ABSTRACT
In the blistering heat of the summer of 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt by sea via the coastal city of Alexandria. Although the strategy to acquire Egypt as a French colony was rationalized on several fronts-particularly with the intention of weakening Great Britain’s Asian trade capabilities-Napoleon also had a less militaristic obsession with the mysterious region. Along with the 40,000 men he carried to the Egyptian delta on board his hundreds of ships, Napoleon hosted an entourage of notable men of science, art, archeology, and engineering. His goal was to document as much as he could of Egypt’s ancient history, geology, flora, and fauna and, with this robust and rigorous scientific investigation, bring the spirit of European Enlightenment to the region.
