Conflicts between the Regency of Algiers and Morocco

Conflicts between; the Regency of Algiers and Morocco
	; Troops of the Regency of Algiers, allied to; the kingdom of Ait Abbes, march towards Orania
Date	1550–1795
Location	Morocco, Western Algeria
Belligerents
Regency of Algiers ; Zayyanids ; (16th century); Kingdom of Beni Abbas	Saadi dynasty ; (1559–1660); Alaouite dynasty ; (1559–1795); Spanish Empire

Last updated July 20, 2024

Conflicts between the Regency of Algiers and the Cherifian dynasties or Algerian-Sherifian conflicts^[1] opposed Morocco to the Ottoman Empire and its dependencies in a series of wars between the Regency of Algiers and its allied local sultanates and tribal confederations, and on the other hand, the Sharifian Saadian and Alawite dynasties that had ruled Morocco since the 16th century.

The origins of these conflicts were multiple and overlapping. The integration in 1520 into the Ottoman Empire of the state-owned enterprise of the Regency of Algiers in the central Maghreb as a new political center integrated into was at the expense of the Zayyanids of Tlemcen to its west. Recurrent conflicts at the beginning of the sixteenth century with the Regency on the one hand and the Spaniards on the other saw Tlemcen absorbed into the Regency.^[1] Their weakening stirred Saadian lusts.^{[ clarification needed ]} Although the Regency of Algiers confirmed its control over Tlemcen and Orania, it did not have the means to launch long campaigns in the Sahara, which it delegated to various tribal confederations like the Ouled Sidi Cheikh.^[2] The Saadians were blocked to the north by the Spanish Empire but the Regency of Algiers then found a south-Saharan outlet for imperial expansion.

These conflicts and resulting treaties foreshadowed the borders and delimitations of the modern nation-states of the Maghreb.^[3]

Establishment of the regency of Algiers (16th century)

Collapse of the Zayyanids of Tlemcen

The weakening of the Zayyanids of Tlemcen, playing on their alliances with Spain, the Turks of Algiers and the Wattasids to maintain themselves, opened up a political void in western Algeria.^[1] The founding of the Regency of Algiers (1512–1529) then its integration into the Ottoman Empire was done at the expense of the Zayyanids in the west and the Hafsids in the east.^[2] The regency of Algiers, directed by the exogenous Turkish element of its militia, extended its influence to the west through the play of maraboutic alliances and brotherhoods. However, the advent of the Sharifian Saadians in Fez in 1550 upset this game of alliances. The Regency of Algiers could not count on the support of maraboutics against sovereigns claiming descent from Muhammad. Negotiations therefore began concerning the territories formerly under Zayyanid suzerainty, which were not successful.^[1]

Saadian attempts in Oran

In 1545, the Saadians allied themselves with the Spaniards. The Cherifian army took Tlemcen without fighting in 1550 and marched on Algiers. The beylerbeys of the Regency of Algiers and the Sultan of the Beni Abbas then concluded the pact of Aguemoun Ath Khiar.^[4] They retook Orania and Tlemcen in 1551;^[5] The victory was exploited politically by Algiers and played a role in the formation of Algeria (prefiguring its borders). This conflict opened a period of Algerian-Cherifian hostility which only ceased in 1585 with the intervention of the Ottoman sultan. From then on, for about a century, the border at the Moulouya river was respected.^[3]

On the other hand, the fall of the Zayyanids of Tlemcen opened the way for the Saharan conquests of the Saadians, who were anxious to control the trans-Saharan trade routes that had been left vacant. The Regency could not engage in distant Saharan expeditions, but troops were sent from Algiers to the Gourara towards the end of the 16th century at the request of Ksourians facing rezzous from Tafilalt.^[6] The Touat and the Gourara were then subjected to a temptation of local withdrawal and were independent in fact.^[2]

Notable battles

Related Research Articles

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The Kingdom of Tlemcen or Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen was a kingdom ruled by the Berber Zayyanid dynasty in what is now the northwest of Algeria. Its territory stretched from Tlemcen to the Chelif bend and Algiers, and at its zenith reached Sijilmasa and the Moulouya River in the west, Tuat to the south and the Soummam in the east.

The Battle of Chelif or Battle of Djidouia took place on 28 April 1701 on the banks of the Chelif River. It was fought between the armies of the Alaouite Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif and those of the Regency of Algiers commanded by the Bey of Mascara, Mustapha Bouchelaghem. It took place in the context of an attempt by the Alaouites to conquer the west of the Regency of Algiers, coordinated with an offensive by Tunis on the east of the Regency of Algiers in 1700 and 1701.

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The Conquest of Fez or Capture of Fez took place in 1554 between the Algerian forces of Salah Rais and the ruler of the Saadi Sultanate, Mohammed ash-Sheikh. The battle took place on 7 January at Qudyat-al-Mahali, a suburb near Fez and occurred after Salah Reis’ two previous victories against the Saadians, one at Taza and another at the Sebou river.

The Campaign of Tlemcen (1551) was a military operation led by the Regency of Algiers under Hasan Pasha and his ally Abdelaziz, following the capture of Tlemcen by the Saadi Sultanate in June 1550.

The Maghrebi war (1699–1702) was a conflict involving a Tunisian, Tripolitanian, and Moroccan coalition, and the Deylik of Algiers. It was an important milestone in the further weakening of the already fragile Ottoman grip over the Maghreb, as both sides utterly ignored the Ottoman sultan's pleas to sign a peace treaty. This war also led to the renewal of the Muradid infighting, which would later lead to the establishment of the Beylik of Tunis, and the Husainid dynasty in 1705.

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The Battle of Oued Zadidja occurred in 1551 after the Saadians violated an alliance with the Regency of Algiers, the Saadians were defeated and their leader was killed.

History of the Regency of Algiers includes political, economic and military events in the Regency of Algiers from its founding in 1516 to the French invasion of 1830. The Regency of Algiers was a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. Founded by the corsair brothers Aruj and Khayr ad-Din Barbarossa, it became involved in numerous armed conflicts with European powers, and was an important pirate base notorious for Barbary corsairs.

References

1 2 3 4 Boyer 1966, pp. 11–49.
1 2 3 Bellil 1999, p. 125.
1 2 Chenntouf 1999, pp. 191–206.
↑ Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et musulman; Chaker, Salem (2005), Encyclopédie berbère. 27, Kairouan-Kifan Bel-Ghomari, vol. 27, Edisud, p. 4112, retrieved 2021-05-09
↑ Féraud, Laurent-Charles (2011). Histoire des villes de la province de Constantine: Sétif, Bordj-Bou-Arréridj, Msila, Boussaâda (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-296-54115-3.
↑ Bellil, Rachid (2001). Les oasis du Gourara, Sahara algérien: Fondation des ksour. II [The Oases of the Gourara, Algerian Sahara: Founding of the Ksour] (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-0924-3.

Bibliography

Bellil, Rachid (1999). Les oasis du Gourara (Sahara algérien) (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042907218.
Boyer, Pierre (1966). "Contribution à l'étude de la politique religieuse des Turcs dans la Régence d'Alger (XVIe-XIXe siècles)". Revue de l'Occident musulman et de la Méditerranée: Des frontières en Afrique du XII au XX (Histoire et Perception) (in French). 1 (1): 11–49. doi:10.3406/remmm.1966.910.
Chenntouf, Tayeb (1999). La dynamique de la frontière au Maghreb (in French). UNESCO.
Cour, Auguste (2004). L'établissement des dynasties des Chérifs au Maroc et leur rivalité avec les Turcs de la Régence d'Alger: 1509–1830 (in French). Editions Bouchène. ISBN 9782912946782.

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[FOOTNOTEBoyer196611–49-1] 1 2 3 4 Boyer 1966, pp. 11–49.

[FOOTNOTEBellil1999125-2] 1 2 3 Bellil 1999, p. 125.

[FOOTNOTEChenntouf1999191–206-3] 1 2 Chenntouf 1999, pp. 191–206.

[4] Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et musulman; Chaker, Salem (2005), Encyclopédie berbère. 27, Kairouan-Kifan Bel-Ghomari, vol. 27, Edisud, p. 4112, retrieved 2021-05-09

[5] Féraud, Laurent-Charles (2011). Histoire des villes de la province de Constantine: Sétif, Bordj-Bou-Arréridj, Msila, Boussaâda (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-296-54115-3.

[6] Bellil, Rachid (2001). Les oasis du Gourara, Sahara algérien: Fondation des ksour. II [The Oases of the Gourara, Algerian Sahara: Founding of the Ksour] (in French). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 978-90-429-0924-3.

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