(CE:1511b-1512a)
MAKARYUS HUNAYN (1773-1805), a Copt who became a colonel in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. Makaryus was born in the district of Bulaq in Cairo on 17 February 1773. He spent his early years training as a goldsmith with his father, Mu‘allim Hunayn Abu Dabb. At the age of twenty, he decided to study with Antun Abu Taqiyyah. Through diligence and determination, he learned to read and write Arabic as well as French—which proved to be useful after the French invasion of Egypt in 1798 under Napoleon Bonaparte. After the triumph of the French, he entered their service as an interpreter. In appreciation of his service, Napoleon appointed him assistant to the leader of the French expedition to Syria. At the age of thirty, Hunayn decided to join General YA‘QUB's Coptic Legion in the French army as a regular soldier. On the strength of his performance in the military, he was made an officer.
With the departure of the French from Egypt in 1801, General Ya‘qub also left, and with him went the leading figures in his Coptic Legion, including Makaryus Hunayn. In France he became associated with the restructured Coptic Legion. Owing to his bravery and military skills, his general nominated him as a close military escort, with the rank of captain. After that he is known to have participated in the Napoleonic Wars in 1805 against the Russians and the Austrians. He played a prominent part in the Italian battles and was granted the rank of colonel as a reward for valor. Later he fought at Austerlitz, where he was mortally wounded. He died on 18 December 1805.
A. LOUCA
Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia
