IPUWER

The text known as theAdmonitions of a Prophet(preserved in a Nineteenth Dynasty papyrus in Leyden) descibes a time of chaos and devastation in Egypt, when law and order broke down, the fortunes of the rich and poor were reversed, and groups of foreigners (the '*Asiatics') entered Egypt. The aged king, protected from the true horrors of the situation by his courtiers, remained at his palace and was unaware of the social and political upheaval that was tearing his realm apart. However, a sage arrived at the palace; this was Ipuwer, who proceeded to relate these events to the king and urged that the only way to return to peace was through personal piety and a renewed reverence for the gods.There are no other facts which relate to Ipuwer's status or background although, from details in the text, it has been suggested that he was a treasury official who had come to the Court to report on the depletion of the treasury in the Delta.

This text is of great literary and historical interest and has much in common with other pieces (such as the 'Prophecy of *Neferti') in the genre known as the Pessimistic Literature. It has long been surmised that this text describes events which occurred at the end of the Old Kingdom, when centralised government based at Memphis collapsed and chaos ensued—a situation exacerbated by the declining power of the king, *Pepy II, who ruled for over ninety years. There are other interpretations, however, which claim that it reflects conditions at a different period—the Thirteenth Dynasty, when the Middle Kingdom was collapsing prior to the *Hyksos invasion of Egypt. Another explanation is that it does not relate to any specific period but that it is a literary form which sets out to explore, through poetry, the themes of national disaster and of order versus chaos. This provided the opportunity to emphasise that, in order to ensure stability and good government, a strong and vigorous king was essential to the Egyptian political system.

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The ostensible author of a text of wisdom literature composed during the late Middle Kingdom that describes Egypt in a state of chaos. While this has been taken as a reference to a historical event, it is now regarded as simply a literary device.