Spink London, 16th September 2025
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Attempted Conquest of Syria and Egypt
In the wake of the French Revolution, the establishment of the first French Republic and the growing influence of an ambitious military strategist and Commander, Napoleon Bonaparte, France looked to expand its global influence. In particular, Bonaparte sought to diminish the might of the British Empire and it’s valuable access to Asia via Egypt posed a threat to the ambition of French expansion.
Bonaparte and his men landed in Alexandria on the 1st July, 1798 and embarked on what was to be billed as a campaign of Republican zeal and high minded scientific research, Bonaparte having being elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences in May of the same year. Opposed by the combined forces of the Ottomans and the British Royal Navy, Bonaparte progressed through the region defeating the Mamluks at the Battle of Shubra Khit and the subsequent Battle of the Pyramids. Although pushed back by the Nelson led assault on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile, in early 1799, undeterred, Bonaparte proceeded with 13,000 men into Ottoman Damascus (Syria and Galilee).
By February Bonaparte had seized El-Arish, Gaza, Acre and Jaffa (modern Tel Aviv-Jaffa). It was in the case of the latter, Jaffa, that Bonaparte came severely unstuck and was forced back down through Gaza into Egypt in late May. The Siege of Jaffa is remembered in history as one of the most brutal and tragic actions in Bonaparte’s campaign. Between the 3rd and 7th March, Bonaparte’s men embarked on a bloody attack that resulted in around 2,000 Ottoman deaths and over 2,000 prisoners of war. Bonaparte made the then dividing decision to massacre the prisoners of war in an act that would contravene moral practice for invading armies and reveal his unbridled hunger for expansion at any cost.
The French continued in an attempt to assert control over Egypt through 1801 with Jacques-Francois Menou as Commander of the five divisions of the Armée d’Orient following the departure of Bonaparte back to France and the assassination of Kléber. In this time, Menou married the daughter of Egyptian, Zubaidah bint Muhammad El Bawwab, converted to Islam and renamed Abdallah de Menou. It was under Menou that the French forces had rediscovered the Rosetta Stone which was claimed for France under the newly formed Institut d’Égypte and transported back to Cairo, then controlled by the French. After consecutive defeats to the British forces, and the eventual surrender of the French, it is believed that the Rosetta Stone was handed to Britain in return for captured French prisoners of war.
The military action in Egypt and Syria marked Bonaparte’s ambition in a new world order, Britain’s naval power under the command of Nelson, and serves as a timely reminder of the historic, often brutal struggles for power in this contested part of the world.
Gaza twice; once on his way into Syria (February), and once on his retreat (May). This is thought to be the only document signed by Bonaparte in Gaza.
JACQUES-FRANÇOIS MENOU’S PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT – 1800 (28 October) manuscript copy of Menou’s six page proclamation in Arabic over two folios, signed as Abdulla Jacques Menou. Extraordinary contents include:
“Listen, Citizens of Egypt, to what I have to say to you on behalf of the French Nation. You used to endure troubled time, so the French army troops came to improve your situation. You used to live in darkness, so I have received order from the French Nation and its First Counselor Bonaparte to deliver you from your misery.”, “The nobles and the rich used to give you less consideration than to their horses and camels. From now on, the French and I consider you as our brothers.”. Menou “On behalf of the French Nation, servants of Allah and His prophet” swears “by the last hair on my head … that neither I, nor any of the French will endanger your property as long as you pay taxes according to the Sharia and the Law.”
“I also want to warn you that if you are disloyal to the French Republic and follow the path of the villains against us, our revenge will be swift and terrifying. By the dearness of Allah and sacredness of His prophet, all your wrong doing will turn against you. Remember what happened in Cairo, Boulaq, Al Mahal Al Kobra, and in other Egyptian towns. The blood of your fathers, brothers, sones, wives and beloved ones was flowing like rivers; your houses were destroyed; your money was taken and your possessions perished in fire. Why did these bad things happen to you? It’s because you listened to the villains, and they misled you. Let it always remain a good lesson to you.”.
These documents, among other French Revolutionary and Napoleonic War documents, will be offered in our Historical Documents auction on 16th September 2025. For further information please contact Tom Fell, tfell@ spink.com.
By Thomas Fell