The sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II is a 6th-century BC sarcophagus unearthed in 1855 in the "Phoenician Necropolis", a hypogeum complex southeast of the city of Sidon in modern-day Lebanon. The sarcophagus was discovered by a treasure hunter engaged by Antoine-Aimé Péretié, an amateur archaeologist and the chancellor of the French consulate in Beirut. The sarcophagus was sold to Honoré de Luynes, a wealthy French nobleman and scholar, and was subsequently removed to the Louvre after a legal dispute over its ownwership. The Eshmunazar II sarcophagus has two sets of Phoenician inscriptions, one on its lid and the other on its trough, under the sarcophagus head. The inscription was of great significance upon its discovery as it was the first Phoenician language inscription to be discovered in Phoenicia proper, the most detailed Phoenician text ever found anywhere up to that point, and is today the second longest extant Phoenician inscription after the one discovered at Karatepe. Eshmunazar II (Phoenician: , a theophoric name meaning 'Eshmun helps') was a Phoenician King of Sidon and the son of King Tabnit. His sarcophagus was likely carved in Egypt from local amphibolite, and captured as booty by the Sidonians during their participation in Cambyses II's conquest of Egypt in 525 BC. More than a dozen scholars across Europe and the United States rushed to translate the sarcophagus inscriptions. French orientalist Jean-Joseph-Léandre Bargès noted the similarities between the Phoenician language and Hebrew. The translation allowed scholars to identify the king buried inside, his lineage, and construction feats. The inscription warns readers against disturbing Eshmunazar II's place of repose; they also recount that the "Lord of Kings", the Achaemenid king, granted Eshmunazar II the territories of Dor, Joppa, and Dagon in recognition for his services. The discovery led to great enthusiasm for archaeological research in the region, and was the primary catalyst for Ernest Renan's 1860-61 Mission de Phénicie, the first major archaeological mission to Lebanon and Syria. Eshmunazar II Eshmunazar II (Phoenician: , a theophoric name meaning 'Eshmun helps') was a Phoenician King of Sidon (), the son of Tabnit, and a vassal king of the Achaemenid Empire. Tabnit died before the birth of Eshmunazar II, and Amoashtart ruled in the interlude until the birth of her son, then was co-regent until he reached adulthood. Eshmunazar II died at the premature age of 14, whereafter he was succeeded by his cousin Bodashtart. History Phoenician funerary practices