Istanbul Archaeology Museums

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums (Turkish: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. Founded in 1891 as the central archaeological museum of the Ottoman Empire, the complex houses over one million objects spanning nearly all periods and civilizations in world history, making it the largest and most significant archaeological museum in Turkey. The institution comprises three distinct museums: the Archaeological Museum in the main building, the Museum of the Ancient Orient, and the Museum of Islamic Art housed in the Tiled Kiosk (Çinili Köşk).

The origins of the collection trace back to 1846, when Artillery General Ahmed Fethi Paşa established the first collection of antiquities in the Hagia Irene Church, which had previously served as a military depot. The archaeological collection was officially inaugurated in 1869 as the Imperial Museum (Müze-i Hümayun) under decree, making it the first museum of Turkey. Sultan Abdülaziz, inspired by archaeological museums he visited in Paris, London, and Vienna in 1867, ordered its establishment. The Englishman Edward Goold became its first director, followed by Philipp Anton Dethier from 1872 to 1881. In 1881, Osman Hamdi Bey, painter and archaeologist, was appointed director and that same year began construction of the main building, which officially opened on June 13, 1891. Due to space constraints, the collection had been transferred to the Tiled Kiosk between 1875 and 1891. The museum was extended westward in 1903 and eastward in 1908, achieving its present appearance. A six-story annex was added in the 1970s. The museum received the European Council Museum Award in 1991, and after extensive restoration beginning in 2012, most of the museum reopened in summer 2022, though the 1970s annex remains closed.

The collections encompass approximately 15,000 archaeological pieces from Mesopotamia, Assyrian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Egyptian antiquity, as well as prehistoric, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Asia Minor, and pre-Islamic and Islamic Arab culture. The main building's first floor alone contains 800,000 coins and 70,000 books. The Museum of the Ancient Orient holds collections relating to Anatolian history including the Early Bronze Age, Assyrian Colony Period, Hittite, Neo-Hittite, Urartian, Aramean, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iranian, Palestinian, and Ancient Arabian cultures. Its Egyptian collection comprises approximately 1,200 items, while Mesopotamian artifacts number around 10,000 pieces from excavations at Assur, Nippur, Lagash, Girsu, Uruk, Shurupak, Sippar, and Nineveh. Palestinian objects come from Tell Gezer, Tell Zakarijah, Tell el-Hesi, Tell Taannek, Tell Sandahanna, Megiddo, and Jericho excavations conducted in Ottoman times.

The most celebrated pieces are the finds from the royal necropolis of Sidon, excavated by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1887 in modern-day Lebanon. These include the Alexander Sarcophagus, a remarkably preserved Hellenistic marble sarcophagus from the late 4th century BCE adorned with bas-reliefs depicting Alexander and historical and mythological narratives; the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, a masterpiece of Hellenistic art believed to be the tomb of Straton, King of Sidon; the Satrap Sarcophagus; the Lycian Sarcophagus; and the Sarcophagus of Tabnit, a Phoenician king of Sidon. Other significant objects include the Sidamara Sarcophagus from the 3rd century CE, a 4th century BCE lioness from the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in Room 13, and a colossal statue of Zeus in Room 18. The upper floor displays Cypriot bronzes, Greek vases, coins, and finds from Troy. The museum also holds a fragment of the Serpent Column head from the Hippodrome in central Istanbul. The Museum of the Ancient Orient preserves cuneiform documents including tablets with the laws of King Ur-Nammu and the Treaty of Kadesh, the oldest preserved international peace treaty, concluded between Pharaoh Ramesses II and the Hittite king in 1269 BCE. It also holds the Siloam inscription, whose return to Jerusalem has been requested by Israel without success.

The main building, designed by architect Alexander Vallaury in neoclassical style, is considered the preeminent example of neoclassical architecture in Istanbul. Its facade was inspired by the Alexander Sarcophagus and the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women, both housed within the museum. The Ottoman Turkish inscription on the pediments of the entrance gates reads "Asar-ı Atika Müzesi" (Museum of Antiquities), bearing the tughra of Sultan Abdulhamid II. The building contains twenty exhibition rooms on the ground floor and sixteen additional rooms on the upper floor displaying smaller objects and sculptures from the Middle Ages and modern times. The Museum of the Ancient Orient occupies a building constructed beginning in 1883 as a fine arts school, which was reorganized and opened as a museum in 1935. The Tiled Kiosk, commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II in 1472 as a pleasure palace, is the oldest non-religious Ottoman structure in Istanbul, retaining visible Persian influence in its style and architecture. It served as the Imperial Museum from 1875 to 1891, was 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.

The Istanbul Archaeology Museums are situated in the historic peninsula of Istanbul, within the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and surrounded by Gülhane Park, in the Eminönü district at the southeastern extremity of the European part of the city. The museum is accessible on foot from the first courtyard of Topkapı Palace. The complex is open to the public, though it is closed on Mondays. After restoration work that began in 2012, the majority of the museum reopened in summer 2022, while the six-story annex from the 1970s remains closed. The museum continues to function under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, serving as both a public institution and an active archaeological research center conducting excavations such as at the military manufacturing school site in Tophane.