He commanded the Mamluk cavalry and Janissaries' infantry in the Battle of Shubra Khit on 13 July 1798, but he was defeated by the French "Armée" and withdrew from the fight. Eight days later, on 21 July, he commanded the Mamluk cavalry during the Battle of the Pyramids, alongside Ibrahim Bey, and was defeated at the hands of Napoleon's armies. While Ibrahim Bey fled towards Sinai, Murad had fled to Cairo first and then to Upper Egypt and began mounting a brief guerrilla campaign that staved off Desaix for a year. It was while pursuing Murad Bey into Upper Egypt that the French discovered the monuments at Dendera, Thebes, Edfu and Philae.