Module 066 · Imperial History
The Ottoman Empire
in North Africa
Four regencies, one exception, and the corsairs who ran it all
In 1516, two brothers from a Greek island captured Algiers. In 1517, an Ottoman sultan destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate and took Egypt. Within sixty years, the Ottoman Empire controlled the entire North African coast from the Nile to the Atlantic — except Morocco. The three Barbary Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli were nominally Ottoman provinces, but in practice they were semi-autonomous corsair states that elected their own rulers, raided European shipping, and conducted independent diplomacy. Istanbul collected tribute and provided legitimacy. The corsairs provided everything else. Morocco — protected by the Atlas Mountains, the Saadian dynasty's gunpowder army, and the religious authority of its sharifian sultans — remained the only North African state the Ottomans never conquered. The empire held its African territories for three centuries until European powers stripped them away: France took Algiers (1830), then Tunis (1881). Italy took Libya (1911). Egypt was already lost to Britain.
1516
Algiers captured
1517
Egypt conquered
1574
Tunis secured
1911
Libya lost to Italy
Never
Morocco stayed free
Ottoman North Africa · Territories & Cities
Click any city. Squares = independent Morocco. Circles = Ottoman territories.
Five Territories · One Empire
Regency of Algiers
1516–1830
Ottoman province / semi-autonomous corsair state
Regency of Tunis
1574–1881
Ottoman province / Husaynid autonomous beys
Regency of Tripoli
1551–1911
Ottoman province / Karamanli dynasty interlude
Ottoman Egypt
1517–1798
Eyalet (province) / Mamluk resurgence / Muhammad Ali
Morocco (Independent)
Never Ottoman
Saadian then Alaouite — the one that got away
Timeline · 1516–1911
Reading Notes
The corsair system
The Ottoman Empire did not govern North Africa the way it governed the Balkans or Anatolia. The three Barbary Regencies — Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli — were corsair states first and Ottoman provinces second. Revenue came from raiding European shipping: capturing vessels, seizing cargo, and ransoming crews. At its peak in the 17th century, Algiers alone held an estimated 25,000 Christian captives. European powers signed treaties directly with the deys and beys, not with Istanbul. England, France, and the Netherlands all maintained consuls whose primary job was negotiating the release of prisoners.
Why Morocco survived
Four reasons. Geography: the Atlas Mountains and the Moulouya River created a natural defensive barrier. Military capability: the Saadians had gunpowder armies of their own, trained and equipped on Ottoman lines. Religious legitimacy: Morocco's sultans were sharifs — descendants of the Prophet Muhammad — giving them a spiritual authority the Ottoman sultan could not match in the western Maghreb. And diplomatic skill: Ahmad al-Mansur played Ottoman, Spanish, and English interests against each other, maintaining alliances with all while submitting to none.
The autonomy gradient
Ottoman control was strongest in Egypt (direct governor, janissary garrison, regular tax remittance) and weakest at the western edge. Algiers elected its own ruler from 1689. Tunis was governed by a hereditary dynasty from 1705. Tripoli had its own dynasty from 1711. By the 18th century, all three regencies were independent in everything except the Friday prayer, which was still recited in the sultan's name. The Ottoman Empire in North Africa was less an empire than a franchise.
The Barbarossa brothers
Oruç and Hayreddin Reis — sons of an Ottoman sipahi father and a Greek mother on the island of Lesbos — built the entire western Ottoman naval system. Oruç was captured by the Knights of St. John and spent three years chained to an oar before being ransomed. He and Hayreddin moved west, became corsair captains, captured Algiers, and established the base that would anchor Ottoman power in the Mediterranean for three centuries. Hayreddin was later appointed Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral) of the entire Ottoman fleet — a Greek-born corsair commanding the world's most powerful navy.
The end
European imperialism dismantled the system. France took Algiers in 1830 (ostensibly over a fly whisk). France took Tunis in 1881 (ostensibly over a border raid). Britain controlled Egypt from 1882. Italy took Libya in 1911. In each case, the Ottoman Empire was too weak to defend its African territories. The map of modern North Africa — four independent states where there were once four Ottoman provinces, plus Morocco, which was never conquered — still reflects the boundaries the corsairs drew.
Sources: Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge University Press, 1987. Hess, Andrew C. The Forgotten Frontier: A History of the Sixteenth-Century Ibero-African Frontier. University of Chicago Press, 1978. Faroqhi, Suraiya. The Ottoman Empire and the World Around It. I.B. Tauris, 2004. Wikipedia: "Regency of Algiers," "Ottoman Tunisia," "Ottoman wars in Africa," "Ottoman Egypt," "Battle of Alcácer Quibir," "Capture of Fez (1576)," "Battle of Djerba." Britannica: "North Africa — Political Fragmentation," "Egypt — The Ottomans 1517–1798," "Ottoman Empire — Selim I." EBSCO Research Starters: "Ottoman Suzerainty." Fanack: "Tunisia: The Ottomans of Africa." Coordinates via Google Earth and OpenStreetMap.
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