Marcel, Jean-Joseph

marcel, jean-joseph (1776-1854), French Orientalist. He studied under Silvestre de Sacy and wrote studies on Arabic and on Arab history. He was a member of Napoleon's commission in Egypt, of which he wrote a history, and was in charge of the printing press of the French expedition. The Copts remained on the periphery of his work. His occasional statements on them were confined to the modern period.