Muradids

Tunisia from the middle of the XVI century was a part of the Ottoman Empire as a separate eyalet . The Sultans were appointed Pasha to Tunisia , who ruled the region, relying on the Janissaries corps. The Janissary Corps consisted of forty divisions of one hundred people each, led by junior officers - dey. The leading position belonged to senior officers - approvers and bulukbash, who made up the sofa (council) under the pasha . In 1590, the Janissaries revolted and killed Bulukbash. Forty virgins chose one from among themselves to command the army. This dei became the head of the de facto government, and the position of the pasha turned into a pure formality. By the beginning of the XVII century, along with the dei, an important role was played by the Bey, who commanded the troops consisting of local tribes. Since the Janissaries in Tunisia were few, the beys gradually increased in importance until they concentrated all their real power in their hands. In 1640, the beys from the Muradid dynasty actually removed the maidens from power.

The second Bey Murad I (1613-1631), together with the title of Pasha, received the right to transfer his position by inheritance. He became the founder of the Bey dynasty of Muradids. He was succeeded by his son, the third Bey Hammoud Bey (1631-1666), who suppressed the resistance of the Arab tribes and annexed Djerba to Tunisia . At the end of his life, Hammud Bey departed from the reign, dividing the state between his three sons. His eldest son, Murad II, took possession of Tunisia , the second, Muhammad Bey El-Hafsi - the cities of Kairouan , Sfax , Sousse , Monastir and the southern lands, and the youngest, Hussein Bey - lands on the border with Algeria . Murad II (1666-1675) suppressed the uprising of the Janissaries in 1673 and strengthened his position within the state.

In 1675, after the death of Bey Murad II, a long civil war broke out in Tunisia . Murad had three sons: Muhammad Bey El Muradi, Ali Bey and Ramadan Bey. His eldest son Muhammad Bey El Muradi (d. 1696 ) inherited the title of Bey. Against him were the younger brother Ali-Bey and Uncle Muhammad Bey El-Hafsi. A few weeks after taking office, Muhammad Bey El Muradi sent his uncle Muhammad al-Khafsi into exile. Against the new Bey, his younger brother Ali Bey spoke out, dissatisfied with his possession. He made an alliance with the Bay of Constantine and bowed the northwestern Tunisian tribes to his side. In 1677, Ali-Bey defeated the army of his older brother, who fled Tunisia to Kairouan, at the battle of El Karim. After the victory, Ali Bey ordered the troops to besiege Kairouan , and he returned to Tunisia , where he ascended the Bey throne. Soon, Muhammad al-Khafsi returned from Ottoman possessions to Tunisia , who, in alliance with his nephew Muhammad, opposed another nephew, Ali Bey. In December 1679, with the mediation of Dei Algeria , a peace agreement was concluded between the three Muradids. Ali remained Bey in Tunisia, Muhammad Bey El-Muradi received the Sanjak in the interior, and their uncle, Muhammad El-Khafsi, retained the honorary post of Tunis Pasha.

Muhammad al-Khafsi, dissatisfied with his nominal Pasha position, entered into a secret conspiracy with his nephew Muhammad El-Mouradi against Ali-Bey. By order of Ali-bey, his uncle Muhammad al-Khafsi was sent back to exile for Istanbul a second time, from which he had not returned to his homeland. The internecine struggle for power in Tunisia soon broke out between the brothers Muhammad Bey and Ali Bey. Meanwhile, the Janissaries on the couch in Tunisia , bypassing both brothers, elected Ahmed Celebi, a popular among the Turks, who appointed Mameluk Muhammad Maniaut a new bei. The brothers Muhammad and Ali Muradids, who were afraid of losing power in Tunisia, entered into a truce and opposed the new Tunisian dei and his bei. Algerian dei Haji Ahmed intervened in the civil war in Tunisia and supported the Muradid brothers.

In May 1686, the army of Dei Algeria captured and plundered the city of Tunisia . The elder brother, Muhammad El Muradi, who suspected his brother Ali Bey of conspiring with the Algerians, ordered the latter to be killed, and he himself began to single-handedly rule in Tunisia . Later, Muhammad bin Cheker, the leader of the northwestern Tunisian tribes, who had the help of dei Algeria, began to claim the position of Bey. Muhammad Bey al-Muradi tried to pull Muhammad bin Checker to his side and marry his daughter. Muhammad Bey lost the support of the capital's population and fled to the south of Tunisia . The combined forces of Algerian Day Haji Shaaban and Muhammad bin Cheker besieged the capital of Beylik . On November 12, 1694, the city ​​of Tunisia , the capital of the eponymous Beilik , was captured.

Muhammad Bey al-Muradi, taking advantage of the discontent of Tunisians against oppression by the Turks of Algeria and adherents of Muhammad bin Cheker, raised a rebellion against the invaders. Having received reinforcements from the Ports, Muhammad Bey El Muradi led a tribal militia against Muhammad bin Checker. On May 1, 1695, in the battle of Kairouan, Muhammad bin Checker was defeated and fled with the remnants of his troops to Morocco. The winner entered the capital and was recognized as a bei on May 5 of that year. The Tunisian dei, left in the city by the Algerian deity Haji Shaaban, took refuge in the fortress of Kasbah, but was captured and killed.

In October 1696, Muhammad Bey al-Muradi died, leaving his two sons (Murad and Hassan), who, due to their age, could not rule. The sofa proclaimed the new ruler of Tunisia Ramadan II, the youngest son of Murad II and the deputy of his older brother Muhammad Bey.

In March 1699, his nephew Murad III , the son of Ali Bey, rebelled against Ramadan Bey. Murad was originally accused by his uncle of conspiracy, imprisoned. But the young prince was able to escape from prison. He took refuge in a mountainous area, gathered a rebel squad, captured the cities of Kairouan and Tunisia . Ramadan Bey was captured and executed by order of his nephew. On March 16, 1699, the Tunisian sofa elected Murad III a new bay.

In June 1702, on the border of Tunisia and Algeria, Murad III , the last bay from the Muradid dynasty, was killed by the aga Ibrahim al-Sharaf, who proclaimed himself the new bay of Tunisia . The Ottoman Sultan granted him the title of Pasha. In 1705, Ibrahim al-Sharaf was defeated in a battle near Al-Kef with Algerians and was captured. Hussein (1675-1740), a sipah, was declared a new bay in the capital, becoming the founder of the new Heyseinid Bey dynasty, which ruled in Tunisia from 1705 to 1957 .

• Alphonse Rousseau, Annales tunisiennes ou aperçu historique sur la régence de Tunis, éd. Bastide, Alger, 1864
• André Raymond, Tunis sous les Mouradites: la ville et ses habitants au XVIIe siècle, éd. Cérès, Tunis, 2006