Napoleon's Egypt: Invading The Middle East - Reenactor.ru

THE FLIGHT OF IBRAHIM BEY103“Many of the great Mamluk households of the eighteenth century employedCoptic [notables] and gave them heavy responsibilities to run their finances, orto employ them as scribes to audit their accounts.” 19 These lay notables, growingenormously wealthy, became philanthropists and benefactors of the churchand emerged as the leaders of the community, shunting aside the priests. Thestatus of Copts in Egyptian society rose with this influx of wealth, and the communityleaders attended even at Muslim festivals. Bonaparte, therefore, did notinnovate in depending on Copts for fiscal administration or in promoting themsocially, though in placing them above Muslims in some ways, he did ruffle a lotof feathers. Bonaparte was able to take over the administration of Egypt sosmoothly in part because he simply adopted the already-existing Coptic networkon which the Ottoman-Egyptian rulers had also depended. Consul Magallonand other old Egypt hands would have informed Bonaparte of theimportance of the Copts in this regard.Given the French military control of the country, the installation of Coptslike Mata Sirafim and Binuf Gizawi as provincial revenue chiefs looked to someMuslims like a Christian takeover of the country. 20 The Muslim cleric al-Jabartilamented that when the French confirmed the holders of rural fiefs (iltizams) intheir titles, they appointed Coptic Christian tax collectors for these estates.“They descended on the country like rulers and achieved their object with regardto the Muslims through beatings, imprisonment, and humiliation, andthrough coercive demands and frightening people with threats that they wouldcall the French soldiers if the imposts they fixed were not paid immediately. Allof this was through Coptic manipulation and wiles.” 21Two weeks after taking Cairo, Bonaparte upbraided General Joseph Zajonchek,governor of al-Minufiya Province, for his poor administrative style, apparentlybecause he had dismissed and publicly humiliated one of his Copticrevenue officers: “I did not view with pleasure the manner in which you conductedyourself toward the Copt. My intention is that one handle these peoplewith tact and have regard for them. Let me know about a subject toward whomyou have a complaint, and I will replace him. I further do not approve of yourhaving arrested the revenue officer without investigating whether he was culpableor not, and then having released him twelve hours later. That is not the wayto conciliate someone. Study the people among whom you find yourself; identifythose who are most suitable to being used. Sometimes make a just and severeexample of someone, but never come close to caprice or thoughtlessness.” 22Bonaparte clearly thought that the Coptic tax collectors were one key to establishinga colonial administration of Egypt, since, as Christians with detailed