The Egyptian Babylon, Minoan Crete, and among the Hittites. The main character of the novel is named after a character in an ancient Egyptian text commonly known as the "Story of Sinuhe". The original story dates to a time long before that of Akhenaten: texts are known from as early as the 12th dynasty. Supporting historical characters include the old Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his conniving favorite wife, Tiy; the wife of Akhenaten, Nefertiti; the listless young Tutankhamun (King Tut), who succeeded as Pharaoh after Akhenaten's downfall; and the two common-born successors who were, according to this author, integral parts of the
Ancient Egyptian offering formula Ancient Egyptian offering formula The offering formula, also known under transliterated forms of its incipit as the ḥtp-ḏỉ-nsw or "ḥtp-ḏj-nswt" formula was a conventional dedicatory formula found on ancient Egyptian funerary objects, believed to allow the deceased to partake in offerings presented to the major deities in the name of the king, or in offerings presented directly to the deceased by family members. It is among the most common of all Middle Egyptian texts. Its incipit ḥtp-ḏj-nswt "an offering given by the king" is followed by the name of a deity and a list of offerings given. The offering formula