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Ka3ket t1_j1scay9 wrote

Requesting recommendation for a book about Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egypt’s campaign and how the Egyptians were shocked into discovering the huge development gap between Europeans and Egyptians

My understanding is that Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt had deep impact on the elite in the Middle East and shocked Arabs into becoming aware of the exponential gap between them and Europeans. For example, the Egyptian army used sticks and knives and old techniques from the Middle Ages that no more match the highly equipped French army. The battle was almost like a caricature and was trivially won by the French.

This loss and this encounter had a huge impact on the Egyptian/Arab psyche and illustrated how quickly and largely Europeans have advanced and how huge the gap that separates them from Arabs. Few decades later, Mohamad Ali demonstrated this awareness and sent lots of people to Europe to learn from Europeans and created lots of initiatives to modernize Egypt.

Do you have a recommendation of good resource/books on this encounter and especially how it impacted the invaded Egyptians?

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Stalins_Moustachio t1_j2cw5ls wrote

Hey there! A good starting point would be to check out Al Jabarti's Chronicle of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. Should be on Amazon/orderable through your local book store.

As for the Battle of the Pyramids, a few corrections. The Mamluk army of Murad Bey did not fight with "sticks and knives." Rather, what gave the French a superior battlefield advantage was the effective use of square formations, artillery, and of course sueprior firearms. Further, the Mamluk army was still structured around an over-reliance on cavalry, which square formations counter perfectly. Adding to that, the Mamluk army was primarily made up of drafted peasantry, as opposed to Napoleon's well-trained and battle-hardened troops.

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