Suleiman al-Halabi


Suleiman al-Halabi, also spelled Soleyman El-Halaby, was the man who assassinated French general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, leader of the French occupation forces in Egypt. He was tortured by burning his hand to the bone before being executed by impalement.

Early life

Suleiman al-Halabi was born in 1777 in Aleppo, Syria to the Arab family Wannes. His father, Mohammad Amin, was a merchant of butter and olive oil. al-Halabi's father sent him to Cairo, Egypt in 1797 to study Islamic sciences at Al-Azhar University.
The historian :ar:خير الدين الأسدي|Khair al-Din al-Asadi mentions in Mawsūʻat Ḥalab al-muqāranah that al-Halabi was from the Wannes family, and that the family tree has been verified by many heritage experts. They confirm al-Halabi's affiliation to the Wannes family of the city of Aleppo, and not to the family of Os of the village of Afrin, as mentioned by some researchers and historians.

Assassination, trial and execution

On June 14, 1800, al-Halabi approached Kléber's home in the guise of a beggar seeking an audience with Kléber. When he approached him, Kléber extended his hand for al-Halabi to kiss in return for some money. Instead, al-Halabi violently pulled the general toward him and stabbed him four times with a stiletto. He was 23 years old when he assassinated the commander of the French campaign on Egyptian soil. Kléber's chief engineer tried to defend him and was stabbed but not mortally wounded.
Al-Halabi hid in a nearby park where he was found by French soldiers, who searched him and found his stiletto. He was arrested and tortured, his right arm burnt to the bone while he denied any relationship with Sheikh Al-Sharkawi or the popular resistance movements. He was tried and sentenced to death by impalement.

Aftermath

Today his skull and stiletto are on display at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, under the caption, "Criminal," written in French.
An Arab nationalist play based on his assassination of General Kléber, "Sulayman Al-Halabi," was written by Egyptian playwright Alfred Farag in 1965. In Farag's interpretation, Al-Halabi's motives have more to do with popular Arab revolt against foreign occupation, rather than political assassination for financial gain.