Ulrich Wilcken

Ulrich Wilcken (December 18, 1862 - December 10, 1944) was a German historian and papyrologist who was a native of Stettin.

Wilcken studied ancient history and Oriental studies in Leipzig, Tübingen and Berlin. He was a disciple of historian Theodor Mommsen, who encouraged Wilcken to take a position as cataloguer of papyri following graduation. Mommsen was also instrumental in Wilcken succeeding Eduard Meyer (1855-1930) as associate professor of ancient history at Breslau in 1889. Afterwards he was a professor at Würzburg (1900), Halle (1903, where he was again a successor to Eduard Meyer), Leipzig (1906) and Bonn (1912), where he succeeded Heinrich Nissen. Later he worked at Munich (1915) and Berlin (1917), where he was successor to Otto Hirschfeld.

Wilcken was a pioneer of Greco-Roman papyrology in Germany and is credited for amassing an extensive archive of Ptolemaic papyrus documents and ostracon.

In 1906 he became a member of the Saxon Society of Sciences, and in 1921, he became a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.

Works

Among his written works was a 1931 book on Alexander the Great, which was later translated into English. Other publications by Wilcken include:

• Observationes ad historiam Aegypti provinciae Romanae depromptae e papyris Graecis Berolinensibus ineditis. Haack, Berlin 1885.
• Griechische Ostraka aus Aegypten und Nubien, Ein Beitrag zur antiken Wirtschaftsgeschichte. (Greek Ostracon of Egypt and Nubia, Contribution of historical antiques) . 2 Bände. Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig 1899. Nachdruck Hakkert, Amsterdam 1970.
• Grundzüge und Chrestomathie der Papyruskunde. Band 1: Historischer Teil (in zwei Hälften). Leipzig 1912. (Band 2: Juristischer Teil von Ludwig Mitteis.)
• Griechische Geschichte im Rahmen der Altertumsgeschichte. (Greek history in the context of ancient history), Oldenbourg, München 1924; 9. Aufl. 1962 (durchgesehen von Günther Klaffenbach).
• Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit (ältere Funde). (Proceedings of Ptolemaic era excavations). 2 Bände. de Gruyter, Berlin 1927, Nachdruck 1977, ISBN 3-11-005711-5.

References

• This article is based on a translation of an article from the French and German Wikipedia.