Murad III Bey (, 1680–9 June 1702) was the last bey of

Ottoman Tunisia Ottoman Tunisia, also known as the Regency of Tunis, refers to a territory of Ottoman Empire that existed from the 16th to 19th century in what is largely modern-day Tunisia. During the period of Ottoman Rule, Tunis was administratively inte ...

to rule from the

Muradid dynasty The Muradid dynasty was a dynasty of beys that ruled Tunisia from 1613 to 1702. They were succeeded in 1705 by the Husainid dynasty. History The dynasty was founded by Murad I Bey, a janissary of Corsican origin. Ramdan Bey, ruler of Tunis, had ...

from 1699 until his assassination in 1702, during the

Revolutions of Tunis In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elemen ...

, a period of crisis that preceded the rise to power of Husayn I Bey.

Biography

Murad was born to Ali Bey, son of Murad II Bey, and a Bedouin woman. After his father was murdered by his uncle

Mohamed Bey El Mouradi Mohamed Bey El Mouradi (, died October 14, 1696) was a Muradid leader and Bey of Tunis from 1675 until his death in 1696. He was the eldest son of Murad II Bey. Mohamed Bey's reign was plagued with upheaval and civil war worsened by constant ra ...

, Murad was adopted by Mohamed and then later by his other uncle, Ramadan Bey. Ramadan suspected him of plotting to overthrow him and had Murad arrested and demanded that the young prince have his eyes gouged out. Murad managed to escape before this sentence and take refuge in the mountainous region of Jebel Ousselat. He formed a group of rebels who first took

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� ...

, then marched on

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

and chased his uncle from the palace; he had him executed far from Tunis and was elected

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

by the

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

on March 16, 1699. Having come to power, he eliminated his enemies who tried to remove him from power. Because of his great cruelty, illustrated by the multiple executions he instigated, the Tunisians nicknamed him ''Mourad bou bala'', ''bala'' being a large Turkish

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

. He was a bloodthirsty and violent sovereign; Ibn Abi Dhiaf and the chroniclers of the time relate the multiple acts of savagery committed by Mourad III such as the digging up of the remains of his uncles Mohamed and Ramadan, so that he could fire at their corpses with his musket, or the assassination of his opponents along with their whole families. The town of Kairouan, which had received him poorly during his flight, was besieged and sacked by the Makhzen tribes in 1699. On another front, he managed to pursue the

Algerians Algerians () are the citizens and nationals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. The majority of the country's population is composed of Arabs who make up 85% of the population, and there is a Berber minority of 15%. The term also ...

on their soil and attacked

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

in 1701, in retaliation for attacks on Tunis by the Algiers militia in 1694 . He decides to repeat his exploit and take Constantine definitively once the reinforcements arrive; Ibrahim Sherif, his lieutenant, returning from a mission to recruit janissaries in Istanbul, is charged by the Ottoman government with putting an end to his abuses. While Ibrahim was away on a trip to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

to recruit janissaries, a new war was declared between Murad III Bey and the

Dey of Algiers This is a list of the Beylerbeys, Pashas and Deys of the Regency of Algiers: Beylerbeys of the Regency of Algiers (1517–1588) Pashas (1577–1659) * Dely Ahmed 1586–1589 * Hızır Pasha 1589–1591 * Hadji Shaban Pasha 1591–1593 * Mu ...

; the

Ottoman court Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the treasury and th ...

, no longer able to control Murad, ordered Ibrahim to return to Tunisia and arrest him. On 2 June 1702, on the banks of the Wadi Zarka, Ibrahim struck Murad III with a blow from his

blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a 17th- to mid-19th-century firearm with a short, large caliber Gun barrel, barrel. It is commonly flared at the muzzle (firearms), muzzle to help aid in the loading of Lead shot, shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity ...

, before killing him in the presence of his other lieutenants.André Raymond, ''Tunis sous les Mouradites : la ville et ses habitants au XVII^e siècle'', éd. Cérès, Tunis, 2006 On his return to Tunis, Sharif assassinated all the remaining princes of the Muradid dynasty in order to seize power for himself - the two young sons of Muhammad al-Hafsi al-Muradi, second son of Hammouda Pacha Bey, along with Hussein Bey, the third son of Hammouda Pacha Bey and his son who was only four years old.

Biography

References

See also