In 1573, Don Juan Ostrich the glorious victor of Lepanto, skillfully took advantage of the momentary inaction Fleet Euldj Ali to leave the anchorage in the first days of October and sail to Tunis, with 138 warships, 27.500 men on the landing.
Favored by time, the Spaniards landed at La Goulette without encountering enemies and marched against Tunis under the protection of the fort. The few Turks who were guarding the city, with Ramdhane Pasha, do not even attempt a useless resistance. They retired in Kairouan, where Chabbïa collect, while the Spaniards took possession of Tunis.
Philip II had authorized the Tunis expedition in ordering his brother to destroy all its natural fortifications, including Fort La Goulette, raised to such expense. The ideas then for the city were to destroy all the retrenchments can serve the Turks on the coast, so as to expose them, without resistance possible attacks by natives of the interior. But Don Juan had dreamed as a sort of African royalty to which he was the holder and, instead of executing the instructions of the King of Spain, he set about consolidating his conquest.
This project was accredited by the pope. He flattered his ideas of proselytism and he saw also a way to Italy as well as Spain to shelter from the ravages of privateers that people there wore constantly.
Moulay Hamed, who had returned with Don Juan, who claimed to have caused the intervention in Spain refused to accept the conditions imposed upon him by the prince. Don Juan brought back to Palermo, his brother Moulay Mohamed, more accommodating than he, and was proclaimed king.
Moulay Hamed retired and died in Sicily at Palermo, from where his body was later taken to Tunis is buried in Zaouia (Mausoleum) of Sidi Kacem Zillidji.
Don Juan gave the command of an officer experienced in Tunis, the Earl of Serbelloni (Cerballon), with the task of building a vast fortress between the lake and city. He left 4,000 men of English troops and almost as many Italians who were constantly occupied with the construction of the fortress, even working on Sundays, with a papal brief authorizing them.
The fort of La Goulette, well armed and supplied, was left under the command of Porto Carrero. It was only after having made such arrangements that Don Juan decided to carry out urgent orders Philip II, leaving his conquest.
Tunisians had evacuated the city at the approach of Christians and retired at Djebel Ressas; they returned gradually, but their homes were devastated, and even were still occupied by Christians, and they had to undergo their contact, especially in the neighborhood of Bab al-Jazeera, while Bab Souika kept his Muslim appearance.
Fortress Bab Bhar rose rapidly, and Moulay Mohamed, the last of Hafsids, faithful to the terms he had accepted all its forces helped the Earl of Serbelloni in sharing with him the power he sits by his side when he dispensed justice, dictated his judgments, imposed his ideas, he intimated to his orders.
However, the inhabitants of Tunis had much to suffer in their customs and their religion in the new order of things introduced by the English occupation. They saw their captors get involved in all acts of their lives they experienced in their quivering bold familiarity with their daughters or wives, indignant at their irreverence against ministers of the Muslim faith and their lack of respect Sites devoted to his practice. Finally, the impact of incessant bells was made permanent as an insult to their faith more fervently. Also, the ravages of some and the extreme susceptibility of other conversed often unpleasant struggles between Spaniards and native inhabitants.
As for the Turkish garrison, forced to leave Tunis the approach of Don Juan, she had retired to Kairouan, which commanded a Turkish Pasha named Haider. She stayed as long as lasted the reign of Moulay Mohamed.
The recovery of Tunis by the victor of Lepanto had taken to Constantinople a little stir and it was unfortunate that had lost the Captain Pacha, for that fact, his position and his life. He had at any price, to avenge the surprise and no one is spared.
The pasha of Algiers and Tripoli gathered all their forces, while preparations were in the East a formidable expedition in giving appointments for the month of July 1575 before Tunis. The English Don Juan had left there, accused of these terms, do not waste their time, but they were not in sufficient number, however, had nothing to expect from Philip II, irritated at the highest point of an occupation made in spite of himself.
From the first days of summer, the pasha of Tripoli led a contingent of 4,000 men he adjoined to the Turks of Kairouan, under the command of Kaid Hyder (or Kheder) and goums this region, forming a staff of nearly 5,000 riders, and then reached the quota of Constantine and Bona, 2000 men strong. All, then, marched on Tunis to block the city to the south, but the lack of resources to survive the rally soon forced to retreat to the mountain.
An expedition under the command of Sinan Pasha left Constantinople in July 1575 and consisted of two hundred galleys, eighteen Maouna and other buildings, large and small, in all, fifteen hundred sail. Three weeks later, the Turkish fleet appeared in the East roads; it was not long address near Cape Carthage, and landed there without difficulties, its troops and equipment.
Sinan Pasha commanded the expedition, and Euldj Ali fleet shortly afterwards, the Caliph of Algiers, Arab-Ahmed, arrived by sea with a large body of troops.
The Spaniards had organized the defense as follows: P. Porto Carrero commanded the fort of La Goulette, with four companies of English troops and five Italians whose quota has been in Bizerte. The fort and the island Chekler were entrusted to Don J. of Zamoguerra.
Finally, 2,000 men, Spaniards and Italians, were in the fortress of Bab Bhar, under the command of Serbelloni the rest was distributed in the city and the outposts. The sick and all the useless mouths had been rigorously returned first.
Moulay Mohamed stood within reach, waiting for quotas of auxiliaries that do not seem very determined to come.
Immediately after landing, Sinan Pasha, having been in contact with the kingpin Hyder, Kairouan, Tunis instructed him to attack by the suburbs, which he did at the head of 4,000 Turks and already on 17 juilet, the Spaniards were forced to evacuate all positions advanced to retreat into the fortress.
This retreat was effected in good order. Meanwhile, the pasha of Algiers attacked the fort of La Goulette, near Carthage, and on 17, the trench was open.
On 21, he also began firing from the shore of Rades. Soon the walls were found badly damaged and the besiegers came to the foot of the ramparts, which pushed to seek reinforcements Carrero commander in chief (August 1). But
Serbelloni himself had much to do to repair the breaches and repel the enemy with relentless outputs whose number went up seven in the same day. However he could, in Fort Chekler bald, and with the help of volunteers, send some reinforcements to La Goulette. The assailants then wanted to prevent communication between these three forts by the pond and to that end, approached it by means of an earthwork and threw it flat-bottomed boats. However
Turkish troops were still arriving in Algiers, together with auxiliary Arab attacks against the fortress of Bab Bhar redoubled energy. At the same time, Serbelloni received a new request for reinforcements Carrero, more pressing than the first because it seemed a glimpse of a complete discouragement. The situation was very serious, however, the governor, who had offered to go himself to take command of La Goulette, managed to send the world into his own bald walls. It was time for the next day 20, the Turks fought a furious assault which was repulsed by Carrero, but at the cost of very serious losses. The
22, they began again, and on 23, became masters of the fort of La Goulette. Almost the entire garrison was massacred, with the exception of two or three hundred men, including Carrero, enslaved. The attackers could then see all their efforts against city.
Serbelloni possessed little more than 1,200 soldiers valid, and ls men Euldj Ali had established his camp in the city and opened against the fortress, the powerful gun fire, while pushing up the dug under walls and crowning their trenches good marksmen who fired at a short distance seemed anyone.
Forced to stand up to so many different attacks, the English were losing every day some forty men, nevertheless, did not weaken their courage, because we expected at all hours of relief claimed urge the King of Sicily.
On 6 September, the Turks attempted a general attack and the mine blew up a stronghold, which fell into the same fate in leading Christians and Muslims. After a struggle during that morning, the Turks retreated around noon, leaving many dead and even their scales. The
8, the same acts were repeated, and the Spaniards remained masters, but each of these two days had cost them 150 men and only he remained in the fort 600 fighters, the walls no longer existed and the Christians were forced to run from one place to another, depending on whether the points were more or less threatened. However the 11, a general attack was further delayed.
the 13th the besiegers, having made a new mine, rushed to the assault, but Serbelloni, the head of some English and Italian troops, drove them back. Suddenly, they cry that the Turks enter through another hole, where he runs nearly one and was taken prisoner.
This time the fort was taken and read defense was absolutely exhausted every means in his power. It is likely that if Carrero had deployed an energy equal to that of Serbelloni, La Goulette, whose fortifications were far more serious than the Bab Bhar, would not have so readily succumbed.
Zamoguerra, who still held the fort of Saint-Jacques (Chekler), with fifty soldiers, then decided to surrender and was sent East with Serbelloni.
The Turks were very definitely masters of Tunis, but at what cost them victory had it been purchased: But when the news of this success came in the East and we saw many land the guns, material and substantial captive Turks, including the Moulay Mohamed Hafsid Serbelloni and the governor, the metropolis of the East resounded with enthusiastic cheers and we forgot the past losses and current losses.
the midst of this disaster, Count Serbelloni was spared. The winners were hoping a very large ransom, and it is this consideration, no doubt, who carried them to let him live.
The court of Rome was the first to claim it. She offered to exchange it against several Muslim prisoners in the castle of St. Angelo, and among whom was the son of Ali Pasha, captured at the Battle of Lepanto.
the report of a Tunisian historian, Haj Hossein Khodja, the losses sustained by the Spaniards, in those cases, did not exceed those of many of their opponents. We counted each side about ten thousand deaths. The figure differs greatly from that adopted by English historians. According to them, the Turks had lost 32,000 men.
Spain, preoccupied with his empire of America, do not try to avenge this terrible failure. His fleet did well, from time to time, a few appearances on the coasts of Tunisia, they burned some villages, also sank, sometimes wretched ships, but these attacks did not prevent the Turks insignificant to enjoy in peace their conquest.
END.
