Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to use Egypt's history for France's benefit. He sent savants to record its temples and ruins but ultimately stranded them. ... Denon's drawing of the Edfu Temple.

Napoleon's architects and engineers made careful drawings and took measurements of a large number of monuments. Others attempted to measure the pyramids. ( Napoleon never shot them with cannons ...

And while Napoleon didn’t literally hurl projectiles at the pyramids, his invasion of Egypt had a profound effect on Egyptian cultural heritage and how the world understands it today.