🛡️
Baba Ali Chaouch
Early 18th centuryAlgiers
📖Their story
A senior officer of the janissaries, Baba Ali Chaouch took power in Algiers in 1710 and reshaped its relationship with Istanbul. He stopped sending the customary tribute to the sultan and insisted that Algiers be governed by a dey chosen locally, not a pasha sent from the capital.
⭐Why they matter
His reforms turned the Regency of Algiers into a near-autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire.
💡Did you know?
From his rule onward, the dey of Algiers was effectively the country's true ruler.