![]() Along with 35,000 soldiers, more than 160 scholars and artists traveled to Egypt in 1798. While the expedition’s chief aim was martial, it had a secondary purpose: to collect scientific and historical information about Egypt, which many in France believed was an ancient civilisation equivalent to classical Greece and Rome. Known as the Mamluks, they controlled the North African territory, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. Already renowned for his campaigns in Italy, Napoleon led French forces to Egypt in 1798 to fight against the local rulers. An ambitious Corsican general, Napoleon Bonaparte was given command of the mission. At war with Britain, France sought to disrupt its enemy’s dominance of the seas and its trade routes with India taking control of Egypt would give France a foothold from which to expand in the Mediterranean. ![]() By the end of the 18th century, France wanted to conquer Egypt. ![]()
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