French invasion of Egypt and Syria
Napoleon Bonaparte departed from Toulon in May 1798 with a fleet of around 36,000 troops. His goal was to undermine British trade routes and expand French influence into the eastern Mediterranean. The campaign aimed to sever Britain's connection to its colonial holdings in India. Napoleon sought to challenge British dominance in the region by establishing a scientific and administrative presence in Egypt. France had been an ally of the Ottoman Sultan since 1536. This alliance provided a formal reason for intervention when Ismail Bey died in 1791. Rivals Ibrahim Bey and Murad Bey took power and began actions against French merchants. Exposed to repression, these merchants asked for French intervention. The decision combined geostrategic, economic, political, and personal interests. In August 1797, Napoleon wrote to the Directory stating that capturing Egypt would give control of the Red Sea. He hoped to force Great Britain to make concessions. A successful invasion could be followed by a direct attack on British territory in India. After France and Spain allied in 1796, the Royal Navy withdrew from the Mediterranean. Napoleon also wished to strengthen French trade interests over those of Great Britain in the Middle East. He hoped to join forces with Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore in India.
An unusual aspect of the expedition was the inclusion of 167 scientists and scholars assigned to the invading force. These included engineers, artists, geologists, mathematicians, chemists, physicists, naturalists, botanists, and an engineer named Nicolas-Jacques Conté. They founded the Institut d'Égypte with the aim of propagating Enlightenment values through interdisciplinary work. A scientific review titled Décade égyptienne was created under their direction. The group worked prodigiously and some discoveries were not finally cataloged until the 1820s. Pierre-François Bouchard discovered the Rosetta Stone in July 1799. Many antiquities discovered by the French were signed over to the British at the end of the campaign. Their research gave rise to the four-volume Mémoires sur l'Égypte published from 1798 to 1801. A subsequent comprehensive text called Description de l'Égypte was published on Napoleon's orders between 1809 and 1821. Publications such as these gave rise to fascination with Ancient Egyptian culture and the birth of Egyptology in Europe. Scientists also tested methods in hot air ballooning while in Egypt. Inventor Nicolas-Jacques Conté and mathematician Gaspard Monge built a hot air balloon from paper colored red, white, and blue. They launched it above Azbakiyya Square but it soon fell causing panic among spectators.
In October 1798, discontent against the French led to an uprising by the people of Cairo. While Bonaparte was in Old Cairo, the city's population began spreading weapons around to one another. Fortifying strongpoints especially at the Al-Azhar Mosque, they swore by the Prophet to exterminate all Frenchmen they met. Crowds rallied at the city gates to keep out Bonaparte who was repulsed and forced to take a detour via the Boulaq gate. The French responded by setting up cannons in the Citadel and firing them at areas containing rebel forces. During the night, French soldiers advanced around Cairo and destroyed barricades and fortifications. At the end of the revolt 5,000 to 6,000 Cairenes were dead or wounded. On the 14th of June 1800, a Syrian student named Suleiman al-Halabi assassinated Kléber with a dagger in his garden in Cairo. Command passed to General Menou who held command until August 1801. The Anglo-Ottomans commenced their land offensive and the French were defeated by the British in the Battle of Alexandria on March 21. Finally besieged in Alexandria from the 17th of August to the 2nd of September, Menou eventually capitulated to the British. Under terms of his capitulation, the British allowed the French army to be repatriated in British ships. Menou also signed over all Egyptian antiquities such as the Rosetta Stone which the French had collected.
The campaign demonstrated military technological and organizational superiority of Western European powers to the Middle East. This led to profound social changes in the region including introduction of Western inventions like the printing press. Ideas such as liberalism and incipient nationalism reached the Middle East eventually leading to establishment of Egyptian independence under Muhammad Ali Pasha. To modernist historians the French arrival marks the start of the modern Middle East. Napoleon's destruction of conventional Mamluk soldiers at the Battle of the Pyramids served as a reminder for modernizing Arab monarchs to implement wide-ranging military reforms. While the Islamic scholar Al-Jabarti was critical of Napoleon he preferred them over the Ottomans. Jabarti characterized Ottoman rule as an un-Islamic system marked by corruption backwardness and summary executions. He appreciated what they perceived as fair nature of trials in the French judicial system. The campaign ultimately ended in failure with 15,000 French troops killed in action and another 15,000 dying from disease. Napoleon's reputation remained intact due to expert propaganda such as his Courrier de l'Égypte set up to support morale. Such propaganda spread back to France where news of defeats were suppressed. Defeats could be blamed on the now-assassinated Kléber leaving Napoleon free from blame. This opened his way to power and he profited from his reputation by engineering becoming First Consul in November 1799.
Common questions
When did Napoleon Bonaparte depart from Toulon for the French invasion of Egypt and Syria?
Napoleon Bonaparte departed from Toulon in May 1798 with a fleet of around 36,000 troops. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes and expand French influence into the eastern Mediterranean.
What happened during the Battle of the Pyramids in the French invasion of Egypt and Syria?
On the 20th of July, the French army advanced as far as Umm Dinar, 29 kilometers north of Cairo. An Egyptian force under Murad Bey gathered on the west bank of the Nile at Imbaba where the French fended off attacks and counter-attacked putting the Mamluks to flight.
Who discovered the Rosetta Stone during the French expedition to Egypt?
Pierre-François Bouchard discovered the Rosetta Stone in July 1799 while working as part of the scientific team included in the invading force. Many antiquities discovered by the French were signed over to the British at the end of the campaign.
How many scientists participated in the French invasion of Egypt and Syria?
An unusual aspect of the expedition was the inclusion of 167 scientists and scholars assigned to the invading force. These included engineers artists geologists mathematicians chemists physicists naturalists botanists and an engineer named Nicolas-Jacques Conté.
When did the French surrender in Alexandria during the French invasion of Egypt and Syria?
By March 1801 the French surrendered at Alexandria after being besieged for weeks. Menou eventually capitulated to the British from the 17th of August to the 2nd of September under terms that allowed the French army to be repatriated in British ships.