1799: French Pillage Palestinians

Juan Cole 03/11/2008

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At the Napoleon’s Egypt blog, Gen. Berthier describes how the French, having failed to take the fortress at Acre, destroy the city’s aqueduct in revenge and then pillage and loot the Palestinian countryside.

Word arrives to Gen. Bonaparte from Cairo that during his absence, popular uprisings have broken out in Sharqiyyah and Buhayra Provinces. (The rising at Damanhur in Buhayra was led by a messianic figure, or Mahdi).

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page