Yusuf Dey (c.1560 in

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

– 1637 at

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 ...

) was Dey of Tunis from 1610 until his death.

Biography

Son of Mustapha El Turki, an

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

soldier stationed at Tripoli, he took up a post in the militia of Tunis. He was recognised by Uthman Dey, who appointed him to several posts and even favoured him over his own sons. Before his death, Uthman managed to convince 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 ...

of Tunis to name Yusuf as his successor. He also married him to his daughter. At the death of Ramadhan Bey, who had been appointed by Uthman Dey to direct the armed force which controlled the hinterland, Yusuf selected the lieutenant and

mameluke 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-sold ...

of Ramadhan Bey, an Islamic convert and corsair named

Murad Murad or Mourad () is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East. Etymology It is derived ...

who became the founder of 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 ...

of Beys of Tunis. In addition, Yusuf Dey often conferred with his friend and principal lieutenant, Ali Thabet. A keen builder, Yusuf Dey had the first Ottoman style

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

built, in 1616.''Mosquées de Tunisie'', éd. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, Tunis, 1973, p. 44 He also had a network of Turkish

souqs A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors ...

built around it, including the Souq Et Trouk, which was reserved for the sale of goods deriving from the activities of the corsairs and which later became the Souq of Turkish-style tailors, the Souq El-Birka, where

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

acquired from the activities of the corsairs in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and people were bought and sold, and the Souq El-Bchamkiya, where cobblers made Turkish-style shoes called ''bachmaq'' During his tenure, he gave much attention to the question of the exact borders with the neighbouring

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, which was ruled by the Turkish militia of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

and its

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 ...

. An initial

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

fixed the border at the Oued Serrat. Following hostilities, a more northern frontier was fixed on the Mellègue River. According to contemporary chronicles, the Turkish militia of Tunis was the strongest army in the region; it contained 9,000 elite troops (the

janissaries 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 du ...

), further regiments of irregular cavalry raised from the tribes of the hinterland, and more than 200

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s commanded by marines and formidable corsairs. However, as Yusuf Dey grew old, he was eclipsed little by little by the powerful personality of

Hammuda Pasha Bey Hammuda Pasha Bey (), died April 13, 1666Ibn Abi Dhiaf, ''Présent des hommes de notre temps. Chroniques des rois de Tunis et du pacte fondamental'', vol. II, éd. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, Tunis, 1990, p. 47 was the second Bey of the Tuni ...

, son and successor of Murad I Bey, who gradually took control of the divan and the militia. In spite of this, the elderly Yusuf Dey managed to secure the assignment of the island of

Djerba Djerba (; , ; ), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. Administratively, it is part of Medenine Governorate. The island h ...

to the regency of Tunis, through diplomatic efforts. To commemorate this achievement, he had a whole souq built in Tunis for merchants from Djerba. There was also a war between the pirates of Tunisia and the Maltese after the Tunisians captured the husband of Agrabah Maltese and ended with the victory of the pirates of Tunisia. At his death in 1637, he was interred in the Tourba which he had had built near the mosque of Yusuf Dey. The divan elected as his successor, a famous Italian renegade, who became the most famous corsair of the regency, Usta Murad.

References

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Bibliography

*Alphonse Rousseau, ''Annales tunisiennes ou aperçu historique sur la régence de Tunis'', éd. Bastide, Alger, 1864 Deys of Tunis People from Tripoli, Libya 1637 deaths Year of birth uncertain