Ali Bitchin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ali Bitchin (c.1560-1645) was a "
renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...
" (Christian converted to Islam) who made his fortune in Algiers through
privateering A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
. Bitchin (or Bitchnin) was believed to be born with the family name of Piccini or Puccini or Piccinino in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
. He was a Grand Admiral of Algiers and is known for a mosque he built in the district of Zoudj-Aïoun in the old city (
Casbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
), which still bears his name today. Bitchin became particularly well known through the captivity narratives published by Emanuel D'Aranda, his slave for about a year from 1640 to 1641. Dispute lingers about whether Bitchin should be regarded as having held the post of Governor of Algiers because of his very brief (and possibly apocryphal) seizure of power in 1645.


Biography

Bitchin was part of a group of people captured in 1578, by Hassan Veneziano the King of Algiers at the time, while aboard a Venetian ship. Bitchin, only a ten-year-old boy at the time, was bought from the Babel Boustan slaves market (current fishery) for 60 golden dinars, by the Raïs Fettah-Allah Ben-Khodja, from whom he learned privateering. With the exception of Rais Hamidou who lived in the late eighteenth century, no pirate was as much liked as Ali Bitchin. Under his command, the Algerian Navy assured her supremacy over the Mediterranean, blithely crossing the Straits of Gibraltar and pushing all the way to the Arctic Circle. Bitchin's privateers entered the Atlantic Ocean and ascended to
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. They managed to attack Madeira. Always fearless, they often attacked heavier vessels from their light boats regardless of the number of enemies. They resisted the most violent storms, appeared unexpectedly, and taunted their enemy with their wild audacity. Bitchin became the foster father of Algiers by the countless riches confiscated and imported on his ships to the city. He thus contributed to the apparent opulence of the Algerian capital. Bitchin has left a trace of himself in the Regency of Algiers between 1620 and 1645, the date of his death. In 1622, he had built the Ali Bitchin Mosque. Between 1621 and 1645, he was the supreme head of the
Taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...
(corporation of the Rais), and took on the title Grand Admiral of Algiers. His wealth became huge. He owned a palace in the city, a home in the countryside, several galleys and thousands of slaves. His large slave holdings did not prevent him from feeding them a simple piece of bread or biscuit, yet not every day.


The mosque

Tradition says that when Ali Bitchin saw Princess Lalla Lallahoum, the daughter of Ben Ali, Sultan of the
Kabyle people The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking populat ...
of Algiers, for the first time, he could not resist the desire to love her; she was considered the most beautiful woman of all. All his senses were troubled, and his days restless. Accompanied by Lalla N'fiça, widow of his mentor, Raïs Fethullah Ben-Khodja, Bitchin went to Ben Ali seeking the hand of his daughter. Bitchin placed at the foot of the beautiful princess carpets of Persia, silks and brocades of the Levant, diamonds from India, Peru's gold and much more. Lalla Lallahoum regarded with indifference these riches: "No, she said, I have nothing to do of all this, I demand that my suitor build a mosque to prove his faith". Ali Bitchin Mosque was built that same year, in 1622.


Death and legacy

Towards 1639, the Algerian navy, under the command of Ali Bitchin, suffered extensive damage alongside the Ottoman fleet against the Venetians in Aulona (modern-day
Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
) on the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
. The Turkish Sultan accordingly promised compensations to the King of Algiers, but never sent the promised subsidies for the reconstruction of the Algerian fleet. Raising the legitimate anger of the Raïs, Bitchin made the decision not to aid the Turkish Navy in the future. During 1645, Sultan Ibrahim summoned all the Algerian warships to fight the Knights of Malta and the Venetians. Of course Bitchin and his pirates refused to attend. This "disobedience" was interpreted by the Sultan as an act of high treason. The Sultan secretly gave orders to his minions to poison Bitchin. According to public opinion, it was his servant, paid with gold, who plotted and carried out the assassination of Bitchin, by poisoning his coffee. Bitchin was buried in Djebanet El Bashawet (cemetery of the Pashas) in the
Bab El Oued Bab El Oued is a neighbourhood in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, along the coast north of the city centre. As of 2008, the population of the commune of Bab El Oued was 64,732. History During the existence of French Algeria, Bab El Oued was esta ...
neighborhood, and was unearthed with many others in 1831. In fact the French invaders later in 1832 transformed his Mosque into a Roman Catholic church calling it ''Notre Dame des Victoires'', as they did the
Ketchaoua Mosque The Ketchaoua Mosque ( ar, جامع كتشاوة, ''Djamaa Ketchaoua'') is a mosque in the city of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century and is located at the foot of the Casbah of Algiers, whi ...
of the lesser Casbah. In doing this, they profaned the ''Djebanet El Bashawet''. New buildings were built upon the graves.
Anne Jean Marie René Savary Anne Jean Marie René Savary, 1st Duke of Rovigo (26 April 17742 June 1833) was a French military officer and diplomat who served in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the French invasion of Algeria. He was Minister of Polic ...
donated the cemetery lands to several officers who divided them into parcels. Without qualms, they unearthed the bones that were shipped to Marseilles. As evidenced by the letter Ibrahim Pasha wrote to the King of France on 2 February 1831: "The greatest pain that was made to our hearts is to destroy our cemeteries and to expose the desecrated remains of our ancestors.... Such injustice is painful to bear. This is contrary to all religions.... " Dr. Segaud wrote in an article published in the ''Semaphore of Marseilles'', bearing date of 2 March 1832: "I saw The Josephine ship that arrived in Algiers loaded with bones, and human skulls, and of corpses recently unearthed. "


References

* * * * {{Barbary Corsairs Algerian people of Italian descent 1560 births 1645 deaths Barbary pirates Burials in Algeria Converts to Sunni Islam from Catholicism 17th-century Algerian people Ottoman slave owners Ottoman slave traders