THE BARBAROSSA BROTHERS – PART 4

For the past three weeks, we’ve been looking at the story of the (in)famous Barbarossa brothers (Aruch, the elder, and Cheredin, the younger) as told by Father Pierre Dan in his book Histoire de Barbarie—a story that’s as much about the city of Algiers as it is about the Barbarossas.

As readers will recall if they’ve read all three of the Barbarossa posts, Aruch died while he was still fighting to create an empire for himself, with Algiers as its capital. After his death, Cheredin managed to at least partially fulfill his brother’s dream, but only by allying himself with the Ottomans.

All that has to do with how the Barbarossa brothers’ story relates to Algiers.

This week, we’re going to focus on a different aspect of the story: Aruch Barbarossa’s death.

Here is Father Dan’s version (from a different section of Histoire de Barbarie than the one that supplied the details for the story so far) of Aruch Barbarossa’s life and death:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sea has always been covered with Turkish and Barbarian corsairs, who have wreaked horrible havoc everywhere and committed unheard-of cruelties. But above all these, Aruch Barbarossa, stood out.

He was a Greek renegade, native of the island of Methelin, and the son of a potter.

The Christians never had such a cruel enemy as he, who became so powerful and so famous for his robberies that, upon his return from Hungary, Sultan Suleiman sent for him and made him Basha and Admiral of his seas in the year 1534.

He was only too fortunate in exercising this office, as Dom Hugh de Moncade, Portonde, and Andrea Doria, general of the Spanish galleys, experienced to their detriment.

But the end of this murderous pirate showed how God the just is an avenger of such impious people.

After an infinity of evils that he had committed, Barbarossa was puffed up with the pride at his multiple successful enterprises, and because of how successful those enterprises had been, he anticipated an even more favorable continuation of his prosperity.

He chased the King of Tremessen out of his Kingdom, despite the fact that he was Moorish and Mohammedan like Barbarossa, and he then wanted to attack the city of Oran, which was held by the Spaniards, who had a strong garrison there.

He thus acquired the enmity of both Christians and Moors, who jointly conspired against him, planning his destruction. They pursued him with weapons in hand and forced him into a shameful flight, by which, seeking his safety, he was captured and killed with all his closest followers.

After this, his head was cut off and taken to Spain, where it was placed on the end of a pike. It was paraded along the coast and the maritime towns, to the rejoicing of the people, who celebrated the ruin of this King of corsairs who had committed so much brigandage and caused so much misfortune.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Father Dan, of course, wasn’t the only person to write about Aruch Barbarossa.

Below is another, more detailed, account of Aruch Barbarossa’s end. To make sense of it. you need to know the following:

• Aruch Barbarossa had captured and occupied Tremesen (modern-day Tlemcen).
• He had made a pact of mutual defense with the King of Fez and expected the king to send reinforcements to help him hold Tremesen.
• Prince Selim, the previous ruler of Tremesen (who had been deposed by Barbarossa) had allied with the Spanish, who used this as an excuse to launch a major attack on Tremesen with a force of 10,000 men, augmented by “a great number of Arabs and Moors” loyal to Prince Selim. The point of this attack was no so much to liberate Tremesen as to eliminate Barbarossa.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Barbarossa, receiving intelligence of the approach of the Spanish forces, was determined to wait no longer for reinforcements from the King of Fez. He came out of Tremesen with a troop of 1500 Turks and 5000 Moorish horse, to oppose the progress of the Spaniards.

But gaining intelligence of the superiority of the Spanish forces, his councilors advised him to return and fortify himself in his capital. This advice however came too late. The inhabitants of Tremesen had shut their gates against him, and were resolved to open them only to their lawful sovereign [Prince Selim], when he appeared.

In this extremity Barbarossa deemed it most prudent to retire to the citadel, and defend himself there till he could find an opportunity of stealing away with his men and treasure. Here he made a vigorous defense, but his provisions failing, he effected his escape by night through a subterraneous passage, which he had caused to be dug for that purpose, and carried off all his immense treasures with him.

But his flight was soon discovered, and Gomarez [the Spanish commander] ordered an imediate pursuit. Barbarossa, finding himself so closely pursued, caused a considerable quantity of money, plate, jewels, &c. to be scattered along the route he had taken, in order to amuse the enemy, and to retard their pursuit in gathering it up, while he effected the passage of the river Fluexda.

But this stratagem, through the vigilance of the Spanish commander, did not succeed, for Gomarez, ordered his men to march on, without waiting to gather up the spoils, and they soon overtook the fugitive on the banks of the river, about eight leagues from Tremesen.

Barbarossa had just crossed the river with his vanguard; and the Spanish army furiously attacked his rear on the other side, and cut them all to pieces. Gomarez then crossed the river, and a bloody engagement ensued, in which Barbarossa’s Turks fought with the greatest fury. But being overpowered by numbers, the tyrant fell, and 1500 Turks were left dead upon the field of battle.

Thus terminated the career of this powerful tyrant, who died in the year 1519, in the 44th year of his age, four years after he had aspired to the royal title of Sultan of the country, two years after he had assumed the sovereignty of Algiers, a twelvemonth after the reduction of Tremesen, and after he had infested the seas and spread havoc and desolation through the country of Barbary for the space of fourteen years.

After this important victory, Gomarez returned in triumph to Tremesen, amidst the shouts of the multitude, who came out to meet him, with the head of Barbarossa carried upon the point of a spear.

About fourteen days after the battle, the king of Fez made his appearance at the head of 20,000 Moorish horse, but hearing of Barbarossa’s defeat, he retired with all possible expedition to avoid an attack from the enemy

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For those who may be interested…

The excerpt from Father Dan comes from the second edition (published in 1649) of his Histoire de Barbarie, Livre premier, chapitre IV, pp. 19-20.

The second excerpt comes from An Historical and Geographical Account of Algiers; Comprehending a Novel and Interesting Detail of Events Relative to the American Captives, written by James Wilson Stevens, originally published in 1797, pp. 30-31. I have lightly edited and abridged Steven’s original text to make it more accessible.