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

THE OBJECT OF HIS DESIRES185an artillery piece, chased the boatmen away. Dugua then sent a strong columndown to the town of Manzala, the residence of the recalcitrant chieftain. GeneralDamas, tasked with this operation, dispersed a gathering of armed men andentered Manzala without encountering any opposition. Niello Sargy’s divisionthen joined his forces. The skiffs of the lake people were forced to flee. TheFrench were able to establish military posts at Matariya and Manzala that wouldprotect the flotilla plying the lagoon. Hasan Tubar relocated to elsewhere in thelake region, maintaining his small squadron and remaining a threat to Bonaparte’sarmy.Bonaparte was unable to spot rising popular resentment and anger in the capital.His lack of money forced him into arbitrary policies whereby he often allowedthe troops to live by looting Egyptians. On top of that he imposed stifftaxes, making the conquered population pay for its own conquest and occupation.The 20,000 French troops in the capital knew little Arabic and had no familiaritywith Egyptian Muslim culture. The engineers among the officersbegan rearranging the city to their specifications, tearing down what theyviewed as useless tombs or Sufi shrines that got in the way of straighter, broaderavenues, or removing the barriers between city quarters. Turk recalled that theydestroyed “the mosques and minarets at al-Azbakiya Square so as to widen thestreets for the passage of their wagons.” 8On one occasion when French engineers tore down some sacred tombs,Bonaparte said that the news spread and “excited a lively discontent.” 9 In response,“a tide of people, at six o’clock in the afternoon, inundated AzbakiyaSquare, and performed a sort of charivari under the windows of the Great Sultan.”His guards interposed themselves and took up their arms. Bonaparte sayshe was at dinner. “I presented myself at the window with my interpreter, Venture,who explained to me that this was a mark of confidence, that it was a mannerauthorized by custom of presenting a petition to a sovereign.” Venture wentdown and asked the crowd to choose twenty spokesmen, whom he brought in tosee Bonaparte, having them greeted “with the greatest distinction.” Treatingthem like great sheikhs, he had them served coffee and sorbets and introducedthem to the commander in chief, who listened to their complaints. The tombsof the saints “had been violated.” The French “had behaved as infidels or idolaterswould have.” (The crowd leaders were reminding Bonaparte of his contentionthat his army was made up of neither, but were rather “muslims.”) Theprayer leaders and callers to prayer in the delegation were “ordinarily extremely