Career
Detlef Franke received his doctorate at the University of Hamburg in 1983 with his thesis "Altägyptische Verwandtschaftsbezeichnungen im Mittleren Reich" ("The ancient Egyptian kingship in the Middle Kingdom"). He then received his habilitation at the University of Heidelberg in 1994 with his work " Geschichte eines Provinzheiligtums im Mittleren Reich" ("On the sanctuary of Hekaib on Elephantine History of a provincial sanctuary in the Middle Kingdom"). He subsequently taught as a lecturer at this university until his death.
Throughout his career, Detlef Franke researched mainly the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt.
His last project was the creation of a catalog of the stelae of the Middle Kingdom housed in the British Museum.