34: Night of the Long Knives (The Tale of Sinuhe)

Senuseret I (Part 1): Sinuhe's Fear and Flight. Around 1962 BCE, conspirators broke into the royal bedchamber and attacked King Amenemhat in his bed. The result was panic. The king's son Senuseret was far from home, and the situation was incredibly perilous. In the midst of this, a minor official named Sinuhe got caught up in the storm, and decided to flee for his life. Thereby hangs a tale...

• Date c. 1960 BCE.
• Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
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• Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.

Other podcasts:

• The Tale of Sinuhe, discussed on BBC Radio 4 "In Our Time" with Melvyn Bragg. A nice (and very British) discussion of the tale. Enjoy!
• A new reading! Barbara Ewing (actress) and Richard M. Parkinson (Professor of Egyptology, Oxford) have produced a new version of Sinuhe’s tale.

Select Bibliography:

• Miriam Lichtheimm Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2006.
• W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
• Reshafim.org – The Tale of Sinuhe.
• Scott Morschauser, “What made Sinuhe run?” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 37 (2000).
• Hans Goedicke, “Sinuhe’s Duel.” JARCE 21 (1984): 197-201.
• Anthony Spalinger, “Orientations on Sinuhe,” Studien zur Altägypischen Kultur 25 (1998).

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