N & E
Napoleon & Empire

The French Invasion of Syria day by day

In early 1799, the French general Napoleon Bonaparte, who had taken control of Egypt in a few months, decided to attack Syria in order to forestall the hostile intentions of the sultan who had been concentrating an army there since his declaration of war on France (September 9, 1798).

We went to Israel in 2019 (the expedition, despite its name, having taken place entirely in this current country, apart from the passage through Gaza on the way there and back) and visited the places where General Bonaparte passed during this four-month campaign, the battlefield of Mount Tabor, as well as the adjacent battle sites. The photos on this page are from this stay.

The Egyptian Campaign The Egyptian Campaign

February 1799

February of 1799
The Citadel of Ashdod

March 1799

March of 1799
Dor's Bay

April 1799

April 1799
Acre [Akko]

May 1799

May of 1799
Jaffa [Yafo]

All of Napoleon's movements from 1769 to 1821 All of Napoleon's movements from 1769 to 1821

Photos credits

  Photos by Lionel A. Bouchon.
  Photos by Didier Grau.
  Photos by Michèle Grau-Ghelardi.
  Photos by Marie-Albe Grau.
  Photos by Floriane Grau.
  Photos by various authors.

Sources

This page has as its main sources the successive works of Albert Schuermans, Louis Garros and Jean Tulard, as well as the writings of Roger Iappini.