Revolutions of Tunis

Ottoman navigation chart of the 16th century, depicting the southeastern coast of Tunisia

The Revolutions of Tunis or the Muradid War of Succession was a period of troubles and civil wars in Ottoman Tunisia. It ran from the death of the Muradid sovereign Murad II Bey in 1675 until the seizure of power by the Husainid sovereign Al-Husayn I ibn Ali at-Turki in 1705. The belligerents were Ali Bey al-Muradi and Muhammad Bey al-Muradi (sons of Murad II Bey), their uncle Muhammad al-Hafsi al-Muradi (Pasha of Tunis), several Deys of Tunis, the Turkish militia in Tunis and the Dey of Algiers.

Historians agree that the revolutions originated from the constant power conflict between the Muradid dynasty, which attempted to detach itself from Ottoman control and the Turkish militia in Tunis (headed by the divan), which challenged the primacy of the Beys and refused to submit to their increasingly monarchical rule.[1] The Deys of Tunis found themselves in the middle of the storm, sometimes on the side of the militia if they could gain the confidence of the divan and sometimes on the side of the Muradids, who attempted more than once to place one of their proteges in charge of the divan.[1]

  1. ^ a b André Raymond, Tunis sous les Mouradites : la ville et ses habitants au XVIIe siècle, éd. Cérès, Tunis, 2006