Instruction for King Merikare
E818171
Instruction for King Merikare is an ancient Egyptian wisdom text from the Middle Kingdom, framed as a king’s advice to his successor on just rule, kingship, and moral conduct.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Instruction of Merikare | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Egyptian wisdom text
ⓘ
didactic literature ⓘ sebayt ⓘ |
| addressee | King Merikare NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| attributedSpeaker | a Herakleopolitan king ⓘ |
| audience | Egyptian royal court NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| concerns |
conduct of officials
ⓘ
foreign policy and warfare ⓘ maintenance of maat ⓘ memory of past civil strife ⓘ proper administration of justice ⓘ treatment of the poor and weak ⓘ |
| culture | ancient Egyptian ⓘ |
| dateApproximate |
c. 21st century BCE
ⓘ
early Middle Kingdom ⓘ |
| ethicalFocus |
care for loyal subjects
ⓘ
moderation in punishment ⓘ piety toward the gods ⓘ responsibility for social order ⓘ |
| form | didactic monologue ⓘ |
| function |
didactic model for ideal kingship
ⓘ
instruction for a crown prince ⓘ |
| genre |
royal instruction
ⓘ
wisdom literature ⓘ |
| historicalContext | Herakleopolitan–Theban rivalry ⓘ |
| language | Middle Egyptian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literaryType | royal testament ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
just rule
ⓘ
kingship ⓘ moral conduct ⓘ order (maat) versus chaos (isfet) ⓘ relationship between king and gods ⓘ royal ethics ⓘ statecraft ⓘ treatment of subjects ⓘ |
| narrativeFrame | a king instructing his son and successor Merikare ⓘ |
| originalMedium | papyrus ⓘ |
| period | Middle Kingdom of Egypt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Instruction of Amenemhat
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Instruction of Kagemni NERFINISHED ⓘ Instruction of Ptahhotep NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scholarlyField | Egyptology ⓘ |
| setting | First Intermediate Period of Egypt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| studiedAs |
source for Middle Kingdom political thought
ⓘ
source for ancient Egyptian ethics ⓘ |
| survivesIn | later manuscript copies ⓘ |
| title | Instruction for King Merikare NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| tradition | Egyptian sebayt tradition ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Instruction of Merikare