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real. The bafhaw was, in fact, little more than a fign and memorial of the refpect formerly paid, and fill profeffed, by all Muffelmen, to the eldeft fon of the prophet Under the bafhaw there were inferior governors, under various defignations, in the different provinces, but the power of the fword was in the hands of the Mammalukes. A fmall number of Janiflaries indeed was retained at Cairo, and a few other places in the fervice of the Porte, of which they held landed poffeffions, in return for their fervice. In Up. per Egypt, there were fome Arabs who paid tribute to the grand fignior, or made prefents to the bahaw: and in the Lower Egypt, there were fome villages in the poffeffion of fheicks. But the real government or fovereignty of Egypt was poffeffed by the Mammalukes, originally foldiers of fortune, but who paid very little regard to the conditions on which they held their power and property. They came originally from the mountainous countries, between the Black Sea and Caucafus, and their armies were ftill recruited by boys from thofe countries, and other youth, the children of Chriftian flaves -brought for fale to Grand Cairo. The laws of Mahomet enjoin great compaffion and tendernefs for flaves, and nothing is confidered as more pleafing and meritorious in the fight of God than their total emancipation. The condition of "the young flaves, who fell into the hands of the Mammalukes, was certainly among the gentleft lots of flavery. It was the road to fortune. They were brought up by the Mammalukes in the fame manner as their own children, and came, in tine, to be almoft confidered as

fuch: nor did the circumftance of their having ever been in a state of flavery preclude them from any degree of preferment, even that of be, which was the chief; who was chofen freely by a plurality of voices in a full council of officers: fo that the beys, elevated to power, neither by the accident of birth, nor the particular favour of any fovereign prince, but in fome degree at least, if not chiefly, by their own merit, were, for the most part, men of fuperior talents and unquestionable courage. The Mammalukes were all of them brave, even to excefs. In the battle of the Pyramids, the iffue of which gave the French a footing in Egypt, and of which fome notice has been taken in the laft volume of this work, they had the temerity to rufh in between the compacted and fquare battalions of the French army; and there meet their fate. They, to a man, refufed quarter, and fought to the laft, fometimes when defperately and mortally wounded. They were accustomed, from their earliest years, to a dextrous management of the finest and most spirited horfes in the world. They were armed with fwords and piftols, mufkets, and lances. Their wealth and ftate difplayed in their arms, dress, and equipage. Their habitations and household furniture were wretched. It was their manner inceffantly to wheel round about an enemy in his front, flank, and rear, and to retreat as he advanced, unless they perceived an advantage, or were under a neceffity of coming to clofe action, while another division of them hung upon his rear, and endeavoured to furround and cut off detached parties, wherever they could find an opening. The gene

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zal fpirit of their warfare, like that of the ancient Scythians and the Arabs, was, to cut off fupplies,, and harafs and deftroy their enemy by repeated attacks, according to opportunities, But in different circumftances, their courage, as might be expected, was more or lefs impetuous and daring.

The beys were not all of them, without exception, of Chriftian origir, as has been commonly fuppofed.. Of late years the annual number of flaves from Georgia, Mingrelia, and Circaffia, has been greatly diminished. In 1762, five of the beys were of Mahometan defcent and from the caule juft mentioned, the proportion of the Mahometan to what we may call the Chriftian beys, has probably become greater.

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The number of the beys, originally four-and-twenty, by the encroachments of the more powerful over the weaker, had been reduced, it is faid, to eighteen or twenty but on that point the accounts vary. They had frequent quarrels with one another, but thefe did not lead to fuch ferious and obftinate contefts as has been imagined. They did not draw the whole of their refources, whether of actual poffeffion or credit, and many thoufands of unoffending people, into the vortex of protracted war, but quickly fettled their difputes by pitched encounters; in which they were accompanied and joined by the fmall corps of their refpective bodyguards. When the combat was over, the conqueror returned immediately to the capital, where most of the bafhaws refided. The vanquished party returned alfo thither, in a few days thereafter. If he fell in battle, another bey was cholen in his ftead; and there was

an end of the matter. So that on the whole the difputes among the Mammalukes were not of fuch an inveterate nature, as to prevent a ready union against a common enemy.

There were about 10,000 Mammalukes clothed in one uniform, and which were at the difpofal of government; or rather that of the Beys, who feem to have confidered themfelves as forming, in fome refpecs, a kind of republic. But, befides thefe, each Mammaluke kept on foot, or could eafily raife bodies of men among his own vassals.

There were in Egypt, befides the military and predominant cafte of the Mammalukes, a great number of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, and Cophts, who were Chriftians, and the defcendents of the ancient Egyptians. The Bedouin Arabs were attached to the Mahometan faith, and hoftile to ftrangers; but neither abfolutely proof against the power of money, nor the ufual influence of a carcer of victory amongst barbarians.

After his firft fuccefies, the reduction of Alexandria, Rotta, Damietta, and Cairo, and, above all, the battle of the Pyramids, there was ground for hope, that many of the Arabs might be drawn over to the fide of the conqueror. The Jews, as ufual, were at the fervice of the best paymafter; not to make any account of the refentment they must have felt at the treatment they received from the Turks and other Muffelmen. The Greeks and the Cophts, though greatly humbled in their minds, as in their fortunes, and the latter debafed almoft to brutality, by a long feries of tyranny and oppreffion, might yet be rouzed by kinder treatment, and better profpects, to a fenfe of natural dignity and freedom. The clouded profpects of Buonaparte were therefore, on the [B3]

whole,

whole, brightened up by gleams of hope, fufficient to call the powers of his inventive and active mind into full exertion.

The land-forces on board Buonaparte's fleet, when he took poffeffion of Malta, infantry, artillery, and cavalry, amounted to near 40,000. Four thousand were left to garrifon that ifland; but, in return, fome thousands of the Maltese failors and foldiers joined him, as volunteers, in his expedition to Egypt. And the battle of Aboukir, which ruined the fleet, contributed to reinforce the army. To the 36,000 that remained, after leaving a garrifon in Malta, he added the volunteers of that place, under the defignation of the Maltefe legion and the mariners, who efcaped from the wrecks of the fleet, to the number of 2 or 3,000, under that of the nautical legion. There were, on board the fhips of the line, frigates, and other veffels of war, in the port of Alexandria, about 4,000 men. The crews of the transports amounted to 2,000, and thofe of a flotilla, equip ped on the Nile, to 1,500. So that there ftill remained, at the difpofal of the French commander, a force, land and marine, of near 50,000 men. The land force was difpofed along the course of the Nile, as far as Salachier, at the entrance of the defert. Here a ftrong fort was raised with great expedition. The old caftle of Cairo commanding that great city, whofe population has been calculated at 400,000, was repaired, or or rather rebuilt and ftrengthened, according to the rules of modern fortification. Redoubts were caft up in other places; and the entrance into the harbour of Alexandria was defended by formidable batteries, raifed, on the

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appearance of the British fleet, with wonderful celerity.

The

The first care of the general was to provide for the fupport of his troops, and the prefervation of their health. The Egyptians, by nature a foft and timid race, were naturally ftruck, after the arrival of the French, with terror. They fhut themselves up in their own houses, and concealed whatever they had fit for being ufed as food. So that for feveral days the French were forced to subsist on their own naval ftores. But when the apprehens fions of the natives were removed, by the good difcipline of the French; the markets of Alexandria were fapplied with all forts of provifions, in the greateft abundance. Delta was fully fufficient to fupplý all neceffaries, which could be conveyed to the French magazines, hy the Nile, or by canals. The olă canal that conveyed the waters of the Nile to Alexandria, with other canals, were cleared and repaired. Wind-mills were conftructed for the grinding of corn, the only mills known to the natives being handmills, and here and there mills wrought by oxen. The want of wine was found capable of being supplied by a fpirit extracted from dates. And the Egyptian inftitute, formed on the plan of that of France, had it in charge, from the commanderin-chief, to inquire whether Egypt did not furnifh a fubftitute for hops for the making of beer. At Alexandria, and Grand Cairo, boards were inftituted for inquiring into the best means for the prevention of conta gious diftempers, and in general for preferving the health of the feamen and foldiers: among the firft fruits of which was the cleaning of thefe and other cities from many impuri

ties,

ties, and a recommendation of the bath, with directions for ufing it, to the French foldiers. At Cairo, a theatre was established for the amufement of the French; and mufic was introduced on all occafions. But, in fpite of every effort of this kind, the French army muft be diminished by the accidents of war in the process of time, and that not very long, and by natural deaths and difeafe moulder away at last to nothing, unless it fhould, from time to time, be recruited by fresh fupplies of men. Buonaparte,therefore, in imitation of the Romans, and of Alexander the Great, whofe examples were still before him, determined to arrange, under his ftandard, the inhabitants of the country, which, as yet he had over-run, and that only in part, rather than conquered. He allured into his fervice, by liberal pay and the profpect of plunder, corps of Arabs and Greeks, and even a company of Janiffaries. The fons of the Mammalukes, who had fallen in battle, or fied from the country, above eight but under fixteen years of age, as well as thofe of their flaves, white or black, he brought into the demi-brigades to fupply the place of the French drummers, and players on the fife, whom he placed in the ranks, as fufileers. The young Mammalukes, from fixteen to twenty-four, were incorporated with the battalions.

The predominant paffions of the inhabitants of Egypt, were religious bigotry and fuperftition, and a jealoufy and indignation against any degree of familiarity with their women. Buonaparte, therefore, deemed it necessary to inftruct and caution his army on thefe two important and delicate fubjects. In a proclamation, dated at head-quarters, on board the L'Orient, June 22,

1798, after declaring the object of the expedition, which was, to promote the general interefts of civilization and commerce, and humble the naval power of England, and confidently promifing, after feveral fatiguing marches, and fome hoftile encounters, complete fuccefs, he told them, that the people, among whom they were going to live, were Mahometans; the firft article of whofe religious creed was, that "There is no God, but God, and Mahomet is his prophet." Do not contradict them, faid he. Conduct yourfelves towards them, as we have done towards the Jews and the Italians. Shew refpect to their muftis and their imans, and the ceremonies prefcribed by the Koran as you have fhewn to the rabbis and the bishops. Cherifh the fame fpirit of toleration for the mofques that you have entertained for the convents and the fynagogues, for the religion of Mofes, and of Jefus Chrift. The Roman legions protected all religions. You will find here ufages different from those of Europe. You will reconcile yourfelves to them by cuftom.

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The people of the land into which we are about to enter differ from us in their mode of their treatment of women: but, in every country, he who offers violence to the women is a monfter. Buonaparte proceeded next to warn them againft giving way to a fpirit of plunder. Pillage, which can enrich only a very few, reflects difhonour on the whole; it dries up our resources, and converts into enemies thole whom it is our intereft to have for friends." In conclufion, he reminded them that the city they were going to attack was built by Alexander, and that grand recollections, fitted to excite the [B4] emulation

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emulation of Frenchmen, would be recalled to their minds at every ftep. At the fame time, orders were issued that every individual of the army who fhould pillage or fteal fhould be thot; that the punishment of death fhould alfo be inflicted on every individual of the army who fhould impofe contributions towns, villages, or individuals, or fhould commit extortions of any kind; and that, when any individuals of a divifion fhould have committed any diforders in a country, the whole divifion, if the offender fhould not be discovered, fhould be refponfible, and pay the fum neceffary to indemnify the inhabitants for the lofs fuftained.

Nothing but neceffaries for the foldiers, hofpitals, tranfports, and artillery, was to be put in requifition; and, when once the requifitions were made, the objects required were to be put into the hands of the different adminiftrations, who fhould give receipts for them, and receive others from thofe to whom they fhould diftribute them, and be accountable for every thing. Thus, in no cafe, could officers or foldiers receive directly the objects required. While Buonaparte was anxious to reftrain his officers and foldiers from giving any offence to the people of Egypt, he was farther folicitous to gain their forbearance and good will by the ftrongeft profeffions of regard for both their religious fentiments and civil interefts, endeavouring to perfuade them that they and the Great Nation could have no other than the fame objects in view, the fame friends, and the fame enemies. In a letter to the bashaw of Egypt, June 30, he fays, "The executive directory of the French republic have

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frequently applied to the Sublime Porte to demand the punishment of the beys of Egypt, who oppreffed, with their vexations, the merchants of France; but the Sublime Porte declared that the beys, an avaricious and fickle race, refufed to liften to the principles of juftice; and, not only, that the Porte did not authorize thefe infults, but withdrew their protection from the perfons by whom they were committed; the French republic has refolved to fend a powerful army to put an end to the exactions of the beys of Egypt, in the fame manner as it has been feveral times compelled, during the prefent century, to take thefe meafures againft the beys of Tunis and Algiers. You, who ought to be the mafters of the beys, and yet are kept at Cairo, without power or authority. You ought to regard my arrival with pleafare; you are, doubtlefs, already apprifed that I come not to attempt any thing against the alcoran or the fultan. You know that the French nation is the only ally which the fultan has in Europe. Come, then, and meet me, and curfe along with me the impious race of the beys."

On the fame day, the general-inchief, affuming the air and character of a true Muffelman, addressed a proclamation to the people of Egypt. As it ferves to display the character of the Egyptians, as well as that of Buonaparte, it may be acceptable to the reader that it fhould be, inferted here, at full length, rather than receive a tincture of any other mind, even by abridgement. It is a curious fpecimen of that moral artillery with which Buonaparte, "becoming all things to all men," propofed to fpread the power of the French republic over the world. "In the

gracious:

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