The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the

Eminönü Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...

quarter of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey, near

Gülhane Park Gülhane Park ( tr, Gülhane Parkı, "Rosehouse Park"; from Persian: ''Gulkhāna'', "house of flowers") is a historical urban park in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey; it is adjacent to and on the grounds of the Topkapı Palace. Th ...

and

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...

. The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums: #Archaeological Museum (in the main building) #

Museum of the Ancient Orient The Museum of the Ancient Orient (Turkish language: ''Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi'') is a museum in Istanbul, and part of the group of Istanbul Archaeology Museums, located just in front of the main Archaeology Museum building. The building of the ...

# Museum of Islamic Art (in the Tiled Kiosk). It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history.

Background

The origins of the museum can be traced back to the nearby Hagia Irene Church. After the conquest of Istanbul, the church's location close to the barracks of the Janissaries saw it transformed into a de facto ‘inner arsenal’ for storing their weapons ( ''İç'' ''Cebehane'' in Turkish). By 1726, during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III, it functioned as a full-fledged armory known as ''Dar''-''ül'' ''Esliha'', or “House of Weapons” in Turkish. By the 19th century, the church was also being used to store the varied artifacts amassed by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz (r. 1861–1876) was impressed by the archaeological museums in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(30 June – 10 July 1867),

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(12–23 July 1867) and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(28–30 July 1867) which he visited in the summer of 1867, and ordered a similar archaeological museum to be established in Istanbul. It was then, in 1869, that the church and the works in it were inaugurated by decree under the name of "Müze-i Hümayun" (Ottoman Turkish: Müze-i Hümayun or Turkish: İmparatorluk Müzesi). As such, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum is often considered the “first museum of Turkey”.

History

Due to space constraints, the museum and its collection was transferred to the Tiled Kiosk (Turkish: Çinili Köşk) between 1875 and 1891. Commissioned by Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

in 1472 as a pleasure palace, it is the oldest non-religious Ottoman structure in Istanbul and retains a visible Persian influence in its style and architecture It was first opened to the public in 1953 as the Fatih Museum, to showcase Turkish and Islamic art, and was later incorporated into the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Appointed to the role in 1881, the first

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and founder of the museum was

Osman Hamdi Bey Osman Hamdi Bey (30 December 1842, in Istanbul 24 February 1910) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is regarded as th ...

, Painter, Archeologist and son of Ibrahim Edhem Pasha, an Ottoman Grand Vizier. An accomplished artist, in 2019 his painting “Girl Reading the Quran” sold for 6.3 million British pounds, making it the most expensive Turkish painting at that time. Throughout the 19th century, the existing importance given by the European states to historical artifacts gradually began to be understood by the Ottoman Empire as well. Thereunto arose the issue of establishing a method of regulating these cultural assets. Up to that point in time, 'historical artifacts' in the Ottoman Empire were subject to the common principles of fiqh (Islamic Law). The absence of specific regulations for preserving historical artifacts in effect created a legal void surrounding aspects such as the definition of historical artifacts, along with where and how they would be preserved. This changed in 1869, when the first set of laws were enacted that outlined the regulation of antiquities. Modern conservation experts refer to this as the first 'protection law' issued by the Ottoman State, focusing on permissions to carry out excavations and related artifact management. According to this law, the owner of land on which an excavation was conducted could claim possession of the finds discovered. While it was illegal to take such relics abroad, they could be bought and sold within domestic borders and the state held the principal right to buy them. With this imperial decree for protecting cultural goods now being enforced, provincial governors throughout the Ottoman Empire would send in found artefacts to the capital city, thus further growing the collection. With subsequent major finds being discovered shortly thereafter (e.g. excavation of the necropolis of King Sidon in modern-day Lebanon), it soon became clear that a purpose-built building large enough to house the growing museum collection was required. The construction of the main building was started by Hamdi Bey in 1881, with its official opening held on June 13, 1891. The architect was

Alexander Vallaury Alexander Vallaury (1850–1921) was a French- Ottoman architect, who founded architectural education and lectured in the School of Fine Arts in Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire. Biography Vallaury was born in 1850 into a Levantine fam ...

(who also designed the

Pera Palace Hotel The Pera Palace Hotel ( tr, Pera Palas Oteli) is a historic special category hotel and museum hotel located in the Beyoğlu (Pera) district in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built in 1892 for the purpose of hosting the passengers of the Orient Expr ...

in Istanbul). The facade of the building was inspired by the

Alexander Sarcophagus The Alexander Sarcophagus is a late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the necropolis near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with bas-relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological narratives. The ...

and Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, both housed inside the museum. The inscription in Ottoman Turkish on the pediments of the gates at the entrance of the museum says “Asar-ı Atika Müzesi” (Museum of Antiquities). The tughra on the inscription belongs to Sultan Abdulhamid II. The building is considered by many as the preeminent example of neoclassical style architecture in Istanbul. Upon its 100th anniversary in 1991, the museum received the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

Museum Award, particularly for the renovations made to the lower floor halls in the main building and the new displays in the other buildings. The

was commissioned by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883 as a fine arts school. Then it was reorganised as a museum, which opened in 1935. It was closed to visitors in 1963, and reopened in 1974 after restoration works on the interior. Collections are relating to Anatolian (Early Bronze Age, Assyrian Colony Period, Hittite, Neo-Hittite, Urartian, Aramean), Mesopotamian, Egyptian, İran, and Ancient Arabian. Egyptian collection is c.1200 items that in all kinds of Egyptian Art artifacts. Most of them had come from Dra Abu al Nagar excavations near Karnak excavated by Gautier in 1891. Others are gifts of Hıdivs of Egypt and Ottoman officers.

Gallery

Image:Si427o.jpg, Si.427 obverse, dates from the

Old Babylonian period The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...

between 1900 and 1600 BCE. Discovered in the late 19th century in what is now

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Image:Alexander_Sarcophagus,_Istanbul_Archaeological_Museums_2020.jpg, The

, found at the Necropolis of

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

Image:Treaty of Kadesh.jpg, The

Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, also known as the Eternal Treaty or the Silver Treaty, is the only Ancient Near Eastern treaty for which the versions of both sides have survived. It is also the earliest known surviving peace treaty. It is so ...

Image:Lycian sarcophagus.jpg,

Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon The Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon is a sarcophagus discovered in the Ayaa necropolis, in Sidon, Lebanon. It is made of Parian marble, and resembles the shapes of ogival Lycian tombs, hence its name. It is now located in the Istanbul Archaeological M ...

Parian marble Parian marble is a fine-grained semi translucent pure-white and entirely flawless marble quarried during the classical era on the Greek island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. It was highly prized by ancient Greeks for making sculptures. Some of the ...

from the

necropolis Image:Pediment Temple.JPG, Pediment and shafts of a temple Image:View in the Collection of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.jpg,

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

exhibition of the museum Image:Hagios Georgios Monastery fragments Istanbul (2).JPG, Icon with relief

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

at prayer Image:Statue of emperor Valentinian II.JPG, Statue of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Valentinian II Valentinian II ( la, Valentinianus; 37115 May 392) was a Roman emperor in the western part of the Roman empire between AD 375 and 392. He was at first junior co-ruler of his brother, was then sidelined by a usurper, and only after 388 sole rule ...

Image:Istanbul - Museo archeol. - Alessandro Magno (firmata Menas) - sec. III a.C. - da Magnesia - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006 01.jpg, Statue of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

Image:Istanbul - Museo archeol. - Puzur Ishtar, governatore di Mari (fine 3o mill aC) - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg, Puzur Ishtar, governor of Mari Image:Istanbul - Museo archeol. - Rilievo da porta di Ishtar a Babilonia (604-562 a.C.) - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg, glazed brick panel from way to

Ishtar Gate The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part ...

Image:Istanbul - Museo archeologico - Sarcofagi imperiali bizantini - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg, Porphyry sarcophagi of

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

s Image:Tabnit sarcophagus.jpg,

Tabnit sarcophagus The Tabnit sarcophagus is the sarcophagus of the Phoenician King of Sidon Tabnit I (ruled c. 549–539 BC), the father of King Eshmunazar II. The sarcophagus is decorated with two separate and unrelated inscriptions – one in Egyptian hierogly ...

Diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...

from the

necropolis

Collection

The ornate Alexander Sarcophagus, once believed to be prepared for

, is among the most famous pieces of ancient art in the museum. The museum has a large collection of Turkish,

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

artifacts, many gathered from the vast former territories of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The most prominent artifacts exhibited in the museum include: *Four sarcophagi from the Ayaa necropolis in

: **The

, found in the necropolis of

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

of the Crying Women (Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women), also found in Sidon (in fact, the sarcophagus of Strato I, king of Sidon) **The

and the Satrap sarcophagus. **The

*Glazed tile images from the

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

*Statues from ancient antiquity until the end of the

Roman Era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, from

Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Hellenistic_period, Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

and

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

*Statue of an

Ephebos ''Ephebos'' (ἔφηβος) (often in the plural ''epheboi''), also anglicised as ''ephebe'' (plural: ''ephebes'') or archaically ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi''), is a Greek term for a male adolescent, or for a social status reserved for that ...

*Statue of

Apollo Citharoedus An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of Apollo with a cithara (lyre). Among the best-known examples is the '' Apollo Citharoedus'' of the Vatican Museums, a 2nd-century AD colossal marble statue by an unknown (pr ...

from

*Parts of statues from the Temple of Zeus found at

Bergama Bergama is a populous district, as well as the center city of the same district, in İzmir Province in western Turkey. By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is larg ...

*A marble lion from the

Mausoleum of Mausolus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

, one of the few pieces remaining in Turkey *Snake's head from the Serpentine Column erected in the

Hippodrome of Constantinople Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...

*Mother-Goddess

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...

and votive stelai *Busts of

and

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

*Fragments from the temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

Assos Assos (; grc-gre, Ἄσσος, la, Assus) is a beautiful small and historically important town on the Aegean coast in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale province, Turkey. It is on the southern side of Biga Peninsula (better known by its anc ...

*The

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

exhibit *800,000 Ottoman coins, seals, decorations and medals *One tablet with the oldest known law-collection, the laws of king Ur-Nammu *Two of the three tablets of the

(1258

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

), signed between

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

of Egypt and

Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Labarna II) *Ḫattušili II *Ḫattušili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Ḫattušili I (Labarn ...

of the Hittite Empire. It is the oldest known peace treaty in the world, and a giant poster of these tablets containing the treaty is on the wall of the

United Nations Headquarters The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. *The

Saba'a Stele The Saba'a Stele, also known as the Saba'a Inscription, is a boundary stone inscription of the reign of Adad-nirari III (811 to 783 BC) discovered in 1905 in two pieces in Saba'a, Sanjak of Zor, south of the Sinjar Mountains in modern Syria. It ...

of the

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n king

Adad-nirari III Adad-nirari III (also Adad-narari) was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Note that this assumes that the longer version of the Assyrian Eponym List, which has an additional eponym for Adad-nirari III, is the correct one. For the shorter eponym ...

*Tablet archive containing some 75,000 documents with

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...

inscriptions, including one containing the oldest known love poem, the Istanbul #2461 tablet. *Artifacts from the early civilizations of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

* Siloam inscription, which made headlines in July 2007 when Israel asked for its return *

Gezer calendar The Gezer calendar is a small limestone tablet with an early Canaanite inscription discovered in 1908 by Irish archaeologist R. A. Stewart Macalister in the ancient city of Gezer, 20 miles west of Jerusalem. It is commonly dated to the 10th ce ...

Balawat gates The Balawat Gates are three sets of decorated bronze bands that had adorned the main doors of several buildings at Balawat (ancient Imgur-Enlil), dating to the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 BC) and Shalmaneser III (r. 859–824 BC). Th ...

(one gate) * Samaria ostraca

References

External links