The Report of Wenamun

E798462

The Report of Wenamun is an ancient Egyptian literary text recounting the adventures and diplomatic troubles of a priest sent to Byblos to obtain cedar wood, offering valuable insight into the political and economic conditions of the late New Kingdom.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Egyptian literary text
historical literary text
narrative tale
travel narrative
commissionedBy Amun temple at Karnak NERFINISHED
currentLocationOfManuscript Egyptian Museum in Cairo NERFINISHED
dateWritten circa 11th century BCE
depicts maritime travel in the eastern Mediterranean
mission to Byblos
negotiations with the ruler of Byblos
payment in silver instead of traditional tribute
piracy and robbery at sea
procurement of cedar wood
genre adventure narrative
diplomatic narrative
historicalContext Third Intermediate Period NERFINISHED
languageVariant Late Egyptian
literaryFeature direct speech and dialogue
open or fragmentary ending
vivid characterization of foreign rulers
locationMentioned Byblos NERFINISHED
Cyprus NERFINISHED
Egypt NERFINISHED
Syria-Palestine NERFINISHED
Tanis NERFINISHED
Thebes NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Wenamun NERFINISHED
narrativePerspective first-person account
originalLanguage Egyptian
papyrusDesignation Papyrus Moscow 120 NERFINISHED
period Late New Kingdom of Egypt NERFINISHED
protagonistOccupation priest of Amun
protagonistRole royal envoy
providesInsightInto Egyptian-Levantine relations
economic conditions of the late New Kingdom
international trade in cedar wood
political conditions of the late New Kingdom
scholarlyDebate historicity of the events described
whether it is history or historical fiction
setIn reign of Ramesses XI
survivesOn single papyrus manuscript
theme decline of Egyptian power
economic exchange
international diplomacy
religious authority and political power
vulnerability of envoys abroad
titleVariant The Story of Wenamun NERFINISHED
The Tale of Wenamun NERFINISHED
writingSystem hieratic

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Late Egyptian documentedIn The Report of Wenamun