The siege of Oran (1693) was an attempt by the Alaouite sultan

Ismail Ibn Sharif Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the sev ...

to take the city of

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, which was then under Spanish rule. Although they were otherwise enemies, this was one of the rare cases the

Deylik of Algiers The Regency of Algiers ( ar, دولة الجزائر, translit=Dawlat al-Jaza'ir) was a state in North Africa lasting from 1516 to 1830, until it was conquered by the French. Situated between the regency of Tunis in the east, the Sultanate o ...

, and the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

cooperated.

Background

The Sharif Ismail and his sons carried out various expeditions in Algerian territory between 1640 and 1701 with the support of certain

marabouts A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...

. All of these expeditions failed. The presence of the Spaniards in Oran allowed the Algerians to benefit from the status of fighters (

ghazis A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...

) in the holy war against the Christian invaders. Thus the Moroccans decided to not include them in the campaign as to not give them any more prestige. Maraboutic expeditions were mounted to besiege Oran. It was in this context of rivalry that

made an attempt in 1693 to capture Oran, and possible more territory. These repeated incursions by Moulay Ismael into western Algeria led to the only period when a Spanish-Algerian alliance existed.

Battle

Moulay Ismail set off on a campaign with an army of more than 20,000 men. He launched several raids against the Beni Amer and the other Algerian tribes, as to push them back. Oran itself was commanded by the Andrés Copola, Duke of Canzano. Moulay Ismail attempted a swift attack on 20 July, followed by another attempt on 24 July, both of which failed in the face of heavy artillery fire from the square and the firm defence of the Spanish garrison. His army suffered a real disaster and he had to retreat. However, during this retreat he was attacked in reprisal by Algerian Arab tribes under whom he previously raided. They achieved a victory over him, and successfully recovered a large amount of loot which was taken from them.

Aftermath

Moulay Ismael is said to have declared following his failed attempt: Following these events, the Sultan of Constantinople sent an embassy to invite Moulay Ismaïl to make peace with the Algerians and to respect their territory; the Sultan of Morocco accepted this invitation. Oran was under Spanish hands until 1708, when Bey Bouchelaghem besieged and conquered the city from the Spanish.

References

{{reflist 17th century in Algeria Oran 1693 Oran 1693

1690s in Africa