 Sultan Selim III decided to wage war against France, and sent two armies to Egypt.The first army, under the command of Jezzar Pasha, had set out with 12,000 soldiers; but was reinforced with troops from Damascus, Aleppo, Iraq (10,000 men), and Jerusalem (8,000 men).The second army, under the command of Mustafa Pasha, began on Rhodes with about eight thousand soldiers.