The masterpiece of the savants

Description de l'Egypte

The advent of modern technological advances led to explorations and discoveries of new lands and rediscovery of ancient civilizations. The kingdom of Egypt lying in the northeastern part of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean and the Red Sea could boast of its antiquities. The 18th and the 19th centuries were marked by European voyages, military expeditions and commercial visits to the place. The mummies, sphinx, and pyramids evoked much curiosity among the foreigners.

As a result, Egypt experienced the visit of Napoleon Bonaparte, the great French military general in the last decade of the eighteenth century. With a military force consisting of more than 34,000 troops, Napoleon started his journey for Egypt in the year 1798. It was not only a military expedition but also more so a literary one. He took along with him 167 persons that were distinguished members of the National Institute, scholars and scientists. He established his militaristic superiority by subjugating the Mamelukes. He even continued the literary expedition and founded the Instute d’ Egypt. Its main function was to study and describe ancient and modern Egypt. The institute was a conglomeration of scholars and scientists.

The savants, as these scholarly people were called, did researches in various fields to broaden the horizon of people concerning Egypt’s rich heritage. In 1799 the commission des Sciences et Arts was instructed to establish a committee to publish the savant’s research. The most illustrious fact about this precious work is that the scholars and learned men entrusted with its task did intensive and extensive study of almost all possible aspects from flora and fauna to geological, mineralogical, physical and geographical topics to complete this Herculean task. It took around 20 years to do this voluminous work. The masterpiece thus formed, has 837 copper plate engravings, above 3000 drawings, compiled in 11 volumes. These volumes are further subdivided into different sections with 5 for Antiquities, 3 for Natural History, 2 for Modern State and 1 for Maps. The research on varied types of rocks is delineated in the Mineralogy section of the Histoire Naturelle Volume II.

The first edition of Description de l’Égypte consisted of 9 quarto volumes and 11 volumes of plates with extraordinarily large format, popularly known as grande monde. Edme Francois Jomard is the general editor of this classic work. The work was published in chunks and it took around two decades (1809-28) to reach the final shape. Louis XVIII ordered for its second edition in June 1820. He even ordered to distribute 100,000 francs among 70 contributors as a token of acknowledgement.

In its present shape, it consists of 10 volumes with six volumes comprising descriptions and 4 comprising the history. It requires great enthusiasm and a consistent zeal to successfully carry out the task with adeptness and precision. This has much to do with the literary trend followed in France during this period. Eighteenth century France is marked by the idea of illuminesim or Enlightenment. Knowledge was the most sought after objective. The idea underlines the beginning of rationalism and the thirst for learning. Napoleon Bonaparte was a true representative of his time. He excelled as a mathematician and has a permanent interest in Science and Arts. His militaristic ambitions did not deter the knowledge seeker in him. It is much to his efforts that Description de l’Eacute;gypte is in its shape. We owe him the creation of this terrific work. Egypt offered him all that he idealized. It is quite explicit that the expedition to Egypt was not only politically motivated but had academic reasons as well. While the military expedition was carried over to curb British influence in the region the 167 academicians accompanied Napoleon to explore the antiquity and expose Egypt to the new knowledge. Jean Lambert Tallien summarizes the motif as, “not only that it should be useful to France in political and commercial terms, Arts and Science should also profit… Today, the French respect not only the laws and customs of the land but also the prejudices of those whose territory they occupy…”

cabinet Gaspard Monge and Claude-Louis were entrusted the task of selecting the academicians, out of whom the majority consisted of scientists. Scholars and scientists were chosen from research centers and institutions. The Ecole polytechnique contributed 45 people and General Caffarte du Falga spent 215,000 livres on the scientific equipments. J.B. Say selected 550 volumes of books but Bonaparte chose to select the scientific works himself. 25,329 livres were spent to create the library.

It was not only expensive but also tiresome to carry out this enormous task. Life was tough for the savants, once they landed in Egypt. The variation in climate and living inconveniencies troubled them considerably. Nevertheless, caring least for such things they performed their work with perfection. To quote Vivant Denon, “A single word from the hero… was sufficient to make me decide to go”, holds relevance for all the people who accompanied Napoleon. He seemed to transmit his zeal to his followers.

Napoleon wished to create an Institute d’Égypte on the model of the Institute National de France. With his faithful citizens behind him, he was eventually able to create it. The Scientific Academy attracted the notice of great historian Abdur Rahman Jabarti, when he visited Egypt.

The French orientalists who were part of this Expedition sought to harbor an environment of cordiality and understanding between the people of two different cultures. They presented their ideologies and made it available to the habitants in their common language. They were charged with the zeal to explore contemporary Arabic way of life, the vegetation, geography and even the animals of Egypt alongside the ancient Pharaohnic monuments and culture. Their former concept of Egypt as an Earthly Heaven received a setback when came face to face with the hardships of real Egyptian life. The fire of seeking knowledge did not die down and they carried on the task that finally created Description of Egypt, a wealth of knowledge.

Title page The Expedition was carried on by well-qualified consuls, translators working in eastern embassies and men of letters from the school of Oriental Languages in Paris. Some well-known names included “Venteur”, director of the Scientific Academy. De la Porte compiled a concise history taking into account the Mamlukes, to be included in the Description of Egypt. Yet another unforgettable name of Jan Joseph Marcel is attached to the work. He rescued the ancient, invaluable Quranic text from the Al Azhar mosque, in the midst of heavy shelling. Similarly, the insertion of Pharaohnic art into the work owes much to the engineers of Science and Arts committee. It includes features of Pharaohnic architecture, sculpture and arts.

Other expeditions followed, that further contributed to the information collected until then. The Edfu Temple was discovered that lay buried in the sand in the course of further expedition. The French scientists broke the ice and surmounted the obstacles that existed for eighteen centuries and were able to access the 12 royal tombs.

Thus, with these invaluable researches the Description de l’Égypte finally got its shape. The efforts are worthy of applause and appreciation. The text is no less than an Encyclopedia and is often compared to Dierot’s Encyclopedie. It was the most success attempt to explain Egypt, the exotic land, to the world and unravel its mysteries.