Ahmed Bey bin Muhammad Sharif

Ahmed Bey bin Muhammad Sharif (also Haj Ahmed Bey ) (* 1786 ; † 1851 ; Arabic أحمد باي بن محمد شريف) was Constantine's last Bey from 1826 to 1847 . As the leader of the former Ottoman state, he tried unsuccessfully to prevent the advance of the French colonial power.

Palace of Ahmed Bey in Constantine

Life

Ahmed Bey was born as the son of an Ottoman notable and a woman from the influential nomadic tribe of the Ben Ghana as the son of the privileged Turkish-Arab ruling class in the country. Ahmed Bey worked in various offices in the administration of the Beylik until he was appointed Bey himself in 1826. Ahmed Bey spent some time in Egypt during the reforms under Muhammad Ali Pasha .

During the landing of the French near Algiers he commanded the contingent from Constantine and after the defeat withdrew to the city to raise new troops. He was supported by the local elite of tribal leaders and the Islamic clergy. His rule was publicly legitimized by these groups through a fixed written charter that bound the Bey to various laws. After the fall of the Deyliks of Algiers, he founded a reformed administration in his Beylik, which was based primarily on council meetings of the local notables. In 1831 he successfully put down a revolt by nomadic tribes. In 1836, 8,700 French soldiers had to retreat to Algiers after losing several thousand men and an unsuccessful siege of Constantine. His repeated appeals to the Ottoman Sultan to come to his aid were rejected. In 1837 the city finally fell after another siege. The Bey was captured by French forces in 1847.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b John Ruedy: Modern Algeria. The Origins and Development of a Nation. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN et al. 2005, ISBN 0-253-21782-2 , pp. 54-57, p. 61.
^ Julia A. Clancy-Smith: Rebel and Saint. Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800–1904) (= Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies. 18). University of California Press, Berkeley et al. CA 1994, ISBN 0-520-08242-7 , pp. 72-75, pp. 88 f.

personal data
SURNAME	Ahmed Bey bin Muhammad Sharif
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ahmed Bey; Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed ben Chérif
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Ottoman Dey in Algeria
DATE OF BIRTH	1786
DATE OF DEATH	1851

[ruedy2005-1] John Ruedy: Modern Algeria. The Origins and Development of a Nation. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN et al. 2005, ISBN 0-253-21782-2 , pp. 54-57, p. 61.

[Clancy-Smith1994-2] Julia A. Clancy-Smith: Rebel and Saint. Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800–1904) (= Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies. 18). University of California Press, Berkeley et al. CA 1994, ISBN 0-520-08242-7 , pp. 72-75, pp. 88 f.