Here are some photos of the famous Alexander Sarcophagus at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The sarcophagus was discovered at a necropolis near Sidon in Lebanon in 1887 and was made for Abdalonymus, the king of Sidon, who died in 311 BC. One long side depicts Alexander fighting the Persians at the Battle of Issus. The opposite side depicts Alexander and Macedonians hunting lions, together with Abdalonymus and Persians. The coloured reconstructions show how the sarcophagus was originally painted.
The two photos at the bottom of the post show Ptolemaic troop types, see Nick Sekunda's Montvert book, The Ptolemaic Army for more detail. I have heaps of photos of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum and will post these at some stage. There are actually three separate museums, the Archaeological Museum (in the main building), the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Museum of Islamic Art.
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| Coloured reconstruction |
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| Coloured reconstruction of Alexander |
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| Sidon Stele (3) - The Stele of Salmas |
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| Sidon Stele (7) - The Stele of Dioskourides of Balboura |
