Tunisian–Algerian War (1694)
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The Tunisian–Algerian war of 1694 was a conflict between the
Deylik of Algiers The Regency of Algiers was an early modern semi-independent Ottoman province and nominal vassal state on the Barbary Coast of North Africa from 1516 to 1830. Founded by the privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Reis (also known as the Barbaro ...
, and the
Regency of Tunis Ottoman Tunisia, also known as the Regency of Tunis, refers to a territory of Ottoman Empire that existed from the 16th to 19th century in what is largely modern-day Tunisia. During the period of Ottoman Rule, Tunis was administratively inte ...
.


Background

Ever since the establishment of
Ottoman Tunisia Ottoman Tunisia, also known as the Regency of Tunis, refers to a territory of Ottoman Empire that existed from the 16th to 19th century in what is largely modern-day Tunisia. During the period of Ottoman Rule, Tunis was administratively inte ...
, the Deys of the country were elected by the Turkish janissaries. The
Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
of Tunis appointed by the
Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...
had no power. That was at least the case until 1613, when
Murad I Bey Murad Bey (; died 1631)Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''Présent des hommes de notre temps. Chroniques des rois de Tunis et du pacte fondamental'', vol. II, éd. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, Tunis, 1990, p. 41 was the first hereditary bey of Tunis, founder of ...
, a Janissary of Corsican origins seized power in
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, and founded the
Muradid dynasty The Muradid dynasty was a dynasty of beys that ruled Tunisia from 1613 to 1702. They were succeeded in 1705 by the Husainid dynasty. History The dynasty was founded by Murad I Bey, a janissary of Corsican origin. Ramdan Bey, ruler of Tunis, had ...
. In 1675,
Murad II Bey Murad II Bey (Arabic: , died 1675) in the palace of Bardo was the third Muradid Bey of Tunis from 1666 until his death.Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''Présent des hommes de notre temps. Chroniques des rois de Tunis et du pacte fondamental'', vol. II, éd. Maiso ...
died, and he left his state to his son
Mohamed Bey El Mouradi Mohamed Bey El Mouradi (, died October 14, 1696) was a Muradid leader and Bey of Tunis from 1675 until his death in 1696. He was the eldest son of Murad II Bey. Mohamed Bey's reign was plagued with upheaval and civil war worsened by constant ra ...
. Mohamed exiled the Pasha, Muhammad al-Hafsi. Murad II's second son, Ali bin Murad, disappointed by his share in the division of power had sought refuge in the
Beylik of Constantine The Beylik of Constantine (), Beylik of the Sunrise or Beylik of the East ( or ) as was its official designation, was one of the three Beyliks of the Regency of Algiers (the other two being the Beylik of Titteri, also known as the Beylik of M ...
a governorate of the
Regency of Algiers The Regency of Algiers was an Early modern period, early modern semi-independent Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman province and nominal Tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, vassal state on the Barbary Coast of North Afr ...
(also known as Algeria). He brought the tribes of northwest Tunisia led by Muhammad ben Cheker over to his side with promises of
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
. He besieged Tunis, while Muhammad Bey al-Muradi fled from Tunis to
Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661 ...
before the troops of his brother arrived. Ali besieged the city but Muhammad broke out of the siege, and met Ali on the field of battle. The Battle of El Kerima, which took place on the plain of Fahs in 1677 was decisively won by Ali. He had his troops besiege Kairouan and returned to Tunis to be recognised as Bey in place of his brother who remained under siege in Kairouan. After some mediation by the
Dey of Algiers This is a list of the Beylerbeys, Pashas and Deys of the Regency of Algiers: Beylerbeys of the Regency of Algiers (1517–1588) Pashas (1577–1659) * Dely Ahmed 1586–1589 * Hızır Pasha 1589–1591 * Hadji Shaban Pasha 1591–1593 * Mu ...
, a treaty was signed in 1679 between the Muradid princes, but this peace didn't last long. The Turkish janissaries of Tunis elected their own leader, Ahmed Chelebi who attempted to take over the country. He was defeated by the Algerians who feared that the revolutionary spirit of the janissaries in Tunis would spread to their own country. They sacked Tunis in 1686, and left the country in ruins. Mohamed bey suspected his brother of supporting the Algerians, and thus killed him and seized power for himself. Muhammad ben Cheker (the leader of the northwestern tribes, wanted the Beylik to himself, and hearing about the infighting, he visited Algiers to negotiate with the Algerians in 1694.


First phase of the war (1694)


Start of the campaign

Dey Hadj Chabane agreed to help ben Cheker in conquering Tunis, but only he would subjugate himself and become an Algerian vassal. Muhammad ben Cheker agreed, and declared independence from Tunis. On June 24 Algerian troops entered Tunisian territory, and started rapidly advancing into the heartlands of Tunisia. The Algerian army consisted of Janissaries, troops from the Beylik of Constantine led by Ali Khoudja Bey, and the allied tribes of ben Cheker. The Tunisian armies were led by Mohamed Bey, Mourad ibn Ali (the son of Ali, the aforementioned pretender), Ibrahim Cherif a commander, and his lieutenant
Husain ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Muhammad's daughter Fa ...
.Azzedine Guellouz, Abdelkader Masmoudi et Mongi Smida, ''Histoire générale de la Tunisie'', tome III « Les temps modernes », éd. Société tunisienne de diffusion, Tunis, 1983, After a few towns were captured by the Algerians, the Tunisians arrived at the fort of
El Kef El Kef ( '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate. El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a population of ...
, where they awaited their Algerian foes.


The first Battle of Kef

On the same day that the campaign started, the Algerians arrived under Kef. Mohamed Bey attempting to save himself allied with the Moroccans, albeit as they had no common borders, the Moroccans could do nothing other than send him weaponry. Knowing that his weak army couldn't defeat the Algerian one, he decided to offer a
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
to the Algerians. Hadj Chabane refused this, and attacked the Tunisians. The battle ended in a catastrophic defeat for the Tunisians, who started fleeing from the invading forces. Mohamed retreating into Tunis planned on fortifying the town, and holding back the Algerian forces.


The first siege of Tunis

The Algerian troops arrived under Tunis in August, and began the siege. Despite fierce Tunisian resistance, after a month, the Algerian artillery breached the walls, and their troops started fighting the Tunisian defenders. After about 3 months of heavy fighting, in November, Tunis fell to the Algerians, who pillaged the newly conquered town. This further angered the population of Tunis, where anti-Algerian sentiment has been growing ever seen they pillaged Tunis in 1686. Mohamed Bey was forced to flee the country, albeit sources vary on where exactly he went to. Some state that he fled to
Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
, while others that he fled into the Sahara. He was soon replaced by the unpopular ben Cheker, albeit in reality Tunis was completely occupied and controlled by Algiers.


Aftermath

Fed up with the occupation, ruined economy and extremely high taxes imposed by the Algerians, the people of
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
,
Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...
and
Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661 ...
revolted. In April 1695 they chased Muhammad ben Cheker out of Tunis, who in turn started raising troops further down south. They crowned Mohamed Bey as king again, and on May 1 he attacked ben Cheker's troops near Kairouan. The Battle of Kairouan was a decisive victory for Mohamed Bey, and ben Cheker was forced to flee the country. An ancient
Amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
was largely destroyed by artillery shells during the battle. After stabilization, the Tunisian Bey signed an alliance with the sultan of Morocco, which would soon culminate in the Maghrebi war (1699–1701).


See also

* Tunisian-Algerian War (1735) * Tunisian-Algerian War (1756)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunisian-Algerian War (1694) 17th century in Tunisia 17th century in the Regency of Algiers Algerian–Tunisian wars 1694 in Africa Conflicts in 1694