Topic summary
Battle of the Pyramids
- Murad Bey
- Ibrahim Bey
- Ayyub Bey †
25,000
- 3,000 cavalry
- 17,000 infantry
21,000–50,000
- 6,000+ cavalry
- 15,000–54,000 infantry
260 wounded
10,000 killed or wounded
- 7,000 Mamluks killed
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.