Dey, from the Turkish honorific title dayı, literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli, and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine deys held office from the establishment of the deylicate in Algeria until the French conquest in 1830.
The Regency of Algiers was an early modern semi-independent Ottoman province and tributary state on the Barbary Coast of North Africa from 1516 to 1830. Founded by the privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Reis, also known as Oruç and Khayr ad-Din, the Regency succeeded the crumbling Kingdom of Tlemcen as an infamous and formidable pirate base that plundered and waged maritime holy war on European Christian powers. Ottoman regents ruled as heads of a stratocracy; an autonomous military government controlled by the janissary corps, themed Garp ocaklarılit. 'Western Garrison' in Ottoman terminology.
Hussein Dey was the last Dey of the Deylik of Algiers.
The Expedition of Mostaganem occurred in 1558, when Spanish forces attempted to capture the city of Mostaganem. The expedition was supposed to be a decisive step in the conquest of the Ottoman base of Algiers, but it ended in failure, and has been called a "disaster".
The Battle of Wadi al-Laban occurred in March–April 1558 between Saadians and Ottoman Algerian forces under Hasan Pasha, the son of Hayreddin Barbarossa. It took place north of Fes, at Wadi al-Laban, an affluent of the Sebou River, one day north of Fes.
Baba Mohammed ben-Osman or Muhammad V ben Osman was Dey of the Deylik of Algiers from 1766 to 1791 and the adoptive father of Baba Hassan Pacha and the grandfather of Mustapha Pacha. He declared war against Denmark-Norway because Denmark-Norway refused his demands for an increased annual payment to stave off piracy, and new gifts, which began the Danish-Algerian War. He also declared war against the United States in 1785 and captured several American ships. The war ended in 1795 when the U.S concluded a treaty with his successor that paid $21,600 annually to Algiers.
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.
The Battle of Moulouya took place in May 1692 at a ford on the Moulouya river in Morocco. It was fought between the armies of the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail and those of the Dey of Algiers Hadj Chabane.
The Campaign of Tlemcen or Tlemcen campaign was a military operation led by the Saadians of Mohammed ash-Sheikh against Tlemcen in 1557, then under the domination of the Regency of Algiers, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who wanted to conquer Algeria, occupied the city but failed to seize the Mechouar Palace, which was defended by a garrison of 500 men under the command of Caïd Saffa.
The "Odjak of Algiers" was a unit of the Algerian army. It was a highly autonomous part of the Janissary Corps, acting completely independently from the rest of the corps, similar to the relationship between Algiers and the Sublime Porte. Led by an Agha, they also took part in the country's internal administration and politics, ruling the country for several years. They acted as a defense unit, a Praetorian Guard, and an instrument of repression until 1817.
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. One of the objectives of the expedition is to restore Ali Abu Hassun, a Wattassid pretender, to the throne.
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.
Baba Ali Chaouch, also known as Ali Soukali, or simply Ali I, was a ruler of the Deylik of Algiers from 1710 to 1718. He was the first dey of Algiers to be invested with the title of dey-pacha. The Sultan Ahmed III had Ali Chaouch's envoy given the caftan and the three tails, a sign of the dignity of a "pasha". This title was attributed to all his successors until 1830.
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.
The ta'ifa of raïs or the Raïs for short, were Barbary pirates based in Ottoman Algeria who were involved in piracy and the slave trade in the Mediterranean Sea from the 16th to the 19th century. They were an ethnically mixed group of seafarers, including mostly "renegades" from European provinces of the Mediterranean and the North Sea, along with a minority of Turks and Moors. Such crews were experienced in naval combat, making Algiers a formidable pirate base. Its activity was directed against the Spanish empire, but it did not neglect the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia, Naples or Provence. It was the taifa which, through its seizures, maintained the prosperity of Algiers and its finances.
The Revolution of the Odjak, also known as the Aghas Revolution or the Revolution of 1659 was an important military revolution that changed the essential bases of the government of the Ottoman Regency of Algiers, as well as its relations with the imperial centre in Istanbul. Taking place during a period of transformation of the Ottoman Empire, and lasting from June to September 1659, it was largely viewed as a result of the loss of the importance that the Regency previously had for Constantinople back in the 16th century; decades of marginalization demonstrated through the appointment of incompetent governors and diverging interests regarding relations with European powers, made both the Barbary corsairs and the janissaries of Algiers less inclined to commit themselves to the Ottoman cause. This culminated in the rise of the janissary Odjak corps as the most prominent faction of the Ottoman Algerian political elite.
Hadj Mustapha was the 7th ruler and Dey of Algiers. He ruled five years after his predecessor Hadj Chaouch.
The 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.
Dar Es-Sultan, which can be translated into "Sultan's Domain" - was one of the provinces of the Regency of Algiers. This province was bounded to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by the Beylik of Constantine, to the south by that of the Beylik of Titteri and to the west by the Western Beylik. Dar Es Sultan included the capital Algiers, the Mitidja plain and the coastline to Tenès.
Ibrahim Kouchouk, also known as Ibrahim el Seghir or Ibrahim IV, was the 15th ruler and Dey of Algiers. He ruled for 15 years after his predecessor Baba Abdi.
