Tale of Sinuhe

The story of Sinuhe has been preserved on numerous papyri and ostraca. This manuscript is written in an Egyptian script called hieratic, which is closely related to Egyptian hieroglyphs, and dates to the Egyptian 12th Dynasty (ca. 1991-1785 BCE). It tells the story of an Egyptian official who lived in voluntary exile in southern Syria/northern Canaan. The details of the story are valuable for the light that they shed on life in southern Syria during the early Middle Bronze I (2000-1800 BCE). The descriptions mention tents and encampments but not towns and cities, suggesting that nomadism persisted.