A long while before Indiana Jones was depicted discovering the Ark of the Covenant in Cairo in that famous franchise, a young, ambitious, French soldier by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798. The consequence resulted in a great archaeological and linguistic revolution that would result in the field of Egyptology and would revolutionize how we view ancient historiography.  The General and His Campaign Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, recently acquired by the French government a year before his birth in 1768. He would spend his formative years at the prestigious École Militaire (Military Academy), starting in 1784, eventually graduating and taking a commission as an artillery officer in the French Army. Also gaining momentum at this time was the French Revolution, and along with many others, Napoleon himself was swept up in its hysteria. After a couple of years of brutal conflict and soaring up the ranks of the French military, Napoleon had set his sights on an important geographical area - Egypt. Author J. Christopher Herold writes in, The Age of Napoleon: “The Ottoman Empire, they [the Foreign Office] pointed out, was breaking up; if France did not secure her share in time, Russia and Austria would swallow up the whole…. Militarily, the operation was easy; a few thousand troops would suffice.” Thus, the rationale for invasion was set, and the invasion began. Read moreSection: NewsAncient PlacesAfricaHistoryFamous PeopleRead Later