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 a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire during the early modern period, located on the Barbary Coast of North Africa from 1516 to 1830. Founded by the corsair brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Regency was a formidable pirate base infamous for its corsairs. First ruled by Ottoman viceroys, o later became a sovereign military republic that plundered and waged maritime holy war against European Christian powers.
Yakup Ağa or Ebu Yusuf Nurullah Yakub, was the father of the Barbarossa Brothers, Oruç and Hızır. He was a Sipahi of Turkish or Albanian descent from Yenice. Yakup was among those who took part in the capture of the Aegean island of Lesbos from the Genoese on behalf of the Ottomans in 1462. For his participation he was granted the fief of Bonova village of the island as a reward and the title of the village's Agha (master).
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.
The capture of Algiers in 1516 was accomplished by the brothers Oruç and Hayreddin Barbarossa against Sālim al-Tūmī, the ruler of the city of Algiers, which was followed by an unsuccessful military campaign by the Spanish Empire and the Sheikh of Ténès to overthrow the newly formed Sultanate of Algiers.
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.
Dar Mustapha Pacha is a Moorish palace, located in the Casbah of Algiers, Algiers, Algeria. It houses the National Museum of Miniatures, Illumination and Calligraphy.
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 Alaouite 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((efn|also spelled Ujaq 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 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 Beylik of the West was one of three Beyliks (governorates) of the Regency of Algiers, with the other two being the Beylik of Titteri and the Beylik of Constantine. It was established in 1563, and it was ended during the French conquest.
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.
Mohammed Trik was an Algerian official. He was the Dey of Algiers from 1671 to 1682. He was the first dey of Algiers.
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.
