One of these, the story of Saneha, dates from the Middle Kingdom, and
possessed a great vogue for at least a thousand years. It is unknown
whether its central figure is real or fictitious, as the name was a
fairly common one at that period. Saneha was an official under the first
king of the Twelfth Dynasty, Amenemhat I. When Amenemhat died and his
son Senusert I[4] came to the throne, he chanced to be hidden near by
where a secret reception of a certain embassy was held, all knowledge
of which his royal master desired should be kept inviolate. In terror
lest his presence should have been observed by someone, he fled eastward
across the Delta, passed the frontier, and journeyed to the Bitter
Lakes, where he became overpowered by thirst. Here he felt that death
had come upon him, but, summoning his courage, he pressed forward and,
hearing the lowing of cattle, walked in their direction. Tending the
cattle was a man of the desert, who provided him with water and boiled
milk, and offered him a home with his tribe. But Saneha considered
himself unsafe so near the frontier, and proceeded to the Upper Tenu,
perhaps the south of Palestine. Here he encountered a tribe, with which
he dwelt for some time, marrying the eldest daughter of its chief, and
he became wealthy in land and cattle and was regarded with much respect.
But as he grew older a great longing came upon him to behold the land
of Egypt once more. King Senusert was communicated with, and permission
was granted to Saneha to return. The king received him kindly and his
bedouin garments were exchanged for costly Egyptian robes. A splendid
tomb was built for him, and he was once more received into the royal
favour.
The papyrus is valuable as affording vivid descriptions of the life of
the tribes of Southern Palestine, the forays of the various clans and
the picturesque barbarism of nomadic life. But the narrative is often
interrupted by irritating eulogies upon the King of Egypt.
The Shipwrecked Sailor
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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