Battle of the Pyramids The Battle of the Pyramids , also known as the Battle of Embabeh , was fought on July 21 , 1798 between the French army in Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte , and forces of the local Mamluk rulers . It occurred during France ' s Egyptian Campaign and was the battle where Napoleon put into use one of his significant contributions to tactics , the massive divisional square . Actually a rectangle , the first and second demi - brigades of the division formed the front and rear faces , while the third demi - brigade formed the two sides . Napoleon named the battle after the Egyptian pyramids , because they were faintly visible on the horizon when the battle took place . Prelude . In July of 1798 , Napoleon was marching from Alexandria toward Cairo after invading and capturing the former . He met the forces of the ruling Mamluks nine miles ( 15 km ) from the Pyramids , and only four miles ( 6 km ) from Cairo . The Mamluk forces were commanded by two Georgian mamluks Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey and had powerful and highly developed cavalry . This fight was known as The Battle of Chobrakit . Napoleon realized that the only Egyptian troops of any worth on the battlefield were the cavalry . He exhorted his troops , saying , " Forward ! Remember that from those monuments yonder forty centuries look down upon you . " Battle . Napoleon ordered an advance on Murad ' s army with each of the five divisions of his army organized into hollow rectangles with cavalry and baggage at the center and cannon at the corners . The French divisions advanced south in echelon , with the right flank leading and the left flank protected by the Nile . From right to left , Napoleon posted the divisions of Desaix , Reynier , Dugua , Vial and Bon . In addition , Desaix sent a small detachment to occupy the nearby village of Biktil , just to the west . Murad anchored his right flank on the Nile at the village of Embabeh , which was fortified and held with infantry and some ancient cannons . His Mamluk cavalry deployed on the desert flank . Ibrahim , with a second army , watched helplessly from the east bank of the Nile , unable to intervene . ( Chandler asserts that Napoleon ' s 25 , 000 - strong army outnumbered Murad ' s 6 , 000 Mamluks and 15 , 000 infantry . ) At about 3 : 30 pm , the Mamluk cavalry hurled itself at the French without warning . The divisional " squares " of Desaix , Reynier and Dugua held firm and repelled the horsemen with point - blank musket and artillery fire . Unable to make an impression on the French formations , some of the frustrated Mamluks rode off to attack Desaix ' s detached force . Even this was a failure . Meanwhile , nearer the river , Bon ' s division deployed into attack columns and charged Embabeh . Breaking into the village , the French routed the garrison . Trapped against the river , many of the Mamluks and infantry tried to swim to safety , but hundreds drowned . Napoleon reported a loss of 29 killed and 260 wounded . Murad ' s losses were far heavier , perhaps as many as 3 , 000 of the irreplaceable Mamluk cavalry and unknown numbers of infantry . Murad escaped to Upper Egypt , where he carried on an active guerilla campaign before being run to earth by Desaix in late 1799 . Aftermath . Upon the news of the defeat of their legendary cavalry , the waiting Mamluk armies in Cairo dispersed to Syria to reorganize . The Battle of the Pyramids signalled the beginning of the end of 700 years of Mamluk rule in Egypt . Despite this auspicious beginning , Admiral Horatio Nelson ' s victory in the Battle of the Nile ten days later ended Napoleon ' s hopes for a conquest of the Middle East . Engulfed by the west bank portion of the city of Cairo , nothing remains of the battlefield today .