Fort Julien: A Mamluk and French Defensive Fort in Egypt
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Egypt
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- French, Mamluk
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page8 sections
History
Fort Julien, also known as Fort Rashid or Qaitbay Fort, is a historic defensive fort in Egypt near Rosetta, on the western bank of the Nile. The Mamluk military ruling elite built the original fortification around 1470 under Sultan Qaitbay. Its position near the river’s final stretch before the Mediterranean gave it a role in controlling movement between the Nile and the sea.
Mamluk and French phases
In 1516, Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri, another Mamluk ruler, strengthened the fort with a defensive wall. The complex later fell into disrepair. French forces took possession of it on 19 July 1799 during Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaign in Egypt and Syria, a military expedition that lasted from 1798 to 1801.
The French first carried out hurried repairs before undertaking a more extensive reconstruction. They renamed the fort Fort Julien after Thomas Prosper Jullien, one of Napoleon’s aides-de-camp. The rebuilt position formed an important link in the French defensive line protecting the route to Cairo. It controlled movement between the Mediterranean and the Nile, while French cannon-armed ships patrolled the river nearby and blocked access to its mouth.
The siege of 1801
After British forces landed at Abukir Bay on 1 March 1801, the fort was held by about 300 men. The garrison included veterans, soldiers considered unfit for combat, artillerymen, and some infantry. On 8 April, a British force accompanied by a large Ottoman contingent reached Rosetta and laid siege to the fort. Lord Dalhousie led the British infantry, while the Ottoman force numbered about 1,000 men.
British warships forced the French vessels to retreat, allowing British and Ottoman ships to enter the Nile. British artillery preparations were completed on 16 April, and the bombardment then began. Concentrated fire brought down part of the fort’s southwestern walls on 18 April, exposing the French garrison to Ottoman fire.
The remaining 264 French soldiers surrendered at 11 a.m. on 19 April 1801. Their capitulation opened the Nile to the British and Ottoman fleets. French losses amounted to 41 men killed or wounded, while the British lost one lieutenant and two soldiers.
Restoration and historical importance
Fort Julien underwent further renovations between 1805 and 1848. The Egyptian government carried out extensive restoration during the 1980s, and President Hosni Mubarak reopened the fort in 1985. Its historical importance is also linked to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799, when French troops were repairing the defences. The inscribed decree, written in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek scripts, later enabled the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Remains
Fortification and riverside setting
The fort stands on the western bank of the Nile, northwest of Rosetta, near the river’s final approach to the Mediterranean. The village of Izbat Burj Rashid surrounds it on three sides. It is a low, squat rectangular fortification with a central blockhouse, a fortified structure providing protected positions for troops and weapons, overlooking the lower Nile.
The defensive wall added in 1516 forms part of the fort’s later Mamluk fabric. The southwestern wall bears the physical evidence of the 1801 siege, when British artillery breached it. The fort is described as intact following its later renovations and restoration.
Reused ancient stone
Some parts of the fort were built with stone taken from nearby ancient Egyptian sites. During his visit in 1799, Vivant Denon, a French artist, writer, and antiquarian who accompanied the Egyptian expedition, noted the reuse of older building materials. He also described several embrasure stones, the masonry surrounding openings for defensive weapons, as fine sandstone from Upper Egypt that still carried hieroglyphs.
The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone was uncovered inside the fort during repair work led by Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard. It had been reused as fill within the defences. Engineers working under Qaitbay may have brought the stone from elsewhere, possibly from a temple at Sais, an ancient city in the Nile Delta. That proposed origin and the circumstances of its earlier reuse remain uncertain.
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