EGYPT IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM 71walls and fired on the advancing French infantry, but it did not last par-
ticularly long. The French stormed up the walls and into the city. The
Rosetta gate was cut open with axes, and the French troops poured in.
If a few Janissaries, supported by their militia, had stood in defense at
the moment of the escalade, the story might have been different, but they
did not. The defenders fled in confusion behind the Sarrasin Wall and
sought refuge in the new town, and finally in the triangular fort (also
known as the Pharaohs’ Fortress).
The initial attack, however, did not assure victory. As the French troops
rallied, Napoleon had the commander of a Turkish caravel—a merchant
ship—brought to him. He told the Turk that all resistance was useless. He
went on to say that he would allow Alexandria to be pillaged by his army
if it continued to resist and that he would have the inhabitants slaughtered.
He repeated that his intentions were friendly, that he was a friend of the
sultan, but an enemy of the Mamluks, and asked that he take to the Al-
exandrians his hopeful words.
The Turkish captain went into the city, repeated everything that he had
heard and added that the French general had promised to respect the re-
ligion and property of the faithful. The populace, hearing this and reas-
sured by Napoleon’s promises, asked their leaders to submit.
An hour after the Turkish captain went into the city a group of imams,
sheiks, and sherifs was seen coming out. They sought personal assurances
from Napoleon and asked to view the forces facing them. New promises
were exchanged and confidence began to be established.
Sherif Kortaı ̈m alone continued to resist. He closed himself up in the
Pharaohs’ Fortress with a few Mamluks. He refused to surrender until
later that afternoon when it became obvious that any further resistance
was impossible. A generous Napoleon comforted Kortaı ̈m for his defeat
and reassured him that he would continue to govern Alexandria.
On July 1 the city of Alexandria, its gates, and fortifications, were
entirely in the hands of the French. Toward evening, the city had calmed
down. Napoleon ordered that the Muslim prayers and ceremonies continue
as usual, and soon the Alexandrians began to wonder if they had actually
changed masters.
Once his full army was ashore and secure in Alexandria, Napoleon
immediately set about organizing his forces for the march on Cairo. The
march south began on July 6 and for the French soldiers, the march
through the desert was a tremendous hardship.
The Mamluks had begun to respond to the French invasion and gathered
their forces. A force of 4,000 mounted Mamluks and 12,000fellahinmi-