1817 Jacotin Napoleonic Era Map of the Nile Valley near Aswan, Egypt

A stunning 1817 map illustrating the Nile Valley in the vicinity of Aswan, Egypt, in extraordinary detail. The map is sheet 1 from the massive atlas compiled by the Savants, military and civilian surveyors attached to Napoleon's Egypt Campaign (1798 - 1801). Coverage extends from Aswan south, including the island Temple of Philae. The map illustrates the legendary cataracts of the Nile, while for millennia prevented navigation up the Nile beyond this point. Today most of the area south of Aswan, as covered here, including the fabled cataracts and countless undiscovered ruins, is submerged under Lake Nassar, created by the Aswan Dam (1970). The detailed content focuses on the fertile Nile littoral, part of the map extends eastward along the main road to the Red Sea. Place names are included in both French and Arabic. In addition to towns, roads, and topographical features, the map offers extensive detail regarding battle sites and Ancient Egyptian ruins.

Napoleon in Egypt

The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798 - 1801) was fought between the French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte against Ottoman territories in Egypt and Syria. Napoleon proclaimed his invasion of Egypt to defend French trade interests and to complete a scientific study of the region. He also hoped that seizing Egypt and Syria would destabilize British influence in the region, weakening British access to India, and encourage an alliance with Tipu Sultan, who was actively fighting against the British in India. Despite initial military successes, the campaign floundered when British Admiral Horatio Nelson sunk the French fleet at the Battle of Aboukir Bay (1798). Without naval backup and resupply, the French forces were forced to fight a had overland campaign that ultimately cost more than it gained and ended in the completely French withdrawal from Egypt.

Military Failure - Scientific Success

Where the campaign filed in its military ambitions, it was a great success scientifically. Military topographers completed the most sophisticated survey of Egypt yet undertaken. More than 60 civilian scholars and scientists, known popularly as 'The Savants', compiled archeological, botanical, geological, and zoological data. Most significantly, the expedition brought the Rosetta Stone to light, effectively creating the new field of Egyptology.

Publication History and Census

This map was published in 1817 for the atlas volume of the Description de l'Égypte. The map is based upon survey work completed by M. M. Simonel and Schouani and published under the supervision of Pierre Jacotin. The publication of the maps postdate the sequential publication of the Description de l'Égypte by roughly 10 years as Napoleon placed all cartographic reconnaissance relating to the Egyptian Campaign under censure. The restrictions were not lifted until the Bourbon Restoration in 1817 - hence the date. The maps were issued in two sequential editions of the Description de l'Égypte. The first appearing between 1809 and 1823, and the second appearing between 1821 and 1829. We know that the maps were published in 1817, but not when they were folded into the atlas volume. Only 1000 examples of the Description de l'Égypte were published, many of which can be found in European institutional collections, thus all related cartography is extremely scarce to the market.