Siege of Tunis (1694)

Siege of Tunis
Part of the Tunisian-Algerian War (1694)
Date August–November 1694 [1] Location Tunis, Tunisia 36°48′23″N10°10′54″E / 36.80639°N 10.18167°E / 36.80639; 10.18167 Result Algerian victory Territorial changes Tunis becomes a beylik of Algiers
Belligerents
Regency of Algiers	Tunisia
Commanders and leaders
Hadj Chabane Mohammed ben Cheker	Mohammed Bey
Strength
7,600 troops: [2] 2,000 infantry 2,000 cavalry 400 janissaries 3,200 other	15,000 infantry [3] 600 horses
Siege of Tunis class=notpageimage| Location within Tunisia

The siege of Tunis was a siege fought in 1694, between the Deylik of Algiers, and Muradid Tunis, during the Tunisian-Algerian War of 1694.

Background

The Tunisian prince Mohammed ben Cheker asked the dey of Algiers, at the time Hadj Chabane, ^[4] for help in order to make himself Bey of Tunis. The dey of Algiers accepted his proposal, invaded Tunisia in 1694, ^[5] and defeated the Tunisian army at the Battle of Kef on June 24. Chabane then marched on Tunis, where Mohammed Bey el-Mouradi took refuge after his defeat. ^[6] The goal of Chabane was to make Tunis a simple governorate (Beylik) in a similar fashion to the other Beyliks of Algeria, such as the Beylik of Constantine.

Siege

The Algerian army a arrived in front of Tunis in August and started the siege. Despite the efforts of the Tunisian defenders, Tunis fell after 3 months, and the Algerians plundered the city on 12 November 1694, and Tunis fell under the control of the Dey of Algiers, with administration by Chaabane Khodja and Ben Cheker. ^[7]

Ben Cheker became t he Bey of Tunis forcing Mohammed Bey el-Mouradi to flee to Chios or the Sahara. ^[8]

Aftermath

Mohammed Bey el-Mouradi fled to Chios or the Sahara and Ben Cheker reigned over Tunis for six months as a governor for Algiers, but his reign was tyrannical and led the Tunisians to appeal to Mohammed Bey el-Mouradi in exile The latter defeated Ben Cheker On May 1, 1695 at the Battle of Merguellil, near Kairouan, and made himself bey of Tunis again. ^[9]

References

1. Plantet, Eugène (1893). "Correspondance des Beys de Tunis et des consuls de France avec la Cour: 1577-1830".
2. Plantet, Eugène (1893). "Correspondance des Beys de Tunis et des consuls de France avec la Cour: 1577-1830".
3. Plantet, Eugène (1893). "Correspondance des Beys de Tunis et des consuls de France avec la Cour: 1577-1830".
4. Mahfoud Kaddache, L'Algérie des Algériens, p. 411.
5. Perkins, Kenneth J. (2016-10-12). Historical Dictionary of Tunisia. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-7318-4.
6. Delmas, Henri (1887). Histoire d'Alger sous la domination turque (1515-1830). Paris. p. 265.
7. Alphonse Rousseau, Annales tunisiennes ou aperçu historique sur la régence de Tunis (Bastide, 1864)
8. Guellouz, Azzedine; Smida, Mongi; Masmoudi, Abdelkader; Saadoui, Ahmed (2010). Histoire générale de la Tunisie (in French). Tunis. pp. 78–79. ISBN   978-9973-84-476-7.
9. Plantet, Eugène (1893). Correspondance des Beys de Tunis et des consuls de France avec la Cour: 1577-1830 (in French). F. Alcan.