A L G 
by'the Sharifs of Hafeeii, the defendants of thofe Arabian 
princes whom Abu-Texefien had formerly expelled. 
The better to fee lire their new dominions, the Sharifs 
divided them into feveral little kingdoms or provinces ; 
and among the reft the prefent kingdom of Algiers was 
divided into four, namely, Tremecen, Tcnez , Algiers Proper, 
and Bujeya. The four firft monarch's laid fo good a foun¬ 
dation for a ; lading balance of power between their little 
kingdoms, that they continued for fome centuries in mu¬ 
tual peace and amity; but at length the king of Treme- 
cen having ventured to violate fome of their articles, 
Abul-Farez, king of Tenez, declared war againft him, 
■and obliged him to become his tributary. This king 
dying foon after, and having divided his kingdom among 
his three, fons, new difeords arofe ; which the king of 
Spain taking advantage of, a powerful fleet and army 
were fent againft Barbary, under the count of Navarre, in 
1505. This commander foon made himfelf mafter of the 
important-cities of Oran, Bujeyah, and fome others ; which 
fo alarmed the Algerines, that they put thenifelves under 
the proteClion of Selim Eutemi, a noble and warlike Ara¬ 
bian prince. He came to their aftiftance with a great 
number of his brave ft fubjeCfs, bringing with- him his 
wife Saphira, and a fon then about twelve years old. 
This, however, was not fufficient to prevent the Spaniards 
from landing a number of forces near Algiers that fame 
year, and obliging that metropolis to become tributary to 
Spain. Nor could Selim prevent them from building a 
ftrong fort on a fmall i ft and oppofite to the city, which 
terrified their corfairs from failing in or out of the har¬ 
bour. To this galling yoke the Algerines were obliged 
to fubmit till the year 1516; when, hearing of the death 
of Ferdinand king of Spain, they lent an embaffy to the 
famous corfair Barbarofla, who, with his brother, was 
invited thither to defend them from the Spanilh yoke, for 
which they agreed to pay a gratuity anfwerable to fo great 
afervice. Thefe two brothers, named Home and Hayradin, 
werd the fons of a porter in the ifte of Lefbos. The elder 
obtained the additional name of Barbarofla, from the red 
colour of his beard ; and it afterwards became the com¬ 
mon furname of both. The ftrong bent of their natural dif- 
pofition led them, when jouths, to aflociate with pirates, 
among whom they became diftinguifhed by their undaunt¬ 
ed courage and fpirit of enterprife. After aCting with 
thefe free-booters for fome time, their fuperior talents 
raifed them to the command of a veffel, with which they 
proved fo fuccefsful, that Home Barbarofla became the 
admiral of a conftderable fleet of corfairs, and his brother 
Hayradin bore the fecond command. With this force 
they enriched themfelves and their followers with the 
fpoils, which they procured on the Mediterranean Sea, 
and in the Levant. 
On Barbarofla’s approach to Algiers, he was met by- 
prince Eutemi, attended by all the people of that metro¬ 
polis, who looked for deliverance from this free-booter, 
whom they accounted invincible. He was conducted into 
the city amidft the acclamations of the people, and lodged 
in one of the noble ft apartments of Eutejni’s palace, where 
fee was treated with the greateft marks of diftinCfio'n. 
Elated beyond meafure with this kind reception, Burba- 
roffa formed a defign of becoming king of Algiers : and 
fearing fome oppofition from the inhabitants, on account 
of the excefles he fltftered his foldiers to commit, mur¬ 
dered Eutemi, and caufed himfelf to be proclaimed king; 
his Turks and Moors crying out as he rode along the 
ftreets, “ Long live King Home Barbarofla, the inviii-- 
cable king of Algiers, the chofen of God to deliver the 
people from the oppreflion of the Chriftians ; and de- 
ftrutfion to all that fhall oppofe, or refufe to own him 
as their lawful fovereign.” Thefe laft threatening words 
fo intimidated the inhabitants, already apprehenlive of a 
general maflacre, that he was immediately acknowledged 
king. The unhappy princefs Saphira, it is laid, poifoned 
feerfelf, to avoid ravifhment by this new king, whom (he 
»nfuccefsful!y endeavoured to flab with a dagger. 
Vol. 1 . No. 21. 
l E R S. 325 
Barbarofla wais no fooner feated on the throne, than he 
treated his fubjeCfs with fuch cruelty, that they ufed to 
fhut up their hottfes and hide themfelves when he appeared 
in public. In confequence of this, a plot was foon formed 
againft him ; but, being difeovered, he caufed twenty of 
the principal conlpirators to be beheaded, their bodies 
be buried in a dunghill, and laid a heavy fine on thofe 
who furvived. This I'o terrified the Algerines, that they 
never afterwards durft attempt any thing againft either 
Barbarofla or his fucceffors. 
In the mean time, the fon of Eutemi having fled to 
Oran, and put himfelf under the protection of the mar¬ 
quis of Gomarez, laid before that nobleman a plan for 
putting the city of Algiers into the hands of the king of 
Spain. Upon this, young Selim Eutemi was fent to Spain 
to lay his plan before cardinal Ximenes; who, having ap¬ 
proved of it, fent a fleet with 10,000 land forces, under 
the command of Don Francifcor, or, as others call him, 
Don Diego de Per a, to drive out the Turks, and re ft ore 
the young prince. . But the fleet was no fooner come 
within fight of land, than it was difperfed by a ftorm, and 
the greateft part of the fliips dafhed againft the rocks. 
Mod of the Spaniards were drowned ; and the few who 
efcapea to Ihore were either killed by the Turks or made 
Haves. 
Though Barbarofla had nothing to bead: on this oc- 
cafion, his pride and indolence were now dwelled to fuch 
a degree, that he imagined himfelf invincible, and that 
the very elements confpired to make him fo. The Ara¬ 
bians were fo much alarmed at his fuccefs, that they im- 
plored the afiiftance of Hamidel Abdes, king of Tenez, 
to drive the Turks out of Algiers. That prince readily 
Undertook to do what was in his power for this purpofe, 
rovided they agreed to fettle the kingdom on himfelf and 
is defeendants. This propofal being accepted, he im¬ 
mediately fet out at the head of 10,000 Moors; and, upon 
his entering the Algerine dominions, was joined by all the 
Arabians in the country. Barbarofla engaged him only 
with loooTurkilh mufqueteers and 500 Granada Moors; 
totally defeated his numerous army ; purfued him to the 
very gates of his capital, which he ealily made himfelf 
mafter of; and, having given it up to be plundered by 
his Turks, obliged the inhabitants to acknowledge him 
as their fovereign. This victory, however, was chiefly 
owing to the advantage which his troops had from their 
fire-arms; the enemy having no other weapons than ar¬ 
rows and javelins. 
No fooner was Barbarofla become mafter of the king¬ 
dom of Tenez, than he received an embaffy from the 
inhabitants of Tremecen ; inviting him to come to thefr 
aftiftance againft their then reigning prince, with whom 
they were diflatisfied on account of his having dethroned 
his nephew, and forced him to fiy to Oran ; offering him 
even the fovereignty in cafe he accepted of their propofal. 
The king of Tremecen, not fufpeCling the treachery of 
his fubjeCfs, met the tyrant with an army of 6000 horfe 
and 3000 foot : but Barbaroft'a's artillery gave him fuch 
an advantage, that the king was at length forced to re¬ 
tire to his capital; which he had no fooner entered, than 
his head was cut off by his own people, and fent to Bar¬ 
ba roila, with a freft) invitation to come and take poffeflion 
of the kingdom. On his approach, he was met by the 
inhabitants, whom he.received with great complaifance, 
and many, fair promifes ; but, beginning to tyrannize as 
ufual, his new fubjeCfs foon convinced him that they were 
not fo paftive as the inhabitants of Algiers. Apprehend¬ 
ing, therefore, that his reign might prove uneafy and 
precarious, he entered into an alliance with the king of 
Fez ; after which, he took care to fecure the reft of the 
cities in his new kingdom, by garrifoning them with hi$ 
own troops. Some of thefe, however, revolted fopn af¬ 
ter ; upon which he fent One of his corfairs, named Ef. 
cander, a man no lefs cruel than himfelf, to reduce thepi. 
The Tremecenians now began to repent of having invited 
fuch a tyrant to their aftiftance j and held confultationff 
4O m 
