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The Royal Instruction of Khety to Merikare
IXth Dynasty - ca.2160 - ? BCE
the royal testament
of a departing king to his son
by Wim van den Dungen
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The translation of The Royal Instruction to Merikare is part of my Ancient Egyptian Readings (2016), a POD publication in paperback format of all translations available at maat.sofiatopia.org. These readings span a period of thirteen centuries, covering all important stages of Ancient Egyptian literature. Translated from Egyptian originals, they are ordered chronologically and were considered by the Egyptians as part of the core of their vast literature.
The study of the sources, hieroglyphs, commentaries and pictures situating the text itself remain on the website at no cost.
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1. Sources : Papyrus St.-Petersburg 1116A, P.Moscow 4658 & P.Carlsberg 6.
2. King Khety III and his son Merikare.
3. The text of the Instruction to Merikare.
4. Notes.
5. Egyptian sacred literature.
6. Egyptian wisdom literature.
1. The Sources
► discovery
The text of the Instruction to Merikare was preserved in three fragmentary papyri. The oldest, dating from the second half of the XVIIIth Dynasty (ca. 1539 - 1292 BCE), the so-called "Papyrus St.-Petersburg 1116A", is the most complete, but also the most corrupt, with numerous lacunae and many scribal errors. Papyrus Moscow 4658 dates from the end of the XVIIIth Dynasty, while Papyrus Carlsberg 6 may even be later.
An English translation was made by Gardiner (1914) & Erman (1927). A new comparative study of the available sources was done by Volten (1945). Lichtheim (1976), Helck (1977), Brunner (1991) & Parkinson (1997) made recent translations. Regarding Papyrus St.-Petersburg, Volten remarks :
"Dieser Papyrus ist auf der Vorderseite mit Geschenklisten beschrieben, die es möglich machen, die Rückseite mit unsrem Text zur Zeit des Amenophis II zu datieren."
Volten, 1945, p.3.
The following temporal layers may be discerned :
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extant papyri : in the XVIIIth Dynasty, unknown (student ?) scribes made copies from earlier sources - Papyrus St.-Petersburg dates from the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep II (ca. 1426 - 1400 BCE), and was copied in Memphis by "the scribe Khaemwaset for himself, the truly quiet, good of character, patient, loved by people ... for his dear brother whom he loves ... the scribe Mahu." ;
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the actual literary composition : contemporary egyptologists assume the work to be composed in the XIIth Dynasty (ca. 1938 - 1759 BCE). But Lichtheim argues the work to be pseudepigraphic and actually composed in the reign of king Merikare, for the text shows compositional weaknesses suggesting experimentation. This is in conflict with the established literary canon of later Dynasties (like the XIIth) ;
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the person of Merikare : king Merikare ("mrii-kA-ra" - dates unknown), was one of the rulers of the Herakleopolitan IXth Dynasty (ca.2160 - ? BCE). He appears to have been middle-aged when Khety III bequeathed him the throne of the North. He died before the armies of Mentuhotpe II advanced upon his capital. Ity was his successor, but the latter lost the throne.
► literary features
In the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2198 -1938 BCE), the stela became the carrier of a short autobiography, and equipped with an offering scene and its adjacent prayer. This was a memorial, the repository of a person's life, a succinct summary of achievement. The royal instruction was the second literary legacy of this transitional period : the testament of a departing King to his son and successor. The Instruction to Merikare mentions the instruction of an earlier King Khety. It is therefore only the earliest preserved work of this type.
The work has no "fully sustained compositional coherence as found in comparable works of the Twelfth Dynasty" (Lichtheim, p.98). Indeed, the same topic reappears in different places and a buildup is deflected. However, an overall plan is present, although it is loose. Compared with that of Ptahhotep, Khety's instruction has a compositional structure which is less "constructed". On the one hand, the sentences do not "bind" in the same way and although the orational style is used, the author introduces spontaneous associations which are secundary and move away from the main stream of the mindset. On the other hand, the address is more personal and apparently in tune with the psychology of his son, whereas the Maxims of Good Discourse are a general, more standardized treatise on wisdom, expressing the teachings of any (noble) father to his (accomplished) son. Does this suggest the work is indeed a composition made by the King himself ?
The salient literary features are :
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the literary form : the orational style is used, a rhythmic style marked by symmetrical sentences, but the text turns into prose when specific events are told (as in the assassination scene in the Instruction of Amenemhat) ;
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the literary aim : the King bestows his insights on kingship in a literary genre : the speculum regnum - apparently this was not the first instruction of this kind, although the earlier work by the hand of a member of the "house of Khety" is lost. This speculum regnum is in reality a sort of inaugural address of Khety's son Merikare, clothing political intentions with a literary mantle ;
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the historical section : the King describes his accomplishments and gives his advise on how to continue them. As far as authorship is concerned, the work is pseudepigraphic, but genuine as a text describing historical facts, probably contemporary with the events to which it refers ;
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the definition and workings of magic : the Sun-god Re created magic as a weapon to ward off the blows of evil events, a power watching over the good leaders of men day and night. The limitations of this power are also given : magic can not hold back the soul of the justified deceased, returning to the place it knows and cares for ;
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the section of justice : the justice of the god is all-comprehensive, for he sees all and nobody can resist him. He wants us to do justice, to uphold the correct order (Maat). Men are to work for the god, and then the latter will work for them. The instruction is a witness to the growing importance of the Judgment of the Dead, the guarantee for the next life ;
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the Hymn to the Sun-god : the Sun-god has created men as his cattle, and he tends it well. He made mankind after his image, and made daylight for their sake. He knows every name and has slain the traitors, namely those who made rebellion.
2 King Khety III and his son Merikare
At the end of the Old Kingdom, the stable pharaonic system slowly broke down. During the nine decades of the reign of the last Pharaoh of the VIth Dynasty, Pepi II (ca.2246 - 2152) -the longest reign in history- the way was paved for the collapse of the Old Kingdom under the pressure of internal weakening. A folk tale of the New Kingdom depicts Pepi II as a weak personality with abnormal tendencies ...
No serious dangers threatened Egypt from Western Asia or Nubia, although attacks on Egyptian expeditions seems to have been more frequent. One important factor was the increase in the number of cults freed by royal decree from taxes and other obligations, placing a burden on the royal treasury, diminishing is power and majesty (cf. the number of buildings built). Low Nile floods are also to be noted, as well as a climate change ca. 2200 BCE (probably a world-wide small ice age).
"But the decisive factor was that the archaic, patriarchal structure of the adminstration was no longer adequate to meet the more specialized demands of the era and thus not suited in all respects to the tenor of the times." - Hornung, 1999, p.41.
The weak administration was no longer able to run the country as a whole and the consequences were economical difficulties, famine and struggle for life itself (while Pharaoh made enormous gifts to the temples). Economic need occupied the center of attention in biographical inscriptions which emerged in this period. This situation triggered two important phenomena :
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objective : local potentates acquired the necessary goods for themselves and their subjects. Raids on neighboring regions and the peasants were common. The latter therefore formed armed bands. Safety was lost. Art sank to a provincial level. In the walled homes of the rulers of the nomes (the nomarchs) an urban middle class was formed, focused on the accumulation of private property. These "nedjes" (a pejorative word for "small") designated these new "bourgeois" who made the cities into political centers ;
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inter-subjective : the struggle against the terrible experience of returning to the banished chaos triggered a flowering of literature such as Egypt had never produced before. With the decline of the monarchy, the identification of Maat with the will of Pharaoh broke up. So the questions : What is good ? What is evil ? became all important. For the intellectual elite of the First Intermediate Period, the divine shepherd had forsaken his human flock. Even the blessed afterlife was questioned. New ways of formulating their thoughts were sought, especially to break away from the formulaic & archaic literary style of the mortuary cults. The power of the individual was found ...
After Pepi II, the construction of pyramids stopped and in rapid successions at least a dozen Pharaoahs resided in Memphis and nominally ruled the entire land. What exactely happened is unknown (for this period is obscure), but at the end Egypt was divided between the "kings" of two major nomes : Heracleopolis (IXth & Xth Dynasty) in the North (Fayum & Lower Egypt) & Thebes (XIth Dynasty) in the South (Upper Egypt and Nubia). The unity broke up and no great monuments were erected to consolidate the power of the state. The Theban ruling family assumed the royal titulary at about the same time as the nomarchs of Herakleopolis. This fundamental political division initiates the First Intermediate Period, which would last for about a century (ca. 2198 -1938 BCE). The "House of Khety" ruled Lower Egypt. In general, the southern kingdom was more vital than the northern, but the latter excelled in cultural refinement.
"Statues of the Theban rulers were set up in the temple of Heqaib on the island of Elephantine, and we must assume that because of this tie with the south, the Thebans had at their disposal, from the very beginning, seasoned Nubian soldiers who would lend considerable combat strength to the Theban army in the warfare that ensued to reunite the land." - Hornung, 1999, p.45.
After some years of peace Mentuhotpe I initiated the decisive battle with Lower Egypt, ruled by Merikare. This attempt was thwarted, and his successor lost the throne. Although the correct sequence of rulers is unknown, the following list of rulers is the reconstruction by Hornung (1999), who's chronology was followed :
Southern Kings (Thebes - IXth & Xth Dynasties) :
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Inyotef I (Sehertawy) : 2081 - 2065 BCE
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Inyotef II (Wahankh) : 2065 - 2016
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Inyotef III (Nakhtnebtepnufer) : 2016 - 2008
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Mentuhotpe I (Nebhepetre) : 2008 - 1957
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Mentuhotpe II (Sankhkare) : 1957 - 1945
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Mentuhotpe III (Nebtawyre) : 1945 - 1938
Northern Kings (Herakleopolis - between 2160 - 1980 BCE - XIth Dynasty) :
► the beginning of the Middle Kingdom
The last Pharaoh of the XIth Dynasty was Nebtawyre Mentuhotpe III (ca. 1945 - 1938 BCE). He probably usurped the throne, for he is missing from the king-lists. His mother was a commoner. It is possible he was not a member of the royal family. Of his seven year reign, little is known. He undertook building projects and dispatched his vizier Amenemhat to head an army of workers at the quarries of the Wadi Hammamat for his intended royal tomb. There is a consensus that this is the same Pharaoh Amenemhat who founded the XXIIth Dynasty, although there is no reliable information available. Around 1980 BCE, Egypt was again in the grasp of a single ruler after a century of disunity.
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