In the Admonitions of Ipuwer, the author paints a bleak portrait of massive social disruption and change occurring in ancient Egypt. The text, found on Papyrus Leiden 344, dates to approximately 1300BCE, and is believed to be a later copy of an earlier work.[1] It is generally believed by current scholars that Ipuwer does not deal with specific actual historical events, as often argued in the past, but is instead more of a literary work on the theme of “national distress”[2] A close reading of Ipuwer, however, provides tantalizing hints at a society that has indeed experienced significant social change, regardless of the specific historical details, and should be read more as a work of social commentary over that of a strict historical or literary reading.
