Cairo

The Cairo revolt of October 21, 1798, was an episode in the Egyptian campaign led by General Napoleon Bonaparte. The city, taken by Bonaparte, was the seat of the republican government during the Egyptian campaign and the scene of the popular uprising of the city's inhabitants, who were severely and ferociously repressed. The insurgents were literally crushed and defeated after losing 5 to 6,000 men.

The Egyptian campaign, whose military objective was to block the route to India for Great Britain, a rival power, was however coupled with a large-scale scientific expedition, with the aim of discovering the riches of Egypt and the countries of the East. The latter, for posterity, will bring back the famous Rosetta Stone,

its deciphering by Champollion and the development of Egyptomania among the general public. And despite the assassination of Kleber, to whom Napoleon had left the command in Egypt, the latter emerged with a prestige that opened the way to power, and from which he knew how to benefit by becoming First Consul, during the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (November 1799).