Toby Alexander Howard Wilkinson, (born 1969) is an English

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

and academic. After studying Egyptology at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, he was Lady Wallis Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

(1993 to 1997) and then a research fellow at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

(1997 to 1999). He became a Fellow of

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

in 2003. He was Deputy Vice Chancellor (External Relations) at the

University of Lincoln The University of Lincoln is a public university, public research university in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the hea ...

from 2017 to 2021, and then Vice Chancellor of

Fiji National University Fiji National University is a public university in Fiji that was formally constituted on 15 February 2010 under the Fiji National University Act 2009. By 2019, student numbers at the University had grown to almost 27,000. While each of the co ...

from January 2021 to December 2021. Since 2022, he has been Fellow for Development at Clare College, Cambridge. Wilkinson was awarded the 2011

Hessell-Tiltman Prize The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit, but not primari ...

for his book ''The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: the History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra''.

Early life

Wilkinson was born in 1969. He read

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

. He graduated with a first class

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree, and was awarded the Thomas Mulvey Egyptology Prize. He completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree at

in 1993, with a

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

titled "Egypt in transition: predynastic-early dynastic chronology and the effects of state formation".

Academic career

Wilkinson's first academic position, from 1993 to 1997, was as Lady Wallis Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at

. From 1997 to 1999, he was Leverhulme Special Research Fellow at the

. After this he decided to change direction from academia. Wilkinson returned to Cambridge and became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

in 2003. He set up the college's development office, focusing on communications, fundraising and external relations, and served as director of development from 2003 to 2010. He is a member of the editorial board of the ''

Journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

of Egyptian History''. He is an honorary research fellow in the Department of Archaeology, University of Durham. In July 2011, he became head of the International Strategy Office at the University of Cambridge. In this position, he developed the university's international strategy and helped facilitate international collaborations. In 2017, he became Deputy Vice Chancellor (External Relations) at the

. In January 2021, he moved to the South Pacific to become

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

. However, in August 2021, it was announced that he was to step down in December 2021 due to "personal family reasons", and he subsequently returned to the United Kingdom. In March 2022, it was announced that he would return to Clare College, Cambridge as Fellow for Development: he took up the appointment on 3 May 2022.He was appointed as the

bursar A bursar (derived from ''wikt:bursa, bursa'', Latin for 'Coin purse, purse') is a professional Administrator of the government, administrator in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usual ...

of Clare college in February 2025.

Honours

In 2011, Wilkinson won the

, awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content, for his book ''The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: the History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra''. On 3 March 2017, Wilkinson was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA). He is also a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

Selected works

* ''State Formation in Egypt: Chronology and Society'' (1996), British Archaeological Reports (BAR) International * ''Early Dynastic Egypt'' (1999), Routledge * ''Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: the Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments'' (2000), Kegan Paul * ''Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries That Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt'' (2003), Thames & Hudson * ''The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'' (2nd edition 2008), Thames & Hudson * ''Lives of the Ancient Egyptians: Pharaohs, Queens, Courtiers and Commoners'' (2007) * (Editor) ''The Egyptian World'' (2009), Routledge * ''The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt'' (2010). Published by Bloomsbury (UK) on 2 August 2010 and by Random House (USA) on 15 March 2011 *''The Nile: A Journey Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present'' (2014), Knopf *''Aristocrats and Archaeologists: An Edwardian Journey on the Nile'' (2017), The American University in Cairo Press *''A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology'' (2020), W. W. Norton *''Tutankhamun's Trumpet: The Story of Ancient Egypt in 100 Objects'' (2022), Pan MacMillan *''Ramesses the Great: Egypt's King of Kings'' (2023), Yale University Press * ''The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra'' (2025), W. W. Norton

References

External links

Toby Wilkinson's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Toby Living people 1969 births English Egyptologists Fellows of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London