Enclosure in Letter from Harford Jones to Henry Dundas of 31 Oct 1798

IOR/L/PS/9/76/42

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The record is made up of 1 item (2 folios). It was created in 1 Jul 1798. It was written in French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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A copy of the proclamation written by General Napoleon Bonaparte after capturing Alexandria, dated 13 Messidor of Year VI of the French Revolution/Muharram 1213 (1 July 1798).

The proclamation declares the end of the rule of the Mamelukes in Egypt and criticises the Mameluke rulers. It denies that Bonaparte came to Egypt to destroy Islam and claims that he came to ‘free’ Egyptians from ‘tyrants’, proclaiming respect for God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Qur’an and describing the French as ‘pure Mahomedans’. It also exhorts Egyptians to support the French forces and not to support the Mamelukes against them.

The proclamation is followed by six articles making demands on the Egyptian population:

That a representative from each town within three leagues of the French camp come to make submission, stating that any town that refuses to make submission will be destroyed
That any town making submission must fly the French tricolour and the flag of the Great Lord [Sulṭān of the Ottoman Empire]
That Egyptians are to go about their business as ordinary, pray for the continued greatness of the Sultan and the French army, and curse the Mamelukes
That local chiefs are to put a seal on the houses and property of the Mamelukes.

This copy was enclosed in the letter from Harford Jones, Resident in Baghdad, to Henry Dundas, Secretary of State for War, dated 31 October 1798 (IOR/L/PS/9/76/43 and 44).

Extent and format

1 item (2 folios)

Written in

French in Latin script

Type

Archival file

Archive information for this record

Original held at: British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.
Access conditions: Unrestricted
Archive reference: IOR/L/PS/9/76/42
Date(s): 1 Jul 1798 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects: French Campaign in Egypt and the Levant (1798-1801)ProclamationsMilitary occupationFrench Revolutionary Wars (1792-1800)
Places: Egypt
People & organisations: Napoleon I

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Enclosure in Letter from Harford Jones to Henry Dundas of 31 Oct 1798, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/9/76/42, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100109378670.0x000001> [accessed 4 June 2026]

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Reference: IOR/L/PS/9/76/42
Title: Enclosure in Letter from Harford Jones to Henry Dundas of 31 Oct 1798
Pages: 1r:2v
Author: Napoleon I xx Napoleon Bonaparte
Usage terms: Public Domain