Editing Mamluk (section)

===Independence from the Ottomans===
{{Main|History of Ottoman Egypt}}
[[File:Carle Vernet Mameluck en Attaque.jpg|thumb|Charge of the Mamluk [[cavalry]] by [[Carle Vernet]]]]

In 1768, [[Ali Bey Al-Kabir]] declared independence from the Ottomans. However, the Ottomans crushed the movement and retained their position after his defeat. By this time new slave recruits were introduced from Georgia in the Caucasus.

====Napoleon invades====
{{Main|French campaign in Egypt and Syria}}

[[File:Myrbach-Charge of the Mamluks.jpg|thumb|left|Charge of the Mamluks during the [[Battle of Austerlitz]] by [[Felician Myrbach]]. An elite body of cavalry whom the French encountered during their [[French Campaign in Egypt and Syria|campaign in Egypt in 1798]], the Mamluks could trace their lineage of service to the Ottomans back to the mid-13th century.]]
In 1798, the ruling [[French Directory|Directory]] of the [[French First Republic|Republic of France]] authorised a campaign in "The Orient" to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. To this end, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] led an [[Armée d'Orient (1798)|Armée d'Orient]] to Egypt.

The French defeated a Mamluk army in the [[Battle of the Pyramids]] and drove the survivors out to [[Upper Egypt]]. The Mamluks relied on massed cavalry charges, changed only by the addition of [[musket]]s. The French infantry [[Infantry square|formed square]] and held firm. Despite multiple victories and an initially successful expedition into Syria, mounting conflict in Europe and the earlier defeat of the supporting French fleet by the British [[Royal Navy]] at the [[Battle of the Nile]] decided the issue.

On 14 September 1799, General [[Jean-Baptiste Kléber]] established a mounted company of Mamluk auxiliaries and Syrian [[Janissaries]] from Turkish troops captured at the [[Siege of Acre (1799)|siege of Acre]]. [[Jacques-François Menou|Menou]] reorganized the company on 7 July 1800, forming three companies of 100 men each and renaming it the "Mamluks de la République". In 1801 General [[Jean Rapp]] was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mamluks. On 7 January 1802 the previous order was canceled and the squadron reduced to 150 men. The list of effectives on 21 April 1802 reveals three officers and 155 of other rank. By decree of 25 December 1803 the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the [[Chasseurs|Chasseurs-à-Cheval]] of the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] (see [[Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard]]).

[[File:El dos de mayo de 1808 en Madrid rdit.jpg|thumb|''[[The Second of May 1808]]'': the charge of the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard in [[Madrid]], by [[Francisco de Goya]]]]
Napoleon left with his personal guard in late 1799. His successor in Egypt, General [[Jean-Baptiste Kléber]], was assassinated on 14 June 1800. Command of the Army in Egypt fell to [[Jacques-François Menou]]. Isolated and out of supplies, Menou surrendered to the British in 1801.