The Egyptian

Sinuhe meets Akhnaton in the desert during a lion-hunting excursion. The pharaoh suffers an epileptic seizure and Sinuhe helps him, earning the king's gratitude. Akhnaton then appoints Sinuhe as court physician and Horemheb receives a post in the Royal Guard.

Akhnaton begins to promote Aten worship, rejecting Egypt's traditional gods. His devotion to the sun god challenges priestly power and social norms. The king's religious reforms spark resentment among the old priesthood and the political elite.

Back at court, Sinuhe becomes obsessively in love with Nefer, a Babylonian courtesan. He spends all his fortune buying her gifts, hoping to win her affection, but she rejects his advances. The disappointment shatters his fortunes and strains his standing at court.

News of Sinuhe's ruin drives his parents to take their own lives. He has their bodies embalmed so they may pass to the afterlife, and he works off his debts in the embalming house. This marks his descent from royal favor to a life of debt and debt-work.

Without a tomb for their mummies, Sinuhe buries his parents in the desert amid the tomb complexes of the Valley of the Kings. Tavern maid Merit discovers the desecration and warns that Akhnaton has condemned him to death for deserting the court. She urges him to flee and, after a night together, he sets sail away from Egypt.

For ten years Sinuhe and his servant Kaptah wander the known world. His Egyptian medical training earns him a reputation as a healer wherever he goes. They gather money and experience, living as nomadic physicians in foreign lands.

Having earned money and honed his craft, Sinuhe returns to Egypt and supplies Horemheb, now commander of the army, with intelligence that the Hittites plan to attack with iron weapons. The information helps Egypt prepare and rekindles Sinuhe's standing at court. Akhnaton is ready to forgive him in light of his mercy-centered faith.

Sinuhe's service earns Akhnaton's mercy, aligning with the religion's doctrine of mercy. The Aten faith grows popular among common people and Merit, who had remained loyal, welcomes him back. The court's political balance begins to shift as devotion to Aten spreads.

Sinuhe learns that Merit bore him a son named Thoth, who shares his interest in medicine. Merit’s allegiance to the new god and to Sinuhe deepens as they build a fragile family. Thoth’s presence foreshadows a merging of medicine and faith in his life.

Nefer, the once-pampered courtesan, reappears in poverty and poor health. She seeks cure from Sinuhe, who recognizes his former rival’s beauty and past deeds. He tends to her at his surgery, though the illness’s nature remains only hinted at.

Old gods priests fan hate against Aten worship and scheme to remove Akhnaton. Princess Baketamun finally reveals that Sinuhe is the son of a former pharaoh, raised by foster parents, and suggests he poison both Akhnaton and Horemheb to seize power. The conspiracy places Sinuhe at a dangerous moral crossroads.

Kaptah smuggles Thoth out of the country as chaos erupts, but Merit dies while seeking refuge at the new god’s altar. In grief and anger, Sinuhe poisons Akhnaton at their next meeting, altering Egypt’s fate. Akhnaton accepts his death and, in his final words, asserts the truth of his religion while acknowledging its imperfection.

Realizing what he has done, Akhnaton’s death marks the fall of Aten and the rise of Horemheb. Sinuhe warns Horemheb that his wine is poisoned, clearing the path for Horemheb to marry Baketamun and take the throne. The political balance shifts dramatically as Sinuhe secures a chance at power for Horemheb, in line with the late king’s mercy.

Sinuhe is exiled to the shores of the Red Sea, where he spends his remaining days writing his life story for Thoth or his descendants. He hopes the records will be found and understood by future generations. The tale ends with a reminder that these events occurred thirteen centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.