Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt
How One Military Campaign Changed History Forever
Anthony Browder
Jul 02, 2025
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Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt was the beginning of modern Egyptology (And the systematic looting of an ancient African civilization).
Why Egypt Mattered to Napoleon
France saw Egypt as the key to global domination.Subscribed
By 1797, Napoleon had conquered Italy and was looking for his next target. Egypt offered something irresistible: a strategic location that could cut 4,000 miles off the journey to India.The French government authorized Napoleon to:
- Conquer Malta and Egypt
- Build a canal across the Isthmus of Suez
- Connect the Mediterranean and Red seas
- Create a shortcut to India for eventual world domination
The Scientific Expedition
On May 19, 1798, Napoleon set sail with an unprecedented expedition.His fleet included:
- 328 ships
- 35,000 soldiers
- 175 elite scholars from the Scientific and Artistic Commission
The massive expedition would first need to prove its military might before the scholars could begin their work.
The Battle of the Pyramids
Napoleon's invasion began with swift, brutal efficiency.After landing at Alexandria on July 1, 1798, the French faced the Mamelukes—foreign mercenaries ruling Egypt for the Turkish Empire. The Mamelukes had numbers, but the French had superior firepower.
The results were devastating:
- Alexandria fell by noon on July 2
- The scholars went ashore on July 3
- The Battle of the Pyramids lasted just two hours
- Over 2,000 Mamelukes died
- Napoleon lost only 20 men
With Egypt under French control, Napoleon would soon have his own encounter with those ancient monuments—one that would leave him forever changed.
Napoleon's Mysterious Pyramid Experience
Something happened inside the Great Pyramid that Napoleon never fully explained.On August 12, 1799—three days before his 30th birthday—Napoleon toured the Great Pyramid and asked to be left alone in the King's Chamber. He wanted to contemplate his future, just as Alexander of Macedonia had reportedly done before him.
He emerged "pale and impressed."
Napoleon hinted he had received a glimpse of his destiny, but he refused to discuss the details with anyone. Ten days later, he fled Egypt and returned to France.
Within months, he had orchestrated a coup and become First Consul of France.
While Napoleon abandoned his Egyptian adventure, the scholars he left behind would make discoveries that outlasted his empire.
The Scholars Who Stayed Behind
While Napoleon abandoned his army, the scholars continued their work for three years.The savants faced constant danger:
- British naval blockades cutting off supplies
- Turkish attacks and skirmishes
- Hostile French soldiers who saw them as treasure hunters
- No weapons or rations provided by the army
Their discoveries would reshape our understanding of ancient Egypt (Kemet).
But the most important discovery came not from the scholars themselves, but from an ordinary soldier digging fortifications.
The Discovery That Unlocked Ancient Egypt (Kemet)
In 1799, a French soldier made the find of the century.Captain Pierre Bouchard's engineering corps was digging fortifications near Rosetta when they uncovered a black basalt tablet half-buried in the soil. Recognizing its importance, Bouchard shipped it to the Egyptian Institute in Cairo.
The Rosetta Stone contained three translations of the same text:
- Medu Netcher (hieroglyphics) at the top
- Demotic (cursive Egyptian) in the middle
- Greek at the bottom
But the hieroglyphics remained a mystery for 23 more years.
And the French wouldn't get to keep their greatest archaeological prize for long.
How Britain Stole France's Greatest Discovery
The British weren't about to let the French keep their archaeological treasures.When French forces surrendered on August 30, 1801, the British demanded all Egyptian artifacts discovered by the Scientific Commission. The French scholars threatened to destroy their findings rather than hand them over.
A compromise was reached—except for one item.
The British insisted they must have the Rosetta Stone.
Under cover of darkness, British Colonel Thomas Turner raided the home of French General Menou in Alexandria and seized the tablet. The Rosetta Stone was shipped to London, where it remains in the British Museum to this day.
The French scholars returned home with their notes and drawings.
Though they had lost the stone itself, the French would transform their research into something far more enduring.
The Birth of Egyptology
Napoleon’s military defeat turned into intellectual triumph for the savants.Upon returning to France, the commission was ordered to produce a monumental work documenting everything they had discovered. Over 25 years, teams of artists, engravers, and typographers created the 21-volume "Description de l'Egypte."
This work accomplished something remarkable:
- Shattered myths about Greek cultural supremacy
- Established Egypt as the forerunner of all ancient civilizations
- Legitimized the study of Egyptology as an academic field
That breakthrough would come from a brilliant young Frenchman who had been studying the hieroglyphs since childhood.
The Genius Who Cracked the Code
Jean François Champollion succeeded where others had failed.
In 1822—23 years after the Rosetta Stone's discovery—this young Frenchman deciphered the hieroglyphic alphabet. His breakthrough launched him to international fame and earned him the first professorship of Egyptology at the College de France in 1831.
Champollion's career was cut short when he died at age 42.
But not before he had brought France one final prize: a massive obelisk from Luxor Temple, acquired in exchange for a clock that never worked. The obelisk was erected in Paris's Place de la Concorde in 1836, where 200,000 spectators watched King Louis Philippe unveil it.
Champollion understood the magnitude of what he was studying:
With the ancient code finally cracked, a new and more destructive phase of Egyptian archaeology was about to begin.
The Great Robbery Begins
With the code cracked, European powers launched a systematic campaign to strip Egypt of its treasures.Mohammed Ali, the Albanian-born ruler of Egypt, was more than willing to sell his country's heritage to the highest bidder. In 1811, he eliminated his rivals by inviting 420 Mamelukes to a feast—then ambushing and murdering them all in a narrow street.
Under Mohammed Ali's rule, Egypt became an archaeological free-for-all.
British Consul General Henry Salt was hired by the British Museum with a clear mission:
He reached an understanding with his French counterpart, Bernardino Drovetti, to divide the Nile Valley into "spheres of influence."
As Howard Carter later described this era:
Salt would soon find the perfect man to execute this cultural pillaging on an unprecedented scale.
Giovanni Belzoni: The Greatest Plunderer of Them All
Salt hired the perfect man for the job.Giovanni Battista Belzoni was an Italian circus strongman turned archaeologist who stood over six feet six inches tall. His combination of immense strength, hydraulic knowledge, and commanding personality made him devastatingly effective.
In just three years, Belzoni accomplished the impossible:
- Excavated the Temple of Abu Simbel
- Gained entry into the Second Pyramid at Giza
- Discovered the royal tomb of Seti I
- Recovered a statue of Amenhotep III
- Obtained an obelisk from Philae Temple
- Looted countless other artifacts
He wrote: "My purpose was to rob the Egyptians of their papyri; of which I found a few hidden in their breasts, under their arms, in the space above the knees, or on the legs, and covered by the numerous folds of cloth."
When Belzoni returned to London, he would transform his archaeological plundering into a profitable entertainment business.
The Macabre Entertainment
Belzoni turned tomb robbing into London entertainment.When he retired to London in 1820, Belzoni exhibited his findings in the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly. On opening day, more than 1,900 visitors witnessed the main attraction: the unwrapping of a "perfect" young man's mummy.
Leading London doctors were invited to witness this "macabre striptease show."
The public couldn't get enough of ancient Egypt—even if it meant desecrating the dead.
This appetite for Egyptian spectacle would fuel an entire century of treasure hunting, culminating in the most famous archaeological discovery of all time.
Howard Carter and the Ultimate Discovery
The greatest find in Egyptian archaeology came with a hidden cost.
Howard Carter's 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamun's intact tomb was the archaeological sensation of the century. Financed by Lord Carnarvon, the expedition officially gave all contents to the Cairo Museum.
But both men secretly kept private collections.
In 1988—more than 60 years later—the Earl of Carnarvon discovered a cache of over 300 stolen artifacts hidden in secret compartments at Highclere Castle. A retired family butler finally revealed the location of "the Egyptian stuff."
Carter understood the moral implications of his actions:
"One can imagine the plotting beforehand, the secret rendezvous on the cliff by night, the bribing or drugging of the cemetery guards, and then the desperate burrowing in the dark, the scramble through a small hole into the burial chamber, the hectic search by glimmering light for treasure that was portable, and the return home at dawn laden with booty."
Carter's discovery marked both the pinnacle and the end of an era—but the damage to Egypt's cultural heritage was already done.
The Legacy of Cultural Theft
Napoleon's invasion launched nearly two centuries of systematic looting.Today, the world's greatest Egyptian collections sit in London, Paris, Berlin, and New York—not Cairo.
The Rosetta Stone remains in the British Museum. The Dendera Zodiac, dynamited from its temple ceiling, is displayed in the Louvre. Countless obelisks, statues, and artifacts fill Western museums.
Neither the French nor British have ever consented to exhibit their stolen artifacts in Egypt.
The scholars who accompanied Napoleon believed they were preserving and studying ancient civilization. Instead, they created a template for cultural imperialism that stripped Egypt of its own heritage.
What began as a military campaign to reach India ended up changing how the world understands ancient Egypt (Kemet)—while ensuring that most of Egypt's treasures would never return home.
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt lasted just three years.
Its consequences continue to this day.
Thank you for reading
Anthony Browder
PS.
From July 17-26, 2025, I am leading the first-ever "Why Kemet Matters Tour" through London and Paris
On Saturday 19th July I will share the same stage in London, with:
- Paul Obinna (Creator of the Timeline)
- Robin Walker (Author of When We Ruled and The Black Secret)
A Blueprint for Black Professionals
When: Saturday, July 19, 2025 | 6:30-10:00 PM
Where: The Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk Street, London
Tickets: Only 40 tickets available
If you are in London I would love to see you there
[Book your spot before tickets sell out]
