Jacques-François de Menou, Baron of Boussay, later Abdallah de Menou, (3 September 1750 – 13 August 1810) was a French statesman and general of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, most noted for his role in the

Egyptian Campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

conducted between 1798 and 1801.

French Revolution

Born in Boussay in central France to an ancient family, he had already attained the rank of

Maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...

in 1789, when he was elected by the Second Estate of the bailiwick of

Touraine Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vie ...

to the Estates General in 1789. He was a liberal nobleman and supported the reforms of the National Constituent Assembly, of which he was elected secretary in December and president for a standard two weeks term (27 March - 12 April 1790). He served as a member of the diplomatic committee. With the closing of the National Assembly in September 1791, he was employed as Maréchal de camp in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and then to the

Armée de l'Ouest The Army of the West (''armée de l'Ouest'') was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that was sent to fight in the War in the Vendée in western France. The army was created on 2 October 1793 by merging the Army of the Coasts of La Rochelle ...

. He fought in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

through 1793. Commander of one of the sections of Paris on 1 Prairial III (20 May 1795), he forced the rebellious

Faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Saint-Ant ...

to capitulate. General in chief of the Armée de l'Interieur, he was denounced as a traitor, put on trial and acquitted in 1795. Jacques-François de Menou, député du département d'Indre et Loire

Jacques-François de Menou, député du département d'Indre et Loire

Campaign in Egypt

In 1798, Menou commanded one of the five divisions of the Armée d'Orient in

's campaign of Egypt. General of division in the army of Egypt. After the assassination of

Jean-Baptiste Kléber Jean-Baptiste Kléber () (9 March 1753 – 14 June 1800) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. After serving for one year in the French Royal Army, he entered Habsburg service seven years later. However, his plebeian ances ...

(14 June 1800), Menou succeeded him at the head of Egypt as general in chief. He was not as popular as Kléber, and lacked support from the other officers. He married the daughter of a rich Egyptian, Zubaidah bint Muhammad El Bawwab, converted to Islam and was renamed Abdallah. On 21 March 1801, Menou commanded the French expeditionary force sent to repel British forces landing at La Muiron. The French were defeated and Menou withdrew to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, where he surrendered following the Siege of Alexandria on 30 August 1801. Menou was permitted to evacuate the remaining French forces, but handed over the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...

in exchange, the discovery of which had been reported to him by Captain

Pierre-François Bouchard Pierre-François Bouchard (29 April 1771, Orgelet – 5 August 1822, Givet) was an officer in the French Army of engineers. He is most famous for discovering the Rosetta Stone, an important archaeological find that allowed Ancient Egyptian writ ...

; it was a vital key to understanding the lost language of hieroglyphics.

Statesman of the Empire

Menou was appointed as a member of the

Tribunat The was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII (the other three were the Council of State, the and the ). It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the . Its first president was the hi ...

on 27 Floreal X (17 May 1802). Shortly afterwards he became Administrator of the 27th Military Division (Piedmont). Subsequently, he was appointed a member of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 19 Frimaire XII (11 December 1803) and a Grand Officer of the ''Order 25 Prairial XII'' (14 June 1804). He was created

comte de l'Empire As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

in 1808. Menou's principal contributions to the French Empire came in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was named Knight of the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

23 December 1807, shortly after his appointment as Governor of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. While still holding this appointment, he died on 13 August 1810, at the Villa Corniani near

Mestre Mestre () is a borough of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Venice, on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the ''Municipalità di ...

. The name of General Menou is inscribed on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

, on the south side. By his marriage to Zubaidah El Bawwab, he had a son Jacques Mourad Soliman (born 28 July 1800 in Rosetta, Egypt).

Notes

Sources

* Louis Adolphe Thiers, ''History of the Consulate and the Empire of France under Napoleon'', London 1893, v. 2, Book X, passim.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menou, Jacques-Francois 1750 births 1810 deaths French governors of Egypt 19th-century Egyptian people People from Indre-et-Loire Converts to Islam French Muslims French former Christians Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Republican military leaders of the War in the Vendée Counts of the First French Empire People of the First French Empire French campaign in Egypt and Syria Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe