Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
It was Napoleon's dream to become a conqueror like Alexander the Great--in bringing the science of the West and discovering the ancient wisdom of the East. [Furtado: 1001 Days] "This, evidently, was also Napoleon’s view when he argued in 1797: “Let us concentrate our efforts on building up our fleet and on destroying England. Once that is done Europe is at our feet.” . . . Napoleon’s attempt to alter that balance was characteristically bold—and risky: taking advantage of Britain’s weak position in the Mediterranean in the summer of 1798, he invaded Egypt with 31,000 troops and thus placed himself in a position to dominate the Levant, the Ottoman Empire, and the route to India." [Kennedy: Great Powers, p. 124]