18th–19th centuries
Tunis medina, Tunisia
The tombs of the Husaynid Beys of Tunisia are housed in the royal mausoleum in Tunis. They are further surrounded by their most faithful and loyal officials, ministers and servants. The unity in death belies the personalities’ varied and complex ethnic backgrounds and interrelations.
L’escalier des lions (painting)
19th century
Palais de la Rose – Musée de l’Armée
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
In 19th-century Tunisia, the Husaynid Beys – of Muslim Cretan origin – ably ruled the country from Tunis’s Bardo Palace in the face of considerable and complex, political challenges. Here, Muhammad al-Sadiq Bey (1813–82) leaves the palace surrounded by his officials, themselves of varied ethnic backgrounds.
19th century
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Alexandria, Egypt
Isma’il Pasha, viceroy of Egypt from 1867 to 1879, was a determined moderniser. The Suez Canal – inaugurated in 1869 during his reign – opened a vital route for mass migration to Asia.
19th century
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Alexandria, Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha, Muhammad ‘Ali’s son, distinguished himself as a military leader. One of his campaigns was aimed at halting and rebuffing the east–west migration of pastoral nomads from the interior of the Arabian Peninsula to Palestine.
19th century
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Alexandria, Egypt
Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha was an Ottoman general of Albanian descent. Dispatched to look after Ottoman interests in Egypt, he soon assumed practically unchallenged power. A great statesman and considered the founder of modern Egypt, he governed between 1805 and 1848 and established the dynasty that was to head Egypt until middle of the 20th century.
19th century
Tunis medina, Tunisia
The only Ottoman-Turkish style mosque in Tunisia, this building symbolises the memories, presence and aspirations of the country’s ethnic Turks. In the country since the 16th century, they soon became an integral part of local society, and many rose to key positions in government or even to the position of ruler.
19th century
Musée d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine de Kassar Saïd
Le Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia
The Husaynid Ahmad Pasha Bey, who ruled Tunisia from 1837 to 1855, was a great reformer and thinker. Among his greatest achievements was the closure of the slave market in Tunis in 1841, followed by his declaration in 1846 that all slaves should be set free.
Portrait of Hammouda Pacha Bey
19th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
Hammuda Ibn Ali, who ruled Tunisia from 1782 to 1814, belonged to the ruling Husaynid family, originating from the island of Crete. Tunisia had had a considerable and diverse Ottoman Turkish population since the 16th century.
19th century
Archives Nationales
Tunis, Tunisia
The patronage of the Husaynid Beys encouraged both local and incoming artisans and craftsmen with sophisticated projects focused on their capital city Tunis, including the continuous improvement of the splendid, Italian-style throne room in the Bardo Palace with its rich furnishings and monumental chandeliers.
The Great Mosque and University of Zaytuna
7th century
Tunis medina, Tunisia
The Great Mosque and University of Zaytuna in Tunis, first built in the 8th century, has been an enduring centre of Arab Muslim culture over the centuries. Rulers and migrating scholars and students from the four corners of the Arab Muslim world have contributed to the endurance of its intellectual impact.
The interior of Mustapha Pacha's palace
Late 19th century
Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algiers, Algeria
In Algeria the local population was a jigsaw of, among others, indigenous Berbers, Arabs, Andalusian immigrants and Turks, who arrived in the 16th century in the wake of Ottoman conquest. Intermarrying with the local population, the Turks, known as Deys, dominated political life well into the 19th century. This is the palace of the most famous and powerful Dey of the Regency of Algiers, Mustapha Pasha, assassinated in 1805.
Early 20th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
Muhammad Bach-Hamba and his brother Ali were Tunisians of Turkish origin. Retaining their Ottoman Turkish cultural ties, they were inspired by the reformist ideals of the Young Turks while visiting Constantinople. In 1907, they founded the Young Tunisians party. They also lauched the first Tunisian French-language newspaper le Tunisien: ses revendications.