1798 — The Battle of the Pyramids

On July 21, 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte's army met the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids. His 20,000 troops faced a Mamluk force of nearly 60,000, the ancient wonders looming over the field, prompting his famous words: "From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us!"

His disciplined infantry squares shattered the Mamluk cavalry charges, and Cairo fell within days. It was a French victory on the field, clear and swift. Yet the source record notes its longer shadow as well: the battle would spark two centuries of Egyptian nationalism in the ancient land Napoleon had entered.