Title: The British Campaign In Egypt (1807) Between British Documents And Al-Jabarti's History, An Analytical Study
Authors: Mahmoud Ahmed Darwish
Volume: 9
Issue: 9
Pages: 266-273
Publication Date: 2025/09/28
Abstract:
Despite the abundance of writings in Arabic sources and references about the campaign launched by the British Empire against Alexandria and Rosetta, as a prelude to the invasion and occupation of Egypt in 1807, most of these accounts rely on the account of Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Burhan al-Din al-Jabarti in his monumental work "Aja'ib al-Athar fi al-Tarajim wa al-Akhbar" (The Wonders of Antiquities in Biographies and News). This account should be noted in this regard, as it is a fundamental reference for that period. However, the seeker of truth should be familiar with all sources that deal with this campaign, especially the documents preserved in the British archives. Most important of these, of course, are the letters and reports exchanged between the military leaders of the campaign, along with diplomats, ministers, ambassadors, and members of the British government. These letters, by their very nature, were mostly confidential. Therefore, in this study, we have attempted to combine these British documents with what is mentioned in Arabic sources, especially al-Jabarti. This is an addition that I believe has brought something new to the field of historical research into what is mentioned in these British documents. It has become clear that there are fundamental differences in many of the events from what is mentioned in al-Jabarti's accounts, which was the original source for many Arabic references in writing about the historical events of this period. The published documents also provide a faithful picture of the events, and we should not conclude that there are no gaps: archives always provide them, and researchers may fill them better than us. The research addresses three axes: British documents (21st November 1806 to 21st October 1807), Al-Jabarti (1820), the difference between British documents and al-Jabarti, an analytical study of the events of the campaign in Egypt in 1807.