
- Widely copied in the New Kingdom as a school text, indicating canonical status.
- Often compared with other Middle Kingdom narratives like The Shipwrecked Sailor.
- Also known by the variant name Sanehat in Egyptological literature.