Collections | Migrations | Migrations within the Ottoman Empire | Powerbrokers [9 Objects, 3 Monuments]

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Introduction to the Chapter

Tourbet el Bey

18th–19th centuries

Tunis medina, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

Tourbet el Bey

18th–19th centuries

Tunis medina, Tunisia

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L’escalier des lions (painting)

19th century

Palais de la Rose – Musée de l’Armée

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

L’escalier des lions (painting)

19th century

Palais de la Rose – Musée de l’Armée

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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Khedive Ismail

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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 Justification for this item

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.

Khedive Ismail

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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Ibrahim Pasha

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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 Justification for this item

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.

Ibrahim Pasha

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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Muhammad 'Ali Pasha

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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 Justification for this item

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.

Muhammad 'Ali Pasha

19th century

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria, Egypt

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Mohamed Bey Mosque

19th century

Tunis medina, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

Mohamed Bey Mosque

19th century

Tunis medina, Tunisia

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Painting of Ahmed Pacha Bey

19th century

Musée d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine de Kassar Saïd

Le Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

Painting of Ahmed Pacha Bey

19th century

Musée d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine de Kassar Saïd

Le Bardo, Tunis, Tunisia

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Portrait of Hammouda Pacha Bey

19th century

Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

Portrait of Hammouda Pacha Bey

19th century

Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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Palais du Bardo

19th century

Archives Nationales

Tunis, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

Palais du Bardo

19th century

Archives Nationales

Tunis, Tunisia

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The Great Mosque and University of Zaytuna

7th century

Tunis medina, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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

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 Justification for this item

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.

The interior of Mustapha Pacha's palace

Late 19th century

Musée National des Beaux-Arts

Algiers, Algeria

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The Bach Hamba brothers

Early 20th century

Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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 Justification for this item

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.

The Bach Hamba brothers

Early 20th century

Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie

La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia

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Introduction to the Chapter