Scope
Antiquities from across the former Ottoman territories.
History of the collection
Founded under Osman Hamdi Bey, who also drafted the antiquities legislation intended to end the export of finds. The museum exists because of a policy decision about where excavated material belongs.
Collection notes
The so-called Alexander Sarcophagus from the royal necropolis at Sidon is not Alexander's; it is named from its relief scenes, and its occupant is usually identified as a local ruler.
The cuneiform tablet of the treaty between Ramesses II and Hattusili III is the earliest surviving peace treaty text of which both sides' versions are known — the Egyptian version being carved at Karnak.