The Napoleonic Era

Roustam Napoleon's Bodyguard

There were probably 60,000-65,000 of Mameluks living in Egypt at the time of Napoleon, of which some 15,000-17,000 composed the Mameluk cavalry, which was justly considered as one of the best Eastern armies. The Mameluks were excellent warriors, and their virtuosity, courage, and dedication astonished Napoleon. The Mameluk cavalry was certainly impressive to look at. Napoleon praised it saying “10,000 Mameluks could have easily fought and won against 50,000 Turks . . . I imagine what I could have done using a fistful of these warriors”. And indeed mounted on fine Arabian steeds (the most valuable treasure of Mameluks, as well as of Arabs), and armed to the teeth with a shotgun, 4 pistols and bejeweled scimitars, Mameluks were an impressive army. But despite of all their weaponry and flash power, the Mameluks were still essentially a medieval fighting force. Their dedication knew only how to charge, which was no match for the firepower and steel discipline of the French soldiers. This basic pattern was seen in every conflict, big or small, during the entire Egyptian campaign. Although, they could not resist French firepower, their martial art was incomparably higher, but they lacked the discipline and organization. “One Mameluk is stronger than two French soldiers; 100 Mameluks are equal to 150 French soldiers; 300 Frenchmen will defeat 300 Mameluks, and 1500 Mameluks will always lose to 1000 Frenchmen”, Napoleon once remarked. Thus, the martial art of a singl Mameluk was high, but the steel discipline French soldiers and the genius of their commander-in-chief always defeated them.

It was the Mameluk’s custom to carry their wealth on their person, and after the battle of the Pyramids the French soldiers spent much time in fishing for the drowned Mameluks. It was estimated that each body thus recovered would bring about 8 or 9 thousand francs to the lucky finder. Noteworthy, when in 1798 Murad Bey was invited by the French envoy to begin negotiations with Napoleon, he replied that if Bonaparte would retreat to Alexandria and with his troops, Mameluks would pay 10,000,000 francs in gold.

After the departure of French troops in 1801, Mameluks continued their struggle for independence, this time against the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. For more than 5 years, the Mameluks fought against superior enemies and defeated them several times. It must be mentioned that in 1803 Mameluk leaders Ibrahim Beg and Usman Beg wrote a letter to Russian general-consul and asked him to act as a mediator to the Sultan as they wanted a cease fire and to return to their homeland, Georgia. The Russian Ambassador in Istanbul categorically refused to mediate, for the Russian government was afraid of allowing Mameluks to return. Meanwhile, in Georgia there was a strong national-liberation movement and the Mameluks’ return would have empowered it.

In 1805, the population of Cairo rebelled and there was an excellent opportunity for the Mameluks to seize the state authority and became independent. But the tension among them and betrayal by some Mameluks, did not allow them to seize this chance. In 1806, the Mameluks defeated the Turkish forces several times, and in June confronting parties concluded a treaty, according to which Muhammad Ali (appointed as governor of Egypt on March 26 1806) was to be removed and the state authority in Egypt returned to the Mameluks. But again, internal tension and conflicts between the clans did not allow the Mameluks to use this opportunity. Muhammad Ali kept his authority and this would be fatal for the Mameluks.

Mohammed Ali knew that eventually he would have to contend with the Mameluks if he ever wanted to control Egypt. They were still the feudal owners of Egypt and their land was still the source of wealth and power in Egypt. In 1809-1810, Muhammad Ali managed to split the Mameluks, one part of who went to Sudan and settled there. Finally, on March 1, 1811 Muhammad Ali invited all Mameluks to his palace to celebrate the declaration of war against the Arabs. There were nearly 600 Mameluks (in another source about 700) on parade in Cairo, when near the Al-Azab gates, in a narrow road down from Mukatamb Hill, superior Turk forces suddenly fired at them and slaughtered almost every one. Only one Mameluk named Hasan survived as he cut his way though the Turks and jumped with the horse over a precipice and escaped. The name of this Mameluk became a legend and Arabian writer Jurji Zaidan wrote a story “Exiled Mameluk” dedicated to him.

Throughout the following week almost thousands of Mameluks were killed in Egypt. In the citadel of Cairo more than 1000 Mameluks were murdered, while in the streets about 3000 Mameluks and their relatives were massacred. One little group of Mameluks escaped to Sudan and settled in a little village Dongola. For nine years, sp,eMameluks lived in Dongola in poverty, many of whom died within 2 or 3 years (among them Ibrahim Beg, who died in 1816). In 1820, Muhammad Ali pardoned them and allowed them to return to Egypt, but only 80 Mameluks crossed the border. This was the end of the history of Mameluks, and as James Oldridge wrote, this is how 600 years of ruling over Georgian slaves ended.

Noteworthy, the military history of Mameluks did not ended in 1811. Throughout the Napoleonic era, there was a special Mameluk corps in the French army. In his history of the 13th Chasseurs, Colonel Descaves recounts the use the young General Bonaparte made of native troops in Egypt. In his so-called "Instructions", which Bonaparte gave to Kleber after departure, Napoleon wrote that he had already bought about 2000 Mameluks from Syrian merchants from whom he intended to form a special detachment. On 14 September 1799, General Kleber established a mounted company of Mameluk auxiliaries and Syrian Janissaries from Turks captured at the siege of Acre. On 7 July 1800 General Menou reorganized the company, forming 3 companies of 100 men each and renaming it the “Mameluks de la Republique”. In 1801, General Rapp was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mameluks under his command. On 7 January 1802, the previous order was canceled and the squadron reduced to 150 men. The list of effectives on 21 April, 1802 reveals 3 officers, and 155 rank and file. By decree of 25 December, 1803 the Mameluks were organized into a company attached to the Chasseurs-a-Cheval of the Imperial Guard.

They performed well at Austerlitz (2 December, 1805) and were granted a standard and a roster increased to accommodate a standard bearer and a trumpet. A decree of 15 April 1806 defined the strength of squadron as 13 officers and 147 privates, while in 1813 its Chasseurs-a-Cheval of the Imperial Guard. A decree of 17 March established another company attached to the Young Guard. With the First Restoration, the company of the Mameluks of the Old Guard was incorporated in the Corps Royal des Chasseurs de France. The Mameluks of Young Guard were incorporated in the 7^th Chasseurs a Cheval.

Despite the Imperial decree of 21 March 1815 which stated that no foreigner could be admitted into the Guard, Napoleon’s decree of 24 April prescribed inter alia that the Chasseurs-a-Cheval of the Imperial Guard included a squadron of two companies of Mameluks for the Belgian Campaign

During their service in Napoleon’s army, the Mameluk squadron wore the following uniform:

Before 1804: The only "uniform" part was the cahouk (hat) green, white turban and red saroual (pants), all to be worn with a loose shirt and a vest. Boots were of yellow or red or tan soft leather. Weapons, an "oriental" scimitar, a brace of pistols in a holder decorated with a crescent and a star, in brass, and a dagger.

After 1804: The cahouk became red with a brass crescent and star, the was closed and had a collar. The main change was the addition of a "regulation" chasseur style saddle cloth and roll, imperial green in color, piped red, with a red and white fringe. The saddlery and harness remained Arabic in style. The undress uniform was as for the Chasseurs-a-Cheval of the Guard but of a dark blue clothe.

Notes

[1] Though it must be mentioned that the King of Georgia David II (1089-1125) employed a similar system against the Islamic states. In 1118 he resettled 250,000 nomads of Turkish (Kipçak) origin from the Northern Caucasus and established 45,000 strong regular army.

[2] Napoleon's famous bodyguard Roustan was Armenian from Tbilisi, and his real name was Rostom Raza. In his memoirs Rustam wrote that he was born in Tiflis (an old name of Tbilisi) and his father Rustam Unan was a merchant. Being born in Tbilisi Roustan was often considered as Georgian.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 1088