Bonaparte discovered the geopolitical importance of Arabia in 1798 during his expedition to Egypt. He sought to win over the sheriff of Mecca by communicating with him. But instead of finding the expected Arab support, it inadvertently triggered the first all-out Arab uprising in history against European imperialism.
This revolution in Upper Egypt was led by a forgotten Moroccan scholar named Muhammad al-Jilani, and consisted mainly of Hijaz Bedouins, and was crushed by the French army in 1799.Napoleon did not give up his eastern dreams after returning to France, but began to plan exploratory trips to India. Since 1804, he has sought to cultivate ties with the rapidly rising emirate of Diriyah, which was fueled by the Wahhabism that emerged in central Arabia. No alliance came to fruition, but French interest in the first Saudi state gave rise to a series of writings that form the main European source for its history.
