On July 1, 1798, Napoleon landed in Egypt with 400 ships and 54,000 men and proceeded to invade the country, as he had recently invaded Italy. But this Egyptian invasion was to be different. For, in addition to soldiers and sailors, Napoleon brought along 150 savants — scientists, engineers and scholars whose responsibility was to capture, not Egyptian soil, but Egyptian culture and history. And while the military invasion was an ultimate failure, the scholarly one was successful beyond anyone’s expectations. topographical surveys were made, native animals and plants were studied, minerals were collected and classified, local trades and industry were scrutinized. Along with all that one of the greatest discoveries in the world, ancient Egypt was discovered including temples tombs and other ancient constructs. Napoleons scholars recorded every bit of what they found and put it all together in one of the greatest series of encyclopedias this world has ever seen. 23 books 3 of which standing over 43 inches tall containing over 830 engravings.