Murat, Joachim, << myoo RA, zhoh ah KEEM >> (1767-1815), was the most famous French cavalry commander under Emperor Napoleon I. From 1808 to 1814, Murat ruled the Kingdom of Naples in southern Italy as King Joachim I. Napoleon made him a general in 1799 for defeating troops of the Ottoman Empire in Egypt. Murat’s cavalry attacks helped Napoleon win battles at Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland between 1805 and 1807.
Murat deserted Napoleon when the emperor was defeated at Leipzig in 1813. But when Napoleon escaped from his prison on the island of Elba in 1815, Murat tried to win all Italy for him. The Austrians, however, defeated Murat. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, he was quickly captured, condemned, and—on Oct. 13, 1815—executed.
Murat was born on March 25, 1767, in La Bastide-Fortuniere, France, near Cahors. In 1800, he married Napoleon’s sister Caroline, a step that helped his career.
