A Legal Struggle in pursuit of the Treasures of Troy: The Ottoman Empire and Schliemann Trial

The issue of smuggling ancient treasures from Turkey and their restoration has been subject to intense discussion for the last 150 years. Since the middle of the 19th century, western archaeologists and antiquarians have worked in locations such as Troy, Ephesus, Pergamum and Hattuşa and have taken archaeological artifacts they unearthed, either legally (as their rights or gifts) or illegally. The Ottoman authorities attempted to take measures to stop the pillaging of antiquities throughout the state. The first political and legal attempt to bring back the ancient treasures smuggled from Turkey is the famous trial of Schliemann, who in the words of Ottoman authorities- stole the socalled “treasures of Priam” from Troy in 1873. The Ottoman representatives and lawyers, however, failed to restore the treasures to Turkey largely because first, the unwillingness of Greek authorities who decided the matter and second Schliemann’s influence in Greece. Finally the Ottoman authorities were forced to accept Schliemann’s fifty thousand franc offer and withdrew the lawsuit.