Instructions of Amenemhat

Instructions of Amenemhat (aka "Teaching of King Ammenemes I to His Son Sesostris") is a short ancient Egyptian poem of the sebayt genre written during the early Middle Kingdom.

The poem takes the form of an intensely dramatic monologue delivered by the ghost of the murdered 12th Dynasty pharaoh Amenemhat I to his son Senusret I.

Several centuries later, in the New Kingdom Papyrus Chester Beatty IV, the authorship of the poem was attributed to "the foremost of scribes" Kheti.

Wooden tablets with parts of the Instructions dating to the 18th Dynasty and New Kingdom papyrus fragments and ostraca survive.

The king then warns his son not to trust anyone, for even those he had helped refused support and explains that he was assassinated by his guard while he was in bed.

Exercise tablet with hieratic excerpt from the Instructions of Amenemhat. 18th Dynasty , reign of Amenhotep I , ca. 1514-1493 BC. Text reads: "Be on your guard against all who are subordinate to you ... Trust no brother, know no friend, make no intimates."