Transformation of the causes of the French intervention in Egypt (1798–1801)

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the causes and preconditions of the French intervention in Egypt during 1798–1801. The author examines the evolution of strategic thinking within the French political and military elite–from medieval concepts of controlling the Holy Lands to the emergence of colonial, economic, and geopolitical ambitions characteristic of the late eighteenth century. Particular attention is paid to the domestic political context in post-Italian Campaign France, Napoleon Bonaparte’s ambitions, and the Directory’s fear of rising military dictatorship. The article explores France’s economic difficulties, the loss of overseas colonies, and its desire to expand influence in the Mediterranean. A broad range of sources is used: memoirs of participants, works of modern Western historians (V. Cronin, D. Bell, M. Lyons, W. та A. Durant), and materials from the Napoleonic digital archive. The author concludes that the Egyptian campaign was not merely a military operation but a product of overlapping colonial interests, political adventurism, and Napoleon’s personal aspirations–framed as a mission to liberate the Muslim world. Thus, the invasion of Egypt emerges as a multidimensional phenomenon that merits in-depth interdisciplinary study.