The sarcophagus of Alexander the Great is on exhibit in the main building in the Archaeological Museums in Istanbul. It was found in the Royal Necropolis of Sidon in 1887, and thought to belong to the Sidonian king Abdalonymus. Alexander the Great died in Babylon, and his dead body was sent to Alexandria. His tomb has still not been found. The sarcophagus is named as the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great because of the reliefs depicting Alexander the Great fighting against the Persians.

On the front side of the sarcophagus, Alexander is portrayed on his horse Bucephalus. As he is believed to have descended from Heracles, he is depicted with the Nemea lion. Also, near his ear, there is a ram horn symbolising the Egyptian God Ammon.

On one of the long sides of the sarcophagus, a battle between the Greeks and Persians was depicted. The Greeks are shown wearing capes and short dresses whereas the Persians wear long trousers and head covers called tiara. It is believed that the relief depicts the Battle of Issus Alexander the Great won in 333 BC against the Persians. One of the consequences of the battle was that Abdalonymus, the owner of the sarcophagus became the king of Sidon. After Alexander the Great defeats the Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, he marches into Syria. The people of Sidon, not content with the Persian rule, must have welcomed Alexander the Great, and asked him to choose a king for themselves. Alexander assigns Hephaestion, and Hephaestion decides on Abdalonymos. This must be the reason why Alexander the Great and Hephaestion can be seen on the sarcophagus belonging to Abdalonymos.

On the other long side of the sarcophagus, there are two hunt scenes. After he defeated the Persians, Alexander the Great adopted some aspects of the Persian culture, started wearing Persian style costumes, and got married to a Persian princess. We need to interpret the Persians and Greeks hunting together in this light.