TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Battle · 1798
The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition to Ottoman-held Egypt and Syria led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a scientific and administrative presence in Egypt. Napoleon also sought to sever Britain's connection to its colonial holdings in India, with the long-term ambition of challenging British dominance in the region. Departing from Toulon in May 1798, Napoleon’s fleet, comprising around 36,000 troops, landed in Alexandria on 28 June. Advancing rapidly, he defeated the ruling Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids, securing control of Cairo and establishing a French administration.
| Date | 28 June 1798 – 2 September 1801, (3 years, 2 months and 5 days) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ottoman Egypt |
| Result | Anglo-Ottoman victory · Muhammad Ali's rise to power, Egypt becomes de facto independent from the Ottoman Empire |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire Egypt Mamluks Algiers Great Britain (1798–1800) United Kingdom (1801) Armée des Émigrés Irregular and auxiliary forces: Nablus tribesmen Bedouin tribesmen (1798–1799, 1801) Albanian bashi-bazouks | French Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Selim III Şehzade Mahmud Yusuf Pasha Mustafa Pasha Muhammad Ali Pasha Jezzar Pasha Abdullah Pasha Murad Bey Ibrahim Bey Abdallah Bey Haim Farhi Ralph Abercromby (DOW) Gordon Drummond Samuel Graham John Moore George Ramsay John Hely-Hutchinson William Beresford Horatio Nelson (WIA) Sidney Smith Antoine de Phélippeaux † Raïs Hamidou | Napoleon Bonaparte Eugène de Beauharnais Jean-Baptiste Bessières Louis André Bon † Louis Bonaparte Brueys d'Aigalliers † Maximilian Caffarelli (DOW) Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis Desaix (WIA) Cousin de Dommartin (DOW) Charles Dugua Thomas Dumas (WIA) Géraud Duroc Martin Dupuy Louis Friant Jean-Andoche Junot Jean Kléber Jean Lannes (WIA) Charles-Louis Lasalle Jacques Menou Joachim Murat Jean-Baptiste Perrée Jean Rapp (WIA) Jean Reynier René Savary Horace Sébastiani Joseph Sulkowski (DOW) Jean-Antoine Verdier Pierre-Charles Villeneuve |
| Strength | 220,000 soldiers 30,000 soldiers | 35,000–40,000 soldiers 10,000 sailors |
| Casualties | Ottoman Empire: 50,000 killed and wounded 15,000 captured Total: 65,000 | France: 15,000 killed and wounded 23,500 captured Total: 38,500 |
Took place during the reign of Selim III (1789–1807). Selim III
Open the reign of Selim III on the mapText: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.