ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING BONAPARTE'S EXPEDITION TO EGYPT by Evgeniya PRUSSKAYA - Art

ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING BONAPARTE’S
EXPEDITION TO EGYPT
Evgeniya Prusskaya (D)
La Fondation Napoléon | « Napoleonica. La Revue »
2015/3 n° 24 | pages 48 à 60
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ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING
BONAPARTE’S EXPEDITION TO EGYPT
by Evgeniya PRUSSKAYA
ABSTRACT
Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt (1798-1801) has become a milestone in relations between Europe and the Middle
East of the modern era and has left behind a vast body of written sources in different languages - French, Arabic,
English, Ottoman and so on. The vast majority is in French. The official documents (orders, proclamations, reports)
and personal papers (diaries, memoirs, letters) reflect the conquerors’ view of the expedition.1 The Arabic sources
are much fewer in comparison, but they are important because they show the point of view of the other side. The
French invasion of Egypt was described in several Arab chronicles of the end of the XVIIIth/beginning of the XIXth
centuries, the most significant of which being the works of the Egyptian, Abd ar-Rahman al-Jabarti, and the Syrian,
Niqula al-Turk.

RÉSUMÉ : LES CHRONIQUES ARABES COMME SOURCES D’ÉTUDE DE L’EXPÉDITION DE
BONAPARTE EN ÉGYPTE
L’expédition de Bonaparte en Égypte (1798-1801) est devenue une étape importante dans les relations entre l’Europe
et le Moyen-Orient de l’époque moderne, et a laissé derrière lui un vaste corpus de sources écrites dans différentes
langues - français, anglais, arabe, ottomane, etc. La grande majorité de ces documents est en langue française : ces
documents officiels (ordres, proclamations, rapports) et personnels (journaux, mémoires, lettres) reflètent le point
de vue de l’expédition des conquérants. Les sources de langue arabe sont beaucoup moins nombreuses, mais tout
aussi importants en ce qu’ils montrent le point de vue de l’autre côté. L’invasion française de l’Égypte a été décrite
dans plusieurs chroniques arabes de la fin du XVIIIe - début XIXe siècles, dont les plus importantes qui sont les
œuvres de l’égyptien Abd ar-Rahman al-Jabarti et le Syrien Niqula al-Turk.
1
See Philippe de Meulenaere, Bibliographie raisonnée des témoignages de l’expédition d’Égypte (1798-1801), Paris: F. et R. Chamonal, Livres anciens et modernes,
1993.
Evgeniya PRUSSKAYA, « Arab Chronicles as a source for studying Bonaparte’s... », Napoleonica. La Revue, n° 24, « Égypte, Paris et Vienne », mars 2016 48
ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING
BONAPARTE’S EXPEDITION TO EGYPT
by Evgeniya PRUSSKAYA*
The four-volume chronicle by al-Jabarti entitled “ ‘Aja’ib al-Athar fi ‘l-Tarajim wa ‘l-Akhbar” (“The
amazing history of the past in the biographies and the chronicle of events”, referred below simply as
“‘Aja’ib”)2 is a very important and valuable source for the history of Egypt in general and the history
of the French occupation in particular.3 Al-Jabarti’s work contains, besides the chronicle narrative, a
large number of biographies and obituaries of outstanding historical figures. The chronicle also includes
many proverbs, poems and documents, thereby rendering the text very heterogeneous. Most of the
third volume is devoted to the French occupation of Egypt, from the arrival of the invaders to their
evacuation to France. Since the author himself was in Cairo for the whole of the occupation, the events

from this time are described in detail.
Two other works by al-Jabarti are connected with the “‘Aja’ib” chronicle, namely “Tarikh muddat
al-Faransis bi-Misr” (“The history of the French stay in Egypt”, referred to below simply as “Muddat”)4
and “Mazhar al-taqdis bi-zawal dawlat al-Faransis” (“Sacred sign of the end of the French domination”,
referred to below simply as “Mazhar”). According to Shmuel Moreh, who made a comparative study
of al-Jabarti’s texts, the first of these is a “rough draft” where the author recorded current events for
himself.5 It covers the first seven months of the French occupation, and in the text al-Jabarti emphatically
expresses his attitude towards the French and the events of expedition. His tone is not dispassionate;
his judgments are harsh. Many passages from “Muddat” were not included in “‘Aja’ib”, which appeared

*
Evgeniya Prusskaya is a history researcher at the Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. This study was supported by the Russian
Science Foundation (RSF), project n° 14-18-01116.
2
English translation: ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti’s History of Egypt. ‘Aja’ib al-Athar fi ‘l-Tarajim wa ‘l-Akhbar/ed. by Thomas Philipp and Moshe Perlmann, Stuttgart:
Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1994, vol. 3.
3
On al-Jabarti and his chronicle see David Ayalon, “The Historian al-Jabarti and his Background”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 23,
1960, p. 29.
4
English translation together with Arabic text in Al-Jabarti’s Chronicle of the First Seven Months of the French Occupation of Egypt, edited and translated by Shmuel
Moreh, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975.
5
Ibid., p. 29.
later, after the departure of the French. However, the “‘Aja’ib” also has elements missing from the
“Muddat” that were written later by the author from memory.
As for “Mazhar”, this work on the French presence in Egypt was composed by al-Jabarti as a gift to
the Ottoman vizier, Yusuf Pasha. It is more pro-Turkish and anti-French, there are no descriptions of
Ottoman army outrages, and there is no criticism of the Ottoman military commanders; the judgments
of the French are harsher in comparison with the “Muddat” and the “‘Aja’ib”.
Multiple manuscripts of the “‘Aja’ib” exist, and they are held in the Iraqi Museum, Cambridge
University Library, the National Library of France, and the British Museum. Manuscripts of the
“Mazhar” are held at Cambridge University Library, the Bayezid Library in Istanbul, the Rida Library
in Rampur, India, and at the British Museum. Only one manuscript copy of the “Muddat” exists, and it
is held in the library of the Leiden University. After a detailed textual and linguistic analysis of all these
manuscripts, Shmuel Moreh has concluded that Cambridge manuscript of “‘Aja’ib “ and “Mazhar” and
Leiden “Muddat” are the autographs of al-Jabarti.6
* * *
The second Arab source for the expedition is Niqula al-Turk’s chronicle “Dhikr tamalluk jumhur

al-Faransawiya al-Aqtar al-Misriya wa’ l bilad al-Shamiya” (“Memories of the of the French domination
in Egypt and countries of Sham”).7 Two redactions of this text exist. The first was published in 1839 by
M. Desgranges with a French translation. In his preface, Desgranges reported that he had seen several
copies of the chronicle: a Maronite Sheikh manuscript, the manuscript of Caussin de Perceval, and a
manuscript in the Royal Library in France. Desgranges noted the similarity of his manuscript and the
manuscript from the Royal Library, concluding that they had been copied from a common original.
The text published by Desgranges begins with a brief account of the events of the French Revolution,
the execution of the royal family, the history of the departure of Bonaparte’s troops for Egypt and ends
in 1216 AH (1801) - the time of the French evacuation from Egypt. Al-Turk focused first of all on the
actions of the French army, describing in detail French troop movements in Egypt and Syria and battle
scenes.

6
Ibid., p. 14.

7
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte, publiée et traduite par M. Desgranges aîné, Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1839. On al-Turk, see George M.
Haddad, “The Historical Work of Niqula El-Turk (1763-1828)”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 81, n. 3 (Aug.-Sep.), 1961, pp. 247-251.
The second redaction of the chronicle was accidentally found in the library of king Farouk in
1948 and published in 1950, together with a French translation by Gaston Wiet under the name
“Mudhakkirat Niqula al-Turk” (“Notes of Niqula al-Turk”).8 This text does not end with the departure
of the French troops from Egypt, but describes the situation in Egypt after the evacuation of the French
up to 1804. In general, the events of the expedition in “Mudhakkirat” are described more succinctly
than in the first redaction published by Desgranges, even though the former contains many interesting
details. However, in 1985 at the American University of Cairo, Margaretha Weyergang defended the
thesis in which she made a textual and linguistic analysis of the text published by Wiet, coming to the
conclusion that it had been written as a redaction of Desgranges text, probably by another person who
“must have lived in Egypt during the French occupation and [who] was at least as familiar with the
French as al-Turk himself ”.9
According to George Haddad, in addition to these published and translated manuscripts, there
also existed a manuscript comprising 312 pages in quarto, mentioned by the Lebanese Issa Iskander
al-Maaluf.10 This manuscript was completed in 1815 and copied in 1829. Here too the narrative does
not end in 1801. However, the precise location of manuscript is not specified.

* * *
We know a good deal about Jabarti – mainly because his biography appears in his chronicle.
Al-Jabarti belonged to the ‘ulama – a social stratum of the most influential Muslim scholars and the
intellectual elite of Egyptian society at that time. His ancestors had occupied an important place in the
intellectual life of al-Azhar - the oldest Islamic university in Egypt. The chronicler’s father was a highly
respected man, known for his achievements in different fields of knowledge. Al-Jabarti had received
a traditional Islamic education, studying at al-Azhar, and on the death of his father, his inheritance
allowed him to devote himself fully to learning. However, he was not only involved in the intellectual
life of Egypt, but was also active politically: during the French occupation he became a member of one
8
N. Turc, Chronique d’Egypte 1798-1804, edited and translated by Gaston Wiet, Cairo: Impr. de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 1950.
9
Margarethe Elise Weyergang, Niqula al-Turk as a source on the French Occupation of Egypt. Thesis for the Master of Arts Degree, American University in Cairo, 1985,
p. 45.
10
Haddad, op. cit., pp. 248-249.
of the diwans,11 when General Menou held the post of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the
Orient.
Later al-Jabarti criticized the rule of a new governor of the country, Muhammed Ali, who came
to power in 1805.12 As a result, the chronicle “‘Aja’ib” was banned, and we do not have much reliable
information about the last years of its author. By the end of his life, al-Jabarti had gone blind, and he
died in 1825.
* * *
In comparison to al-Jabarti, much less is known about Niqula al-Turk. According to Desgranges,
the chronicler was born in 1763 in Lebanon, a descendant of Greek Catholics from Istanbul, hence the
nisba13 “al-Turk”. He served as a poet at the court of the Lebanese Emir Bashir II, but he was probably
also a teacher.14 When the French arrived in Egypt, the Emir sent al-Turk there to collect information
about the movements and plans of the French. Some researchers believe that Niqula al-Turk was an
interpreter or perhaps a secretary of the French,15 although Desgranges, who knew him personally,
mentioned that al-Turk did not know French language. Upon his return to Lebanon, al-Turk began

to write poems again. In 1817, he fell ill, half of his body becoming paralyzed and losing sight in one
eye16 – his poems had to be recorded from dictation his daughter, Warda. He died in 1828.
* * *
Thus, both authors have different origins, social status and religion: one of them was a Muslim
representative of the educated elite of Egyptian society and an inhabitant of the country which the
French invaded; the other, a Christian court poet who lived in Egypt only briefly and a foreigner as far
the Egyptians were concerned.
Naturally, these differences influenced the style of each author. Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot, who
analyzed in detail the texts of both authors, came to the conclusion that al-Turk was liable to be
11
Diwan (from Persian) – council of the nobles which had an advisory, executive, judicial and legislative functions.
12
Ayalon, op. cit., p. 229.
13
Nisba – one of the parts of the Arab name.
14
Weyergang, op. cit., p. 19.
15
Haddad, op. cit., p. 247, note 1.
16
Weyergang, op. cit., p. 23.
be closer to the Christian French (although they denied their affiliation to any religion) than to the
Egyptians and that was why his attitude towards the French was less hostile than that of the Egyptian
al-Jabarti.17 Furthermore, Marsot noted that both authors had different social positions – al-Jabarti was
a respected academic and a representative of the elite, whilst al-Turk was a court poet, who earned his
living praising rulers, a fact reflected by the frequent laudatory epithets in his text. Although Thomas
Philipp indicates the similarity of the world view of both chroniclers,18 most comparative studies of al-
Jabarti’s and al-Turk’s chronicles primarily concentrate on the differences between their texts.
Questions however remain. Does the description of the French occupation differ greatly in
the works of both authors? How did the chroniclers perceive the events of the expedition and the
French themselves? How did the ethnic and religious differences between two authors influence their
perception? To answer these questions, I shall examine how each of the chroniclers described and
interpreted the reasons for the French invasion, the French religious slogans and ideas, their politics
and everyday behavior in Egypt, and how the authors reacted to the uprisings of the local population
against the French.
Patriotic al-Jabarti perceived the French invasion of Egypt as a disaster. He described the year of

the invasion as “the first year of the fierce fights and important incidents; of the momentous mishaps
appalling afflictions of the multiplication of malice and the acceleration of affaires; of successive
sufferings and turning times; of the inversion of the innate and the elimination of the established; of
horrors upon horrors and contradicting conditions; of the perversion of all precepts and the onset of
annihilation; of the dominance of destruction and the occurrence of the occasions”.19
At the same time, al-Jabarti regarded the French intrusion as a punishment for the sins of the
inhabitants of Egypt, quoting the Quran: “Yet thy Lord would never destroy the cities unjustly, while
as yet their people were putting things right” (11:117).20 After arriving in Egypt, the French won several
victories against the Mamluks.21 For such a rapid and successful progress of the French in his country
17
Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot, “A Comparative Study of Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti and Niqula al-Turk”, in Daniel Crecelius (ed.) Eighteenth Century Egypt: The
Arabic Manuscript Sources, Los Angeles: Regina Books, 1990, pp. 115-126.
18
Thomas Philipp, “The French and the French Revolution in the Works of al-Jabarti” in Daniel Crecelius (ed.) Eighteenth Century Egypt: The Arabic Manuscript
Sources, Los Angeles: Regina Books, 1990, pp. 127-140.
19
‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti’s History of Egypt cit., vol. 3, p. 1.
20
Ibid.
21
Mamluks – white slaves, specially prepared for the military service. They formed the basis of the Fatimid (969-1171) and the Ayyubid army (1171-1250).
In 1250, the Mamluks seized power in Egypt and ruled the country until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. In the XVIIIth, century, during the period of
the structural crisis in the Ottoman Empire, the power in Egypt was actually passed again to the Mamluks, who created power structures, parallel to the Ottoman
administration.
al-Jabarti held the Mamluks responsible, since they had failed to repulse the enemy: “Such was the
disorganization and neglect in face of the enemy”.22
The Battle of the Pyramids (July 21, 1798), on the outskirts of Cairo, was a crisis point for the
Mamluks’ opposition to the invaders. Al-Jabarti thought arrogance the reason for the Mamluks’ defeat:
“they were bent on their life of confident luxury, proud of their appearance, and conceited about their
gathering. Scoring the enemy, involved in their deliberations, immersed in their foolishness – they were
all deluded. These were all among the reasons for their failure and defeat”.23
Niqula al-Turk described the French invasion of Egypt and the scene of the Battle of the Pyramids
from another perspective – that of an outside observer, and therefore his words were not as emotional
as al-Jabarti’s. Al-Turk did not judge Mamluk rule, but in the text published by G. Wiet, the author
pointed out that one of the sailors shouted at the fleeing Mamluks: “It is you, the tyrants, who are
responsible for this trouble!”.24 However, the chronicler himself did not pass judgment.
After arriving in Egypt, the French tried to curry favor with the Egyptians, and this is reflected in
the works of both authors. The invaders knew of the local population’s hatred for the Mamluks and
the devotion of the majority of the population to Islam, and they tried to use these elements in their

policy. From the first days in Egypt, the French distributed among the population leaflets, which often
contained quotations from the Quran. In these documents, they assured the locals of the goodwill of
the French towards Muslims, of their friendship towards the Ottomans, of their hostility only towards
the Mamluks, and of their desire to improve the lives of Egyptians. These documents were presented
in the writings of both chroniclers. “I came to you only to restore your rights from the hand of the
oppressors, and that I am more of a servant of God – may He be praised and exulted – than the
Mamluks, and that I venerate His Prophet and the great Koran” – declared Bonaparte in one of the first
proclamations to the inhabitants of Egypt.25
However, this policy was not fruitful. Neither the chroniclers nor the population of Egypt believed
the slogans of the French. The distrust of the Muslims towards the French was constantly mentioned by
both authors. Al-Jabarti himself had no illusions about the statements of the French, considering that
22
23
Ibid.
24
N. Turc, Chronique d’Egypte 1798-1804 cit., p. 23.
25
they did not have any good faith to betray.26 In “Muddat”, the chronicler described the infidelity of the
French in a harsher way: “Those people are opposed to both Christians and Muslims and do not hold
fast to any religion. You see that they are materialists, who deny all God’s attributes, the Hereafter and
Resurrection, and who reject Prophethood and Messengership”.27
Niqula al-Turk did not express his opinion directly concerning the religious views of the French,
but it can be seen from his text that he had no doubts about the demagogic slogans of the conquerors:
“They [the French] have used a variety of tricks and followed different strategies to stay in power. So,
they glorify Islam and renounce Christianity, they claim that that they have brought freedom, that they
were allies of the Ottomans and that they arrived in Egypt on their orders. They pretended to have the
best intentions and sincere feelings toward the Muslims, to respect their religion and to want nothing
but good for them.”28 However, as al-Turk acknowledged, all these efforts were in vain - the Muslims of
Egypt were hostile towards the French.
In Wiet’s version, the author of the chronicle noted that the locals could not have had any other
reaction: “The Egyptians absolutely could not bear the French because of the differences in religion,
language and customs, not to mention the old hostility between the French and the Egyptians, which

had existed since the time of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars”.29 In this text, there are several references to the
struggle of the Egyptians against the Crusaders in the XIIIth century and the victory of the latter over
the former. According to Thomas Philipp, al-Turk, as well as al-Jabarti, viewed the French invasion of
Egypt in the context of this ancient struggle between Muslims and the infidels,30 and therefore for both
authors, Muslim hostility to the French was usual.
This clash of two cultures, the differences and dissimilarity became especially evident in the
chroniclers’ descriptions of the conquerors’ lifestyle. Despite the fact that the French assured the
Egyptians that they respected Islam, their behavior in Egypt was provocative: permanent revelries and
offhand manners (by local standards) were contrary to the moral norms of the Egyptian society.
Al-Jabarti was especially outraged at the fact that some Egyptians, particularly women, adopted
similar behavior: “Another aspect was the licentiousness of the women; most of them abandoned
26
Ibid., p. 253.
27
Al-Jabarti’s Chronicle of the First Seven Months of the French Occupation of Egypt cit., p. 47.
28
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte cit., p. 42 (p. 49). Here and below, the first page number marks the Arabic text, the second the French
translation.
29
30
Philipp, op. cit., pp. 139-140.
modesty and decency”.31 “When the Nile water was high and had entered the Canal upon which boats
were plying, the women’s dissolution and their mingling with the French was in full view on the boats
where they sang and danced and drank during the day, as well as at night by the light of candles and
lanterns”.32 The Muslim scholar looked on this way of behaving with indignation.
However, for the Christian, Niqula al-Turk, the behavior of the French seemed disrespectful too:
“The women went out shamelessly with the French. Cairo became like Paris; there was wine and
other alcoholic beverages everywhere and the other things of which our Lord does not approve”.33 As
George Haddad noticed, al-Turk sometimes called the French “infidels”, despite the fact that he was
a Christian.34 For Middle Eastern society of that time, where religious identity was decisive in self-
identification and the identification of the Other, the French really were foreigners. Their behavior did
not correspond to the Muslim or Christian way of life, so it is not surprising that not only al-Jabarti
but also al-Turk used such epithets. The French continued to lead their lives as they did at home, with a
great deal of pleasure seeking and drinking wine openly, something that was out of norm in Egypt even
for the Christians. They did not look like Muslims, but they also denied being Christians. Therefore, for
the majority of people, of all social statuses in Egypt, the French were the atheists – and this was totally

unacceptable for the mentality of Egyptian society at that time.
As was noted above, Niqula al-Turk’s attitude towards the French was in general more favorable
than al-Jabarti’s. In the battle description, he used many positive laudatory epithets, noted the good
military training of the French, but he also wrote about the dishonorable deeds of the conquerors.
In particular, he described the atrocities of the French soldiers during the suppression of the second
uprising in Cairo: “General [Belliard] ordered that the massacre should stop, but the soldiers continued
to rob and to rape women”;35 “It was time of great trouble and terrible events, accounts of which
could make the mountains tremble and the hair of the young turn grey”.36 Describing the actions of
the French when they seized Jaffa, the chronicler exclaimed: “What a terrible moment! They entered
the city and killed soldiers and civilians, looted houses, took possession of women, raped girls, and
31
32
Ibid., p. 253.
33
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte cit., p. 180 (p. 212).
34
Haddad, op. cit., p. 251.
35
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte cit., p.173 (p. 204).
36
Ibid, p. 174 (p. 205).
cut the throats of children”.37 Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot is probably right when she says that al-Turk
empathised with the suffering in his description of the situation in Jaffa because many Christians were
injured there, and the same could have happened in his home country, were the French to decide to go
there.38 However, as can be seen from the above-cited passages, al-Turk expressed similar sympathy for
the Egyptians, most of whom were Muslims.
Al-Turk also condemned the robberies committed against Egyptian Muslims and the murders
of Christians in the Cairo revolts: “A terrible hour came, a moment more terrible than the Day of
Judgment, because the entire city rose. The population found nothing better than to take revenge
against the unfortunate, defenseless Christians”.39
Al-Jabarti’s attitude towards the French, who “took possession of Bulaq and perpetrated horrors
among the people, which would turn hair white”,40 and to pogroms of Christians organised by Muslims
in Cairo during the uprising, was the same as al-Turk’s: the chronicler was outraged by it. Both authors
condemned these terrible actions, showing sympathy for adherents of other faiths and as well to their
brothers-in-faith.
Both authors devoted a great deal of attention to the anti-French uprisings in Cairo in October

1798 and March-April 1800, which became a kind of “moment of truth” in relations between the
conquerors and the local population.
Al-Jabarti saw the system of tax collection organized by the French as the reason for the first
rebellion, a rebellion that broke out suddenly and had no leaders. Some shaykhs of al-Azhar supported
the uprising, but the chronicler believed it was spontaneous, because the events could not be controlled,
as the people were “captive held fast”41 and could not resist the French. After suppressing the rebellion,
the French organized such a vicious massacre in Cairo that al-Jabarti compared them to “Satan’s troops”,
who destroy everything in their path.42
Niqula al-Turk saw many reasons for the first Cairo uprising. He noted that the inhabitants of
Cairo had waited for the firman (decree) from the Ottoman authorities confirming that the French
had an alliance with the Sultan and were authorized by him to fight against the Mamluks, as French
37
38
Marsot, op. cit., p. 121.
39
40
41
Ibid., p. 102.
42
Ibid., p. 42.
propaganda claimed. The document had not come, but the news spread that the Muslim army was
going to Egypt. The chronicler described some French innovations that went against local customs:
women and children had to leave the house with faces uncovered; the sale and consumption of alcohol
were permitted everywhere; mosques and minarets were destroyed to make way for road expansion.
Al-Turk emphasized that the Egyptians perceived all of this as unaccptable and were ready to rise in
rebellion, waiting for the time when Islam would triumph.43 But, as the chronicler noted, the riot
brought only desecration of religion, disgrace and humiliation.44
Thus, both chroniclers described the first Cairo uprising as spontaneous and emphasized its serious
consequences, although al-Jabarti reacted more violently to the actions of the French in the suppression
of the uprising.
The second uprising broke out after the British violated the armistice and the terms of Convention
of El-Arish, according to which the French were to leave Egypt and hand it over to the Ottomans.
As al-Jabarti said, French high-ranking officers arrived in port of Alexandria to travel home, but “the
English opposed them with intent to harass them”.45 The terms of the French evacuation of Cairo were
extended for eight days, and the French, according to the chronicler, began to concentrate troops, build

fortifications, and replenish ammunition. Al-Jabarti described the surprise and confusion of Cairo
citizens. They understood nothing and were wondering at the reason for such intense activity on the
part of the French, who had almost entirely left the city the day before. There were rumors that “the
French had received messages from some of their friends among the English informing them that the
vizier had come to an agreement with the English to surround the French after embarkation”.46 The
situation in the city grew more critical. The Muslims began to arm themselves against the French and the
Christians. The Ottoman military, which had arrived in the city, only aggravated the situation, calling
the citizens to fight. The Egyptians, encouraged by the proximity of liberation, insulted the French,
showing them all the hatred against the conquerors, “insolently insulted, cursed, and mocked them,
without considering the consequences and without allowing room for reconciliation with them”.47
Finally, there was a spontaneous uprising, leading to complete anarchy. Al-Jabarti did not approve
of what had been done, because the rebels could not stand up to the powerful French army, and the
43
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte cit., p. 65 (p. 76).
44
Ibid., p. 70 (p. 81).
45
46
Ibid., p. 141.
47
Ibid., p. 137.
uprising would in the end only worsen the conditions of Cairo inhabitants. The chronicler considered
that the blame for the uprising lay at the feet of Ottoman troops, who had violated the armistice and
encouraged the locals to commit “improper deeds”.48
According to al-Turk, the second Cairo uprising was caused by the arrival of the Ottoman troops,
who were met with enthusiasm by the city residents. Thus, Cairo inhabitants immediately gave vent to
their hatred for the French, turning it also on Christians and the Muslims who had collaborated with
the conquerors. Speaking of the violation of the armistice, Niqula al-Turk mentioned a letter from the
commander Sydney Smith to General Kleber, in which Smith spoke of the perfidy of the British, who
had decided not to release the French ships, as had been stipulated in the peace agreement, but rather
to intercept them and send them to England.49 The chronicler described in detail content of the further
correspondence between Kleber and Grand Vizier Yusuf Pasha. Al-Turk emphasized that the latter was
in a very difficult situation, but finally he decided to continue the fight.
Whilst al-Jabarti described the events of the second Cairo uprising from the perspective of a citizen,
some of his descriptions also being based on rumors, al-Turk showed much greater awareness of the
diplomatic and military side of the events. The views of both authors on the causes of the uprising

coincide, although al-Jabarti’s description is more detailed and emotional.
Conclusion
There are many sources on the French expedition to Egypt (1798-1801), and among them the
most valuable Arabic sources are the works of the Egyptian Abd ar-Rahman al-Jabarti and the Syrian
Niqula al-Turk, who witnessed the events of the expedition. Although many researchers marked the
differences in their descriptions, conditioned by the differences in their origin, religion and social status,
their views on the French expedition are not so diverse. Both authors had a similar opinion about the
religious slogans of the French and did not approve their behavior in Egypt, both authors described
Cairo uprisings in a similar way. In spite of all the social, ethnic and religious differences of both
chroniclers, they had a common picture of the world – as Thomas Philipp has emphasized, “typical
for that of the traditional society of the Middle East at the time”50 - and their views on various events
48
Ibid., p. 226.
49
N. El-Turk, Histoire de l’expédition française en Egypte cit., pp. 156-157 (p. 183).
50
Philipp, op. cit, p. 140.
do not contradict, but supplement each other. Works of al-Jabarti and al-Turk allow us to balance an
inevitably one-side picture, which appears if we study Bonaparte’s expedition to the Orient only by
examining French sources.

ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING BONAPARTE'S EXPEDITION TO EGYPT by Evgeniya PRUSSKAYA - Art

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ARAB CHRONICLES AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING BONAPARTE’S

Evgeniya Prusskaya (D)

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