View source for Battle of the Pyramids

{{Short description|1798 battle during the French invasion of Egypt}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of the Pyramids|
| partof            = the [[French Campaign in Egypt and Syria]] during the [[War of the Second Coalition]]
| image             = Louis-François Baron Lejeune 001.jpg
| image_size        = 300
| caption           = ''The Battle of the Pyramids''<br />by [[Louis-François Lejeune]]
| map_type          = Lower Egypt#Mediterranean
| map_relief        = 1
| map_size          = 290
| date              = 21 July 1798
| place             = [[Imbaba|Embabeh]], [[Egypt Eyalet|Egypt]]<br />[[Ottoman Empire]]
| coordinates       = {{coord|30|5|N|31|12|E|type:event|display=inline}}
| result            = French victory
| combatant1        = {{flagdeco|First French Republic}} [[First French Republic|French Republic]]
| combatant2        = {{ubl 
|{{flag|Ottoman Empire|1793}}
}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mameluks.svg}} [[Mamluks]]{{sfn | Roberts | 2015 | p=132}}{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}{{sfn | Niox | 1887 | p=110}}
*Arab irregulars{{sfn | Roberts | 2015 | p=132}}{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}{{sfn | Niox | 1887 | p=110}}
| commander1        = {{Plainlist}}
*{{flagdeco|French First Republic}} [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]
*{{flagdeco|French First Republic}} [[Louis Desaix]]
*{{flagdeco|French First Republic}} [[Louis André Bon|Louis Bon]]
*{{flagdeco|French First Republic}} [[Honoré Vial]]
*{{flagdeco|French First Republic}} [[Jean Reynier]]
*{{flagicon|First French Republic}} [[Thomas-Alexandre Dumas]]
{{Endplainlist}}
| commander2        = {{Plainlist}} 
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mameluks.svg}} [[Murad Bey]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mameluks.svg}} [[Ibrahim Bey (Mamluk)|Ibrahim Bey]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Mameluks.svg}} Ayyub Bey{{KIA}}
{{Endplainlist}}
| strength1         = 25,000{{efn|name=fn1|Historian [[David G. Chandler|David Chandler]] asserts that Bonaparte's 25,000-strong army outnumbered Murad's 6,000 Mamluks and 15,000 infantry,{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}} while [[Andrew Roberts (historian)|Andrew Roberts]] indicates a force of 6,000 Mamluks and 54,000 Arab irregulars against 20,000 French,{{sfn | Roberts | 2015 | p=132}} military historian [[Gustave Léon Niox]] gives a total of 50,000 Mamluks and irregulars.{{sfn | Niox | 1887 | p=110}} According to [[Paul Strathern]] author of ''Napoleon in Egypt'', “There is no denying that the combined Egyptian force was superior in number but the caliber of some of its conscripted men cannot be compared with that of the French”{{sfn | Strathern | 2008 | p=119}}}}
----
*3,000 cavalry
*17,000 infantry
| strength2         = 21,000–35,000{{efn|name=fn1}}
----
*6,000+ cavalry 
*15,000–54,000 infantry{{efn|name=fn1}}
| casualties1       = 289 killed or wounded{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=226}}
| casualties2       = 10,000 killed or wounded{{sfn | Strathern | 2008 | p=128}}{{sfn | Niox | 1887 | p=110}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Egypt-Syria}}
}}
{{OSM Location map
| coord = {{coord|33|25}}
|  zoom = 4
|   float = right
|    nolabels = 1
|     width = 304
|     height = 160
| title = [[War of the Second Coalition]]:<br>[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|Egypt and Syria]]
| caption = {{legend|black|current battle}}{{legend|maroon|Napoleon in command till 23 August 1799}}

| shapeD = n-circle
| shape-colorD = maroon
| shape-outlineD = white
| label-colorD = maroon
| label-sizeD = 12
| label-posD = left
| label-offset-xD = 0
| label-offset-yD = 0

| label1 = Malta
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|35.88|14.45}}
| mark-title1 = [[French invasion of Malta]] from 10 to 12 June 1798
| label-pos1 = right

| label2 = Alexandria
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|31.2|29.9}}
| mark-title2 = [[Battle of the Nile]] from 1 to 3 August 1798<br>[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria#Bonaparte leaves Egypt|Napoleon's return to France]] from 23 August to 9 October 1799<br>[[Siege of Alexandria (1801)]] from 17 August to 2 September 1801

| label3 = Cairo
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|30.04|31.25}}
| mark-title3 = Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July 1798<br>[[Revolt of Cairo]] from 21 to 22 October 1798<br>[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria#Bonaparte leaves Egypt|Napoleon's return to France]]<br>[[Siege of Cairo]] from May to June 1801
| shape-color3 = black
| label-color3 = black

| label4 = Jaffa
| mark-coord4 = {{coord|32.05|34.77}}
| mark-title4 = [[Siege of Jaffa]] from 3 to 7 March 1799

| label5 =
| mark-coord5 = {{coord|32.92|35.07}}
| mark-title5 = [[Siege of Acre (1799)]] from 20 March to 21 May 1799

| label6 =
| mark-coord6 = {{coord|32.61|35.33}}
| mark-title6 = [[Battle of Mount Tabor (1799)]] on 16 April 1799
}}

The '''Battle of the Pyramids''' ({{Langx|fr|Bataille des Pyramides}}), also known as the '''Battle of Embabeh''' ({{Lang|fr|bataille d'Embabech}}), was a major engagement fought on 21 July 1798, during the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|French invasion of Egypt]]. The battle took place near the village of [[Imbaba]], across the [[Nile|Nile River]] from [[Cairo]], but was named by Napoleon after the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] visible nearly nine miles away.

After capturing Alexandria and crossing the desert, the [[First French Republic|French]] army, led by General [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]], scored a decisive victory against the main army of the local [[Mamluk]] rulers, wiping out almost the entire Ottoman army located in Egypt. It was the first battle where Bonaparte personally devised and employed the [[Infantry square|divisional square]] tactic to great effect. The deployment of the French brigades into these massive rectangular formations repeatedly threw back multiple [[cavalry charge]]s of the Mamluks.

The victory effectively sealed the French conquest of Egypt as [[Murad Bey]] salvaged the remnants of his army, chaotically fleeing to [[Upper Egypt]]. French casualties amounted to roughly 300, but Ottoman and Mamluk casualties soared to approximately 10,000. Napoleon entered [[Cairo]] after the battle and created a new local administration under his supervision. The campaign formed part of a great global rivalry between France and Britain; the French objective was to establish a base from which to continue its campaign against [[British India]]. After the French fleet was destroyed by [[Horatio Nelson]] at the [[Battle of the Nile]], Bonaparte marched through the Levant until his advance was stalled by Anglo-Turkish forces at [[Siege of Acre (1799)|Acre]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Addington |first1=Larry |title=The patterns of war since the 18th century |date=1994 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0253301321 |page=25}}</ref>

==Prelude==
After landing in Ottoman-controlled Egypt and capturing [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]] on 2 July 1798, the French army led by General Bonaparte marched down the desert toward [[Cairo, Egypt|Cairo]]. They met the forces of the ruling [[Mamluks]] {{convert|9|mi|km|abbr=off|spell=in}} from the Pyramids and only {{convert|4|mi|km|abbr=off|spell=in}} from Cairo.{{efn|Engulfed by the west bank portion of the city of Cairo, nothing remains of the battlefield today.}} The Mamluk forces were commanded by two [[Georgians|Georgian]] mamluks, [[Murad Bey]] and [[Ibrahim Bey (Mamluk)|Ibrahim Bey]], and had a force of powerful and highly trained [[cavalry]] at their command as well as [[Fellah#In Egypt|fellahin]] [[militia]] acting as infantry.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}
On 13 July after French scouts located Murad's encampment, Bonaparte ordered an advance toward the enemy's forces, engaging them during the brief [[The Battle of Chobrakit|battle of Chobrakit]]. After the destruction of their flagship by French field artillery, the Mamluks retreated. The skirmish ended in a minor French victory.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}

==Battle==
On 21 July, after marching all night, the French caught up with the Ottoman force in the vicinity of the village of Embabeh. After one hour's rest, the men were ordered to get ready for battle.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}} Bonaparte ordered an advance on Murad's army with each of the five divisions of his army organised into hollow rectangles with cavalry and baggage at the center and cannon at the corners. Bonaparte exhorted his troops to remain steady and keep their ranks closed up when facing the Mameluke cavalry.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}
{{Blockquote|text=“Soldiers! You came to this country to save the inhabitants from barbarism, to bring civilisation to the Orient and subtract this beautiful part of the world from the domination of England. From the top of those pyramids, forty centuries are contemplating you”|author=General Bonaparte pre-battle Order of the Day|source={{sfn | Roberts | 2015 | p=132}}}}

The French divisions advanced south in echelon, with the right flank leading and the left flank protected by the [[Nile River|Nile]]. From right to left, Bonaparte posted the divisions of [[Louis Charles Antoine Desaix]], [[Jean Reynier|Jean-Louis-Ébénézer Reynier]], [[Charles Dugua|Charles-François-Joseph Dugua]], [[Honoré Vial]] and [[Louis André Bon]]. In addition, Desaix sent a small detachment to occupy the nearby village of Biktil, just to the west. Murad anchored his right flank on the Nile at the village of Embabeh, which was fortified and held with infantry and some ancient cannons, his left flank was anchored on the village of Biktil, where the rest of his cannons were placed there to protect from French flanking movements. His Mamluk cavalry deployed in the center, between these villages. The other Mamluk army, commanded by Ibrahim Bey, stood across the Nile and watched the events unfold, unable to cross and intervene. Murad Bey's original plan was to repulse the French attacks on his fortified flanks, and then attack their demoralized center.

The Mamluks, being a force that was still largely feudal and medieval in all of its practical characteristics, including its military, were completely at odds with the modern standing French army. The majority of the Egyptian army was drafted Fellahin (peasants), its mainstay was the Mamluk horse. An episode during the battle that demonstrated the rift between the armies occurred when a Mamluk rider, dressed in heavy armour, [[Mubarizun|rode to within only a few steps from the French lines and demanded a duel]]. The French responded with gunfire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armoush |first=Muhammad |title=Modern contemplations of the French campaign |year=2018}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=....Then the column that came to fight Murad Bey was divided according to methods known to them (The French) in warfare, and it approached the barricades, so that it surrounded the soldiers from behind and in front of it, and its drums sounded, and it sent its successive guns and cannons, and the wind became fiercer, and the smoke became dark, and the world was darkened by the smoke of gunpowder and the dust of the wind. For people it seemed that the earth shook and the sky fell on it.|author=|title=ʻAbd al-Rah̤mān al-Jabartī's History of Egypt}}{{full citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Napoleon ordered Desaix's square to advance to the right (towards the Egyptian center) and the rest of his squares to the left (in the direction of Embebeh), Murad Bey saw an opportunity and ordered his [[wikt:defterdar|defterdar]] Ayyub Bey to attack the French squares, at about 15:30, the Mamluk cavalry hurled itself at the French without warning. The divisional squares of Desaix, Reynier and Dugua held firm and repelled the horsemen with point-blank musket and artillery fire. Unable to make an impression on the French formations, some of the frustrated Mamluks rode off to attack Desaix's detached force. This was also a failure. Meanwhile, nearer the river, Bon's division deployed into attack columns and charged Embabeh. Breaking into the village, the French routed the garrison. Trapped against the river, many of the Mamluks and infantry tried to swim to safety, and hundreds drowned. The French reported a loss of 29 killed and 260 wounded. Murad's losses were far heavier, perhaps as many as 10,000 including 3,000 of the elite Mamluk cavalry, and his defterdar Ayyub Bey was also killed in the battle.{{sfn|Strathern|2008|p=128}} Murad Bey himself was also wounded in the cheek with a hit from a saber.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Legat |first=Michel |title=With Bonaparte in the East: 1798–1799, testimonies. |year=2012 |isbn=978-2-7587-0082-1 |page=224|publisher=Giovanangeli }}</ref> Murad escaped to [[Upper Egypt]] with his 3,000 surviving cavalry, where he carried out an active [[guerrilla]] campaign before being defeated by Desaix in late 1799.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Aftermath==
Upon hearing news of the defeat of their legendary cavalry, the waiting Mamluk armies in Cairo dispersed to [[Syria]], Bonaparte entered the conquered capital of Egypt on 24 July.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}} On 11 August French forces caught up with Ibrahim Bey inflicting on him a crushing defeat at Salalieh.{{sfn | Chandler | 2009 | p=224}}

After the Battle of Pyramids, Napoleon instituted French administration in [[Cairo]] and suppressed the subsequent rebellions violently. Although Napoleon tried to co-opt the local Egyptian ''[[Ulama|ulema]]'', scholars like [[Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti|Al-Jabarti]] poured scorn on the ideas and cultural ways of the [[First French Republic|French]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=De Bellaigue |first=Christopher |title=The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason – 1798 to Modern Times |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |year=2017 | isbn=978-0-87140-373-5 |location=New York |chapter= Chapter 1: Cairo |pages=4–12}}</ref> Despite their cordial proclamations to the natives, with some French soldiers even converting to [[Islam]] in order to take Muslim wives, clerics like [[Abdullah al-Sharqawi]], who headed Napoleon's Cairo government or [[divan]],<ref name="Cole 2007 p. 159">{{cite book | last=Cole | first=J. | title=Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East | publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-230-60741-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8rzGxWUQiKkC&pg=PA159 |page=159}}</ref> later described the French as: "‘materialist, libertine philosophers … [who] deny the resurrection, and the afterlife, and … [the] prophets"<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=De Bellaigue |first=Christopher |title=The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason – 1798 to Modern Times |publisher=Liveright Publishing Corporation |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-87140-373-5 |location=New York |pages=14 |chapter=Chapter 1: Cairo}}</ref> while for the French, mathematician [[Joseph Fourier]] regretted that "the Muslim religion would on no account permit the development of the mind".<ref name=":0" />

The Battle of the Pyramids signalled the beginning of the end of seven centuries of Mamluk rule in Egypt. Despite this auspicious beginning, British Admiral [[Horatio Nelson]]'s victory in the [[Battle of the Nile]] ten days later effectively ended Napoleon's ambitions in Egypt.<ref name="Russell 2021 p. 27">{{cite book | last=Russell | first=Q. | title=Mediterranean Naval Battles That Changed the World | publisher=Pen & Sword Books | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-5267-1601-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shIZEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |page=27}}</ref>

==In literature and the arts==
The battle was depicted in the 2023 historical drama [[Napoleon (2023 film)|Napoleon]], although the depiction of the battle has been heavily criticized for its historical inaccuracies, among which include Napoleon's army shooting at the [[Great Pyramid of Giza|pyramids]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kotb |first1=Muhammed |title=Napoleon Did Not Shoot the Pyramids As Ridley Scott Might Have You Believe |url=https://egyptianstreets.com/2023/12/03/napoleon-did-not-shoot-the-pyramids-as-ridley-scott-might-have-you-believe/ |website=Egyptian Streets |date=3 December 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref>

The battle was depicted by [[François-André Vincent]] in [[Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798 (study)|a sketch]] and painting,{{sfn | ''the MET''}} and by various other artists.
{{Gallery|align=center
|File:Baron Antoine-Jean Gros-Battle Pyramids 1810.jpg|''[[The Battle of the Pyramids (painting)|The Battle of the Pyramids]]'' by [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]
|File:Bataille des Pyramides, 21 juillet 1798 - Francois André Vincent.jpg|[[François-André Vincent]]
|File:Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau 001.jpg|[[François-Louis-Joseph Watteau]]
|File:Battle of the Pyramids 1798.jpg|[[Wojciech Kossak]]
|title=|height=120px|File:WKossak030.jpg|Wojciech Kossak|File:211 of 'Napoléon et son temps ... Ouvrage illustré ... Neuvième mille' (11238684636).jpg|Plan of the Battle}}

==See also==
* [[Military career of Napoleon Bonaparte]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | last=Chandler | first=D.G. | title=The Campaigns of Napoleon | publisher=Scribner | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-4391-3103-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNYWXeVcbkMC}}
* {{cite web | title=Battle of the Pyramids, July 21, 1798 | website=metmuseum.org | date=1800 | url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/339816/ | ref={{sfnref | the MET}}}}
* {{cite book | last=Niox | first=G.L. | title=Géographie militaire | publisher=Dumaine | issue=v. 6 | year=1887 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9-8fNPOsB7sC&pg=PA110 | language=fr}}
* {{cite book | last=Roberts | first=A. | title=Napoleon: A Life | publisher=Penguin Publishing Group | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-14-312785-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JdPEAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book | last=Strathern | first=P. | title=Napoleon in Egypt: 'the Greatest Glory' | publisher=Vintage | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-84413-917-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZGn9g6hNyGkC}}

==Further reading==
* [[Juan Cole|Cole, Juan]], ''Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East'' [[Palgrave Macmillan]], 2007. {{ISBN|1403964319}}
* [[J. Christopher Herold|Herold, J. Christopher]], ''Bonaparte in Egypt'' – London, Hamish Hamilton, 1962.
* Herold, J. Christopher, ''The Age of Napoleon''. New York, American Heritage, 1963.
* Moorehead, Alan, ''The Blue Nile'' New York, Harper & Row, 1962.

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}

{{Ottoman battles}}
{{Giza}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramids 1798}}
[[Category:Battles of the French invasion of Egypt and Syria]]
[[Category:History of Giza]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1798]]
[[Category:1798 in Egypt]]
[[Category:Dueling]]
[[Category:Battles commanded by Napoleon]]
[[Category:Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe]]
[[Category:Great Pyramid of Giza]]