Muradid dynasty

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The Muradid dynasty were beys who ruled Tunis (in present‑day Tunisia) from 1613 to 1702. They were of Corsican origin. Murad I Bey, a janissary, was supported by Ramdan Bey, the ruler of Tunis. When Ramdan died in 1613, Murad became Bey and ruled effectively until 1631. He was also named Pasha by the Ottoman sultan, but the Bey remained lower in rank than the Dey. Murad later resigned, and his son Hamuda Bey (reigned 1631–1666) inherited both titles with support from Tunisian notables. As Pasha, he enjoyed a link to the Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.

In 1640, after the Dey’s death, Hamuda moved to control who would hold the office of Dey. Murad II Bey (reigned 1666–1675), Hamuda’s son, again used a council of notables called the Diwan. In 1673 the janissaries, feeling their power slipping, revolted. Fighting broke out between the urban janissary deys and the Muradids, with the Muradids backed by rural tribes and city notables. The struggle led to a shift of power toward local forces, and Arabic returned to official use in Tunis, though the Muradids kept Turkish in the central government to show their Ottoman ties.

After Murad II Bey’s death, the country entered the Revolutions of Tunis, a period of internal conflict that lasted until the Husainid family seized power in 1705. Turkish rulers of Algeria intervened on one side, but their involvement proved unpopular. The last Muradid Bey, Murad III, was assassinated in 1702 by Ibrahim Sharif, who ruled for several years with Algerian backing. In 1705 the Husainid dynasty overthrew the Muradids, ending their rule.