Al-Husayn I ibn Ali, also known as Hussein I (; born in 1675 – 13 September 1740) was the founder of the

Husainid Dynasty The Husainid dynasty or Husaynid dynasty () was a ruling Turkish dynasty of the Beylik of Tunis. The dynasty was of Greek origin from the island of Crete. It came to power under al-Husayn I ibn Ali in 1705, succeeding the Muradid dynasty. Af ...

, which ruled

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

until the abolition of the monarchy in 1957.

Biography

Husayn was born a Kouloughli, which is a term used to refer to an Ottoman father and a local

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

mother. His father was a Muslim of

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

origin and his mother was a Tunisian. The Husaynids were often called "Greeks" by

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

and, until recently, discussion of their origins was taboo.Clancy-Smith 2011
"In his speeches, Bourgouiba frequently claimed that the Husaynids and the political class of mamluk origins were not really Tunisians, often referring to them as Greeks" In 1702 the

janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

commander

Ibrahim Sharif Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed () is an opposition political activist in Bahrain, currently serving as the General Secretary of the secular socialist National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).

, of whom he was lieutenant, expelled the Muradid Dynasty from Tunis. Three years later, after Sharif had been captured by the Dey of Algiers, he took control of the Turkish army in Tunis and, on 12 July 1705, had himself proclaimed

Bey of Tunis Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic languages, Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of various ...

. He had one of his close relatives proclaimed ''

dey Dey (, from ) was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine ''deys'' held office from the establishment of the deylicate ...

'' by the

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

diwan, an act which increased his popularity amongst the Ottoman janissaries, and he was also able to gain support from his Tunisian subjects; however, his entourage was mostly composed of

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

s. Husayn's first councillor was a Frenchman from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, a literate man who had helped him in gaining power. He imposed a unity upon the country by having Sharif assassinated at

Ghar el-Melh Ghar el-Melh (, ''Ghar al-Milh'', "Salt Grotto"), the classical Rusucmona and CastraDelia and colonial is a town and former port on the southern side of Cape Farina in Bizerte Governorate, Tunisia. History Phoenician colony The Phoenician set ...

upon his release from captivity. A pious man, Al-Husayn also used Islam to unite Tunisia's numerous different ethnicities. He built numerous edifices dedicated to religion and religious studies (''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s''), such as the Madrasahs of the Dyers (1727) and al-Husseyniah in Tunis, as well as the mosque of Le Bardo and other madrasas in the country's mainland (

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661� ...

Sfax Sfax ( ; , ) is a major port city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a ...

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

and

Nafta The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

In 1726 he ordered the construction of El Jedid Mosque in Tunis. Husayn tried to establish a succession to the title of bey for his sons

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and Ali (born in 1710 and 1712, respectively). His nephew Ali Pasha, who had been plotting against him and had been therefore put under surveillance by Husayn, was able to escape and revolted, with the help of local tribes and of the Dey of Algiers. The latter invaded Tunisia and defeated Husayn at the battle of Smindja on 4 September 1735. Husayn was forced to flee to Sousse, while his troops in Tunis capitulated. Husayn was captured and beheaded on 13 September 1740.

References

Bibliography

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Husayn I Ibn Ali At-Turki 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century Tunisian people 1675 births 1740 deaths Tunisian people of Greek descent Tunisian people of Turkish descent Beys of Tunis Executed Tunisian people People executed by Tunisia by decapitation 18th-century monarchs in Africa Tunisian royalty People from El Kef