The battle of the Pyramids, between Napoleon Bonaparte's army and the Mamelukes, took place on July 21, 1798 and is considered by some Historians as one of the most famous battles in history. Others, though, suggest that it was just another battle, or even a massacre of undisciplined savages by the superior French forces. In any case, this battle was a tactical and strategic victory for Bonaparte, which opened the road for the occupation of Lower Egypt. After all, the brief French presence in Egypt, with all its events and results, remains one of the most fascinating periods of the Napoleonic era.

An expedition in Egypt had been already discussed during the reign of Louis XVI in order for the French to acquire one more colony and strengthen their position in the region; besides, Egypt could serve as a base for future expansion and the re-conquest of the French colonies in India, which had been lost to the British some years earlier. This project was forgotten for a while as the revolution had caused numerous internal and external problems. However, it was put forward in 1798 by the Directory as part of the war against England, a member of the European coalition fighting to overthrow the Republic [1]. The man responsible for the revival of the Egyptian project was the French foreign minister, Talleyrand. According to him, "all trade in the Mediterranean must [...]pass into French hands[...] Egypt, a country France always desired, belongs of necessity to the Republic." [2] General Bonaparte, the most successful (therefore dangerous) officer of the Republican Army, shared these views as he was also influenced by his dreams of glory in the East [3]. So, the Directory, putting aside previous thoughts for an invasion in England, decided to acquire wealth, disrupt the British interests in the Orient and get rid of an ambitious general (Bonaparte) at the same time.

In May 1798, 13 battleships, 6 frigates and numerous other vessels carrying 35,000 troops sailed from Toulon with Bonapate in command [4]. Also, 167 artists, scholars and scientists took part in the expedition; the result of their excellent work was published later in 32 volumes under the title Description de l' Egypte [5].

Let's have a look now at Bonaparte's target, a country of 4 million people and not as wealthy as it used to be. Egypt had been part of the Ottoman empire since 1517 but the Turkish pasha had only nominal authority over the country. The true power was in the hands of the Mamelukes, a warlike mounted aristocracy numbering about 10,000-12,000 men. The word "mamluk" means in Arabic "owned" or "bought". The first Mamelukes appeared in 1230, when the sultan of Egypt bought several thousand Circassian boys in order to form an elite corps in his army. Very soon, these Mamelukes took over in Egypt establishing their own "dynasty" until the Turkish occupation in 1517. The Mameluke regime did not disappear though. Egypt was divided by the Turks in 24 provinces, each under a Mameluke bey and his men, and the Turkish authority gradually faded out. Even now, though, the Mamelukes could do everything they wanted as long as they paid the annual tax to the sultan.

Throughout the centuries, the Mamelukes reproduced their system in the following way. Each Mameluke bought boys 8-10 years old mostly from Caucasus but also from Greece, Russia, Nubia and even Germany. He trained them in horsemanship and the art of war and they had to serve him in all aspects. When a Mameluke boy reached manhood he was set free, given a military command, land and at least two servants-at-arms. The Mamelukes fought always on horseback, each one armed with a rifle, several pistols, javelins and a scimitar. Also, they usually carried in their clothes a lot of jewels and coins [6]. So, the Mamelukes lived in luxury, exploiting the peasants, competing among themselves for power, fighting sometimes against the Turks and perpetuating their feudal system.

In the meantime, Bonaparte's armada had sailed for Malta which was occupied on June 11-12 after minimal resistance from the Knights of the island. Then, the fleet continued its voyage undetected by the British fleet of Nelson, and reached off Alexandria on June 30. The city fell after minor fighting and the French advanced southwards to Cairo. On July 13, the first important battle took place at Shubra Khit, where the outnumbered Mameluke forces were easily defeated and Bonaparte continued his advance towards the capital [7].

Map of Lower Egypt with sites referred to in the text

Eighteen miles northwest of Cairo, at the fortified village of Embaba, the main Mameluke army under Murad bey had assembled waiting for the infidels on the left bank of the Nile. The size of Murad's army is estimated at about 6,000 Mamelukes supported by 12,000 servants-at-arms, an unknown number of Bedouins plus the troops of the Turkish pasha (mostly Albanian soldiers) and some artillery pieces. On the right bank of the river there was Ibrahim bey and his men while on the Nile itself there was a flotilla manned by Greek sailors. However, the size of these forces is not really known. On the other hand, the French deployed about 25,000 men in 5 divisions supported by artillery and a few troopers. It is almost certain that the combined Mameluke forces enjoyed numerical superiority but the army of Ibrahim did not finally engage while the Bedouins and most of the infantry --except the Albanians-- were virtually worthless against trained troops. Furthermore, Murad had made a great mistake by placing his troops on the left bank of the Nile, as this saved the French from having to cross the river under fire in order to attack him. Also, Ibrahim bey would have to cross the Nile in order to help if something went wrong for Murad. When Bonaparte was informed about the enemy position and the advantage that the beys had given to him, decided to engage in a decisive battle. At 2:00 a.m. on July 21, he gave order for advance.

After 12 hours of marching under the hot Egyptian sun, the tired, hungry and thirsty (due to inefficiency of logistic support) French soldiers saw the army of the Mamelukes in the positions that Bonaparte wanted it to be, and the Great Pyramids ten miles behind it. Bonaparte, pointing at the Pyramids, said to his men the famous phrase "Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you ".

At 3:00 p.m. the French divisions, commanded by generals Desaix, Dugua, Reynier, Vial and Bon, formed squares 10 men deep having their artillery at the corners and the cavalry along with the baggage in the center. Desaix and Reynier were ordered to penetrate the canter of Murad's line and cut off his retreat while Dugua had to cut off the Mamelukes from the fortifications of Embaba; Bon and Vial would reinforce according to the needs of the moment. Murad though had decided to attack first, believing that the French infantry was no match for his cavalry, and the Mamelukes launched a furious charge mostly against Desaix and Reynier. The most important thing for the French was to keep their solid square formations. If the square was broken in one side things would be very difficult for them and hand to hand combat favored the Mamelukes. The French held their fire until the screaming Mamelukes approached in a distance of a few meters, so that not a single cartridge would be wasted. Dead and wounded men and horses started piling up around the French squares but the Mamelukes continued to attack all over for about an hour despite their heavy losses. A Greek-Mameluke, Hussein, charged into a square and sliced with his scimitar the barrels of the French rifles. He received several wounds but survived and joined the French later. This suicidal bravery of the Mamelukes, though, could not help them against the continuous volley fire and shelling of experienced modern troops. The squares remained unbroken and Dugua managed to cut off the Mamelukes from Embaba while Bon and Vial, fighting and advancing, were ready to storm the fortifications. Realizing that the battle was lost, Murad decided to retreat towards Giza and later withdrew to Middle Egypt.

Nevertheless, the battle was far from over. Those that had already retreated, under French pressure, towards Embaba had to face Bon and Vial. After fierce fighting, the French stormed the fortifications, massacred Mamelukes and Albanians and drove them into the Nile. A lot were drowned, including two beys and the following incident may characterize the French victory: Lieutenant Desernois went out of his square, in Bon's division, and had a duel with a Mameluke which ended when the Lieutenant broke the head of his opponent after he dismounted him.

After another hour, the French emerged fully victorious and started looting the corpses of the Mamelukes, finding many gold coins in their silken clothes. The flotilla and most of the infantry had played unimportant role in the battle while Ibrahim's army did not manage to cross the Nile and reinforce Murad mainly because of a sandstorm. Most historians suggest that Ibrahim did not even try to help Murad. In any case, after the battle, Ibrahim left for Cairo at first and for the Sinai desert later on, along with his treasures and the Turkish pasha. The Mameluke army had been dispersed for ever.

The Mameluke losses are not accurately known. According to the official French report 2,000 Mamelukes were killed but this could probably be the total number of enemy casualties, including infantry and Bedouins. Other French military sources of the period reduce the number of dead Mamelukes to 800-1,200. As for the French, they had 29 dead and 260 severely wounded [8]. During the night, panic prevailed in Cairo; many people left the city, others started looting while the remaining authorities decided to send a delegation to Bonaparte. After some negotiations, Bonaparte entered Cairo on July 24. Lower Egypt was under complete French control for the moment [9].

After the battle, the campaign went through several phases and ended with the withdrawal of the French in September 1801. The most important events of the period are the following. In August 1798, the fleet of Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Abukir and Bonaparte was cut off from Europe. General Desaix managed to gain control of Middle and Upper Egypt during 1798-1799 after an epic campaign of nine months, while Bonaparte invaded Syria and Palestine in the spring of 1799 in order to secure Egypt from the combined British and Turkish armies. He was repulsed though and returned to Egypt where he defeated a Turkish landing attempt at Abukir. After that, he left for France to take over the government. Bonaparte's successors received very little reinforcements and after several defeats by the superior British and Turkish forces, the French evacuated Egypt in September I8O1 [10].

In conclusion, the question remains whether there is anything special and important in the battle of the Pyramids. Well, it was a rather easy job for Bonaparte and his troops to defeat their opponents, despite the difficulties caused by the climate and the problems of logistic support. After all, the Mamelukes seem to have limited knowledge of strategy, lacked discipline and modern fighting methods. The times that individual bravery and medieval-type cavalry charges against infantry counted the most in the battlefield had passed for ever long ago. No doubt, with this battle Bonaparte managed to destroy, disperse or demoralize the main enemy forces, occupy Cairo and secure for a short while his conquest. Very soon though he had to face armies much more numerous and trained than the Mamelukes. In general, the battle does not seem to deserve the title of a famous battle from a strictly military point of view. History is full of similar events. The battle can be considered of having some importance if we approach it differently; if we see it as part of an action that enabled the French scientists to study and revive a lost civilization, to put the foundations of Egyptology which could not have been developed under the Mameluke regime. If we reject this concept, perhaps the most special and attractive feature of the battle of the Pyramids could be this: it was a collision of two different worlds, taking place near the mysterious monuments of a great ancient civilization. After all, not many soldiers throughout the history of warfare had the opportunity to fight while "forty centuries were looking down upon them."

Back to Cover