Emir Abdelkader


Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri
عـبـد الـقـادر الـجـزائـري
Photographed by Étienne Carjat in 1865
Native name
عبد القادر ابن محي الدين
Birth nameAbd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din al-Hassani
Born(1808-09-06)6 September 1808
Guetna, Regency of Algiers
Died26 May 1883(1883-05-26) (aged 74)
Damascus, Ottoman Syria[1]
Buried
RankEmir
Battles / wars
AwardsLegion of Honour (Grand Cross)
Order of Pius IX
First Class of the Order of the Medjidie
Order of the Redeemer (Grand Cross)

Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; Arabic: عبد القادر ابن محي الدين ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥy al-Dīn), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza'iri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century. As an Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world. Within Algeria, he was able to unite many Arab and Berber tribes to resist the spread of French colonization.[2] His efforts to unite the country against French invaders led some French authors to describe him as a "modern Jugurtha",[3] and his ability to combine religious and political authority has led to his being acclaimed as the "Saint among the Princes, the Prince among the Saints".[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Division, American University (Washington, D. C. ) Foreign Areas Studies; Army, United States (1965). U.S. Army Area Handbook for Algeria. U.S. Government Printing Office. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Brower, Benjamin Claude (1 January 2011). "The Amîr ʿAbd Al-Qâdir and the "Good War" in Algeria, 1832-1847". Studia Islamica. 106 (2): 169–195. doi:10.1163/19585705-12341257. ISSN 1958-5705. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bouyerdene 3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).