Story of Sinuhe

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Unsolved problems in Egyptology: Does the Story of Sinuhe recount real events? If so, did Sinuhe abandon his duty or was he a hero?

The Tale of Sinuhe is an Ancient Egyptian work of literature. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th dynasty of Egypt, in the early 20th century BCE. It is likely that it was composed only shortly after this date, albeit the earliest extant manuscript is from the reign of Amenemhat III, c. 1800 BCE.^[1] There is an ongoing debate among Egyptologists as to whether or not the tale is based on actual events involving an individual named Sinuhe, with the recent consensus being that it is most likely a work of fiction.

The tale opens with the death of Amenemhat, and recounts the experiences of Sinuhe who learns of a murder plot to prevent the succession of Amenemhat's son Senusret I, with whom Sinuhe is returning from a military campaign in Libya. Sinuhe, fearing for his life, fails in his duty to Senusret and instead of denouncing the plot, flees the country. Upon entering Syria, he marries the daughter of an Asiatic chieftain, who adopts him. He later rises to power within his adopted tribe and returns to Egypt at the invitation of Senusret I - who has survived the murder plot - and who forgives him and accepts him back into royal service.

The tale is often considered the supreme achievement of Ancient Egyptian literature. It combines into a single, economically expressed narrative an extraordinary range of literary styles, and is also notable for its nuanced examination of the motivations of its central protagonist. The poem continually examines the reasons for Sinuhe's flight, and his possible culpability for it. By placing an Egyptian character in a non-Egyptian (i.e. Asiatic) society, the poem also explores the nature of what it is to be an Egyptian, subtly questioning without ultimately undermining the Egyptian assumption that life outside Egypt was meaningless.

Naguib Mahfouz, the Nobel Prize for Literature-winning Egyptian writer published in 1941 a story entitled "Awdat Sinuhi" translated by Raymond Stock in 2003 as "The Return of Sinuhe" in the collection of Mahfouz's short stories entitled Voices from the Other World. The story is based directly on the "The Story of Sinuhe", although adding details of a lovers' triangle romance that does not appear in the original.

The story also formed part of the inspiration for the 1945 novel by Mika Waltari, and the 1954 Hollywood film epic, both titled The Egyptian, which although set during the reign of 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten, features a lead character named Sinuhe who flees Egypt in disgrace, to return after achieving material success and personal redemption in foreign lands.

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Translation which includes details on the sources for the translations, transcriptions from the original hieratic into Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Complete English translation