Battle of the Pyramids 1798
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 July 1798 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1798 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Egypt | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | French Revolutionary Wars, French invasion of Egypt and Syria, Napoleonic Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ottoman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 30.0833, 31.2000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Pyramids (French: Bataille des Pyramides), also known as the Battle of Embabeh (bataille d'Embabech), was fought on 21 July 1798 during the French invasion of Egypt and Syria. Occurring near the village of Embabeh, Ottoman Egypt, the battle was named by Napoleon after the distant Great Pyramid of Giza.
After capturing Alexandria and advancing toward Cairo, Napoleon's army confronted Murad Bey's Mamluk-led forces. The French deployed into large divisional squares that withstood repeated cavalry charges before storming the fortified village of Embabeh. French losses were reported at about 300, while estimates for Mamluk–Ottoman casualties vary widely, from several thousand to as many as 10,000. The defeat shattered Murad's field army, forcing him to retreat to Upper Egypt.
The victory opened the way to Cairo, where Napoleon established a new administration, though local uprisings soon followed. It also marked the decline of Mamluk rule in Egypt. Its strategic impact was blunted when a British fleet under Vice-admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the French navy at the Battle of the Nile ten days later. The battle has since been depicted in art and popular culture, with some reviews being critical of historical inaccuracies.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Pyramids (revision 1371801221), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Capture of Cairo (1517) 1517 · 2 km
- Siege of Cairo (1801) 1801 · 5 km
- Battle of Ghamra 632 · 6 km
- Battle of al-Babein 1167 · 8 km
- Siege of Babylon Fortress 640 · 9 km
- Battle of Heliopolis 640 · 10 km
Other battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
- Action of 25 January 1797 1797
- Assault on Cádiz (1797) 1797
- Battle of Camperdown 1797
- Battle of Rivoli 1797
- Battle of Tarvis (1797) 1797
- Action of 14 December 1798 1798
- Action of 24 October 1798 1798
- Action of 30 May 1798 1798
- Battle of Tory Island 1798
- Battle of the Raz de Sein 1798
All 81 battles of the French Revolutionary Wars →
Browse more: battles in Egypt · Africa · Early modern battles