The Story Of Sinuhe The Egyptian Literate Class For 2000...

The Story of Sinuhe is considered one of the most important works in Egyptian literature, which is why there are not only so many copies, but why there are copies in multiple different time periods, The oldest date to the Twelfth Dynasty (1937–1758 B.C.E. ), which was also the time of the story’s setting. There also more than twenty copied during New Kingdom and even a copy from the Late Period (665–333 B.C.E.). This amount of copies across all major time periods is because copying it was required in scribe schools as part of their training, thus this work of literature connected the Egyptian literate class for 2,000 years. This story is structured as an autobiography and is written in the first person, and includes songs, and a letter.†¦show more content†¦He decides to flee Egypt, traveling across Egypt’s eastern border into the lands beyond. In his haste to leave, however, he does not pack sufficient provisions and nearly dies of thirst in the desert. A Bedouin chief rescues him, and Sinuhe is able to reach the town of Byblos in modern Lebanon, eventually settling in Upper Retenu in modern Syria. There he meets a local ruler named Amunenshi, who gives him his daughter in marriage and land in a place called Yaa. Sinuhe prospers in Yaa, has children, and successfully leads Amunenshi’s army against other tribes. Near the end of his life, however, he decides he wants to return to Egypt for burial. He sends a letter to the king, and the benevolent Senwosret I welcomes him back to Egypt with full honors despite his cowardly flight years before. Senwosret I arranges for Sinuhe’s burial in Egypt, and the final verses describe Sinuhe’s tomb and his final contented days in Egypt waiting for death. John L. Foster, the American Egyptologist, analyzed Sinuhe’s personal development from his loss of status when he fled from Egypt to his eventual restoration to his rightful place in Egyptian society. Foster demonstrated that the real interest of the story for modern readers is in Sinuhe’s personal development. It is one suggestion that perhaps helps modern readers understand the story’s