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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GinoLR, post: 25887607, member: 128351&quot;]In fact these Mamluks were the hard core of the army controlling Egypt back then. Most were children taken away from Christian families, sold as slaves, educated as Muslims and trained to become elite horsemen. In Egypt in the 1790s they formed a military aristocracy. Most of them were of Balkanic or Slav descent, there were Georgians and Armenians too. When Bonaparte invaded Egypt and Palestine, he had to fight them, and later recruited some of them in French service.</p><p>He also recruited Egyptian Copts, Sudanese men who used to be servants in Cairo, Palestinian and Syrian Christians. When the French were expelled from Egypt by the Anglo-Turkish forces, many of these Oriental auxiliaries volunteered for being evacuated too with their families when they had one, and go to France. They were settled in Marseilles, and the ablest men were selected to create an elite light cavalry squadron of a few dozens. Napoleon called these cavalrymen &quot;Mamluks&quot;, they has the same luxury clothes and weapons as the Egyptian ones and fought like them. He integrated them in the Consular, later Imperial Guard.</p><p>The Mamluks Squadron was one of the very best troops in the whole army. Most if not all were Christians. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1649209[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>One of Napoleon&#039;s Mamluks : Abdallah Hazbun, later known as &quot;Abdalla d&#039;Asbonne&quot;. Three portraits of him as a Mamluk officer (1800s), as a Red Lancer officer (1815), as a retired officer (1850s). </p><p>He was born in Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) in 1776, was studying in Cairo when he was drafted in French service in 1798. He fought in Egypt, Syria, followed the repatriated French and became a sous-lieutenant in the Corps des Mamelouks. He served in most of Napoleon&#039;s campaigns from 1805 to 1814. Wounded 8 times at Heliopolis, Eylau, Golymin, Dresden, Altenburg,Weimar, Hanau, Brienne. After Napoleon&#039;s first abdication the Mamluks were disbanded and Abdalla became a Chef d&#039;Escadron in the Royal Chevau-Légers (AKA Red Lancers). He was not in Waterloo but went on half pay after the second abdication. He volunteered in 1830 for service in Algeria where he commanded a small garrison and was stationed as a liaison officer with the Emir Abd el-Kader. He was even wounded in combat for the 9th time. Pensioned off in 1837, he retired in Melun (his former garrison under Napoleon) where he died in 1859. Married twice, he had two children. He was a Free Mason since 1804 and was one of the founders of the first Masonic lodge in Algeria.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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