Napoleon led troops into Ottoman Syria and Egypt with the goal of protecting French trade interests.
The French Campaign in Egypt and Syria ( 1798 -- 1801 ) was Napoleon Bonaparte 's campaign in Ottoman Egypt and Ottoman Syria , proclaimed to defend French trade interests , weaken Britain 's access to British India , and to establish scientific enterprise in the region . Napoleon . In 1798 , he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power .